Growth in GSM multimedia networks in the Middle East boost Arabic infotainment and entertainment sectors

According to industry expert Bashar Dahabra, General Manager and Founder of Info2cell.com, the leading wireless application service provider and multimedia service integrator in the Middle East, the multimedia services market is poised for rapid growth over the next few years. This trend has been further bolstered by the entry of Arabic-enabled mobile phones and PDAs, capable of supporting GPRS and 3G.

Dahabra will provide insights into the growth opportunities for Arabic content service providers at the forthcoming CONNECT - The International Telecoms Summit, to be held from May 30 to June 2, 2004 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai, along with nineteen other regional and international telecommunications technology experts.

Drawing on his extensive experience in the GSM content provision market, Dahabra will deliver a paper on "Arabic Infotainment and Entertainment Goes Mobile - Exploring the Challenges of Offering High Quality Localised Content." At CONNECT, Dahabra will detail the "value of offering localised, Arabic content". He will also provide answers to questions such as "what kind of content is likely to become successful in this part of the world?" His paper will initiate a dialogue on relevant topics that include "The impact of Arabic services on subscriptions", "How Arabic services effect other services" and the "Major challenges to resolving Arabic service issues with the implementation of GPRS and multimedia services."

"The fact that the Middle East is one of the foremost regions to experience strong growth in the mobile telecommunications industry is evidenced by the widespread launch of GPRS, and more recently, 3G networks by telecom operators in the region. This growth is complemented by content providers competing to offer better and more innovative content," said Dahabra.

"While MMS services were an instant success in the Middle East, after they were launched in 2003, content was initially limited to English. However, the speed with which service providers introduced Arabic language programmes has led to the increased adoption of MMS services by the region's large Arabic speaking population. For example, Info2cell saw a leap in subscriptions during the recent Formula One event in Bahrain where results were relayed live to subscribers via MMS. We have also seen an increase in subscription of other Arabic language services such as MMS breaking news, MMS greeting cards, MMS horoscopes and MMS cartoons," stated Dahabra.

"The Middle East region is experiencing a definite boom in the telecoms sector, and CONNECT has been conceptualised to highlight the several growth opportunities for telecoms operators and other allied players, such as content providers, in the industry. As more operators in the region launch 3G networks, enabling quicker live video streaming, it may not be long before mainstream Arabic television programmes are relayed and exchanged via mobile phones. By participating at CONNECT, existing content providers as well as potential players, looking at entering this market will have a chance to exchange knowledge and prepare for the challenges ahead, by listening to well-known experts in the field share their own experiences and insights," said Sabine Enthammer, Executive Director, IIR Middle East.

Favourable indicators for growth of the Arabic language content services sector include the fact that the market for mobile phones and PDAs is multiplying in the Middle East, as proven by recent research which indicates that the number of mobile phone users in the region overwhelmingly outnumbers fixed land-line subscribers. The research states that there were more than 30 million mobile phone subscribers in the Arab world, at the end of 2003 and the growth rate for the whole year was 48 per cent.

"The mobile phone is emerging as a popular tool for receiving information and entertainment among end-users, owing to its portability and anytime access features. Info2cell.com was among the first to realise the potential for raising revenues by introducing new methods of relaying information and entertainment over the mobile device. Last year during the Iraq war, we offered over 100,000 subscribers the latest alerts through short message service (SMS). However, following the introduction of MMS, the growing demand for more realistic and enriched content has prompted Info2cell.com to offer a range of Mass Market Content services that can easily be received by mobile terminals or PDAs. This was crowned by the launch of the first MMS push alert service, which provided coverage of the fast paced Formula One racing event. The service was coordinated and launched with the first F1 race in the Middle East in April in the Kingdom of Bahrain," explained Dahabra.

Info2cell.com's WASP (Wireless Application Service Provider) platform in DIC (Dubai Internet City) provides potential access to 7 million mobile phone users through a data connection with nine mobile operators in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Egypt.