Cairo to host North Africa Com Conference and Exhibition

The conference and exhibition is expecting to welcome 850+ attendees through its doors, a record number. The region's largest telecommunications event will take place on the 14th and the 15th of October at the JW Marriott hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

North Africa Com 2008 will welcome 14 C-level operator representatives, with the following industry leaders from the North Africa region:

- Eng. Haitham Abdul Razzak, CTO, Etisalat Misr, Egypt
- Mohamed Elmandjra, CEO, Meditel, Morocco
- Guillaume Van Gaver, VP Commercial, Mobinil, Egypt
- Karim Zaz, Chairman, Wana, Morocco
- Ahmed Khaouja, Director of Competition and Operator Relations, ANRT [Agence National de Règlementation des Télécommunications], Morocco
- Naoufel Kahloul, CEO, Mediatel, Tunisia
- Ahmed Abou Doma, Marketing Director, Mobinil, Egypt
- Eric Kerboriou, Marketing Director, Tunisiana
- Mohamed Bouhelal, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Canar Telecom Sudan
- Khaled Rabie, Country Director, Nokia Siemens Networks Egypt
- Ramy Iskander, Vice President Networks, Market Unit North Africa, Ericsson

Over 850 senior level representatives from the region's mobile and fixed-line operators, Internet Service Providers, regulators, investors, telecoms solution vendors, content providers are expected to take part of the event. Do not miss the opportunity to meet, learn, and network with them.

Nasreddine Mana, Informa Telecoms & Media's analyst, said:

"The region is set to become a springboard for further investment, driven by a low penetration rate and a population estimated to reach 230 million by the end of 2012."

North Africa is Africa's largest market in terms of mobile subscriptions and has become in recent years an attractive destination for investors. Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that North Africa will have 167 million mobile subscriptions by the end of 2012 with market penetration approaching 70%. These forecasts indicate 55% growth over the next five years.

Comprising Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, the region had 102 million subscriptions at end-2007, but penetration remains low at just below 50%.

The North Africa Com event is part of Informa Telecoms & Media's Com World Series, the most established annual suite of 12 telecommunication conferences and exhibitions focussing on emerging, high growth markets.

"The event provides a distinct meeting point for mobile, fixed and integrated telecoms service providers and their suppliers working in, or looking to be part of the market,"

said Louisa Rogers, Marketing Director at Informa Telecoms and Media.

The 2 day, strategic conference is designed to deliver market insight, practical solutions and best practice benchmarks that are transferrable back in the office so participants can grow their business. The agenda is a mixture of presentations, case studies, interactive panel sessions and Q&A slots. Alongside the conference sits a 70 stand market style exhibition showcasing the leading international vendors and their newest solutions and technologies.

North Africa Com is sponsored by the world's leading telecommunication providers, including Etisalat, Huawei Technologies, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and Altobridge.

"The conference and exhibition are ideal platforms for interaction between the leading network vendors, software developers and operators from outside the region and those within it," Rogers said. "Networking is at the core of the event. We schedule longer lunch and coffee breaks, speed networking sessions, after hours networking drinks and online networking to ensure you meet the people most important to your business success."