Telecom and media leaders stress convergence critical for regional communications future

The two-day conference held under the Patronage of Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi Minister of Information and Communications Technology, saw the participation of over 300 regional media and telecom leaders.

In the opening session His Excellency Dr. Zu'bi said that the future of telecommunication is in converging with media, highlighting that currently there is a competition between telecom operators in providing advanced voice and data services. He added that although the region faces challenges, leaders are learning how to best benefit from the convergence of media and telecommunication that has the potential to transform communications services in the region.

"I believe that the convergence of telecom and media is underway, as nowadays they are considered a unique and vital sectors, as they target all segments of community and at the same time play a key role in the development of these communities." Said Jawad Abbasi, president and founder of Arab Advisors Group. " During the two days participants discussed the future of these sectors and the positive outcome from the convergence of these sectors. Moreover setting the methods in further enhancing the adoption of mobile multimedia services based on providing persuasive data content was also fully discussed."

The conference also shed the light on the importance of content development in the Arab world and the crucial role which media could play in driving users to adopt multimedia services. The conference called on operators to further spread awareness between users on the role of advanced mobile services, which will lead into gaining more revenues.

" I believe there is a need to hold similar conferences in the region," said Sulieman Al Shuneifi, marketing manager of SMS at Saudi Telecom. "The telecom markets in the Arab world are alike, and such conferences enable us to share our expertise and learn from each other, in addition to paving the path for new means of cooperation between operators. I would like to call on all Arab operators to participate in such conferences in order to further enhance our capabilities."

In a bid to further promote the necessity of converging these sectors, an exhibition was held on the sidelines of the conference. A number of telecom and media organisations showcased their latest services and offerings.

"The convergence of telecom and media is essential," said Ziad Al Masri, Mobile Data Services Manager at Fastlink. "The conference enabled us to share expertise and discuss the opportunities which are created by the phenomenal advancements achieved in the ICT sector in the Arab world. Fastlink has been well known for being a leader in providing state-of-art- services, we have taken into consideration the important role of media and our customers are currently experiencing advanced multi media services."

The main sponsors of the event were MTC the Kuwaiti Mobile Telecommunications Company and Fastlink, the leading GSM operator in the Kingdom. The conference is also sponsored by Xpress, Jordan Telecom, Maktoob, CNBC Arabia, Orbit, Axiom Telecom, Nafes and Spot On Public Relations.