Wohaibi stresses need for strong positions with introduction of 3-G technology

In his speech at the opening of the Council's conference in Casablanca, the Kingdom of Morocco, Dr. Al-Wohaibi said, 'There are issues which are common to all of us, even in the competitive world that we work in that we can all work together to resolve.'

He pointed out that the economic benefit derived through consensus between all of the members can be and should be of exponential value to all us not only for today but for the future as well.
The Chief Executive Officer of Omantel and Board Chairman of SAMENA Council said,

'As an organization that is driven by the service providers and operators industry in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa region, SAMENA should focus on certain important issues such as WiMAX, interference issues with C-Band BWA (3.4 to 4.2 Ghz band) and WiMAX and its acceptance by the ITU based on last Friday's announcement that IMT 2000 can be used on Networks based on WiMAX.'

Dr. Al-Wohaibi said that this might just promulgate the application of the design and installation of new chipsets containing both WIFI and WiMAX in laptops and dual use handsets with both GSM and WiMAX built in within the next two to five years' time. We will also visit the core 3-G issues as well how NGN technology fits into the rollout of 3-G and future networks.

He added that subjects such as the future of fixed line operations as well as FMC focus strategies are to be discussed. We also will have a strong panel discussing the already agreed upon issues that SAMENA shall tackle within the regulatory environment.

We have found that both the technical and the regulatory committees must work closely together particularly in areas where technology has an effect on effective core compliance with regulatory policy, he added

Dr. Al-Wohaibi indicated, 'Our mission is to provide vehicles of information, knowledge and collaboration for all of our members to review and respond as they see fit. He added that SAMENA belongs to the members and as such, the members can build a very strong consensus vehicle on very critical mission sensitive activities. Issues that are so impacting such as the engagement of regulatory policy enacted upon the operator and service provider environment, evaluation of escalating economics in the region, conflicting technologies including destructive technologies, are all of interest to the Board and to SAMENA's membership base.

He said, 'I am sure that we at Omantel will gain much from the discussions of the conference.'

Dr. Al-Wohaibi added that SAMENA Board of Directors is taking on the challenge to communicate new creative ideas and concepts to the members of the Council. 'It is our focus to build consensus and to bring forward our ideas, needs, positions and requirements. We, as the Board of Directors, are making an attempt to bring a deeper understanding of the issues that matter to all of us and to address them in a collaborative manner,' he added.

Omantel CEO, Dr. Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Wohaibi, SAMENA Board Chairman said, 'We are proud of our accomplishments to date and are confident of meeting the goals that we have set out to achieve. In fact, the SAMENA Telecommunications Council has only started on its mission. The effort is young and is driven by the members. Our committees have as contributors and members many of the brightest minds in the industry right here in the SAMENA region. We are quite ready to continue building upon this early success and bring real value to the members on a daily basis.'

Dr. Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Wohaibi added, 'The enthusiasm generated by the Council is indeed contagious and we hope that all of you attending today can continue to transmit the energy and objectives of the SAMENA Telecommunications Council to others in our industry. I am quite confident you will be enriched by this conference, and by networking with the delegates, especially as SAMENA Council wished to continue to bring expertise and strong industry knowledge to all of its conferences and training sessions.

SAMENA Telecommunications Council began its meetings last Thursday in Casablanca in the Kingdom of Morocco. Participants discussed several issues of importance to the telecom sector in the countries of the region.