Growth strategies in the Middle East telecom landscape (page 2 of 2)

Drivers for convergence within the Telecom industry include the drive to simplify sales and management process and fend off competition, while creating new revenue streams.

In the Telecom and Finance sectors, telecom players are increasingly looking to counter declining average revenues per user (ARPU) and banks are seeking to capture some telecom revenues.

Drivers of convergence in the Telecom and Media segments include telecom operators seeing their offering being commoditized, while facing increased competition on media and a drop in advertising prices.

"These drivers can eventually result in sophisticated services that will benefit each of the participating players," commented Hasbani. In Finance, M- and E-commerce and micropayments are among the offerings; in Telecom, fixed-mobile convergence, VOIP and video conferencing are among the corollaries; and in Media; IPTV, mobile TV, video on demand, mobile content and advertising will all work to the benefit of operators.

In order to grow effectively, telecom players must get ready to take advantage of the emerging business models that aim at capturing the end consumer interface and rely on an interdependent mix of players across sectors.

In an emerging business model for the telecom and related sectors, mobile; at home voice services; broadband both at home and at work; and video, TV and cable will form the basis of these diversified services.

"Having the right infrastructure in place, providing a diversified range of products and services and a unique customer interface with applications that properly address the needs of content and advertising, will therefore be the integrant factors that will enable telecom players in the Middle East to grow," Hasbani concluded.