Third annual ARNET meeting highlights need for telecom liberalization and transparency in Arab region

The meeting witnessed the United Arab Emirates assume ARNET presidency for 2006, taking over from 2005 president Egypt.

The three-day annual meeting included representatives from the telecommunications regulatory bodies of over 13 Arab countries, the permanent secretariat for ARNET, the Arab Regional office of the International Telecommunication Union and the Arab Business Forum for Information and Communication Technology in addition to a host of supervisors and representatives from regional service providers.

The third ARNET meeting hosted a series of workshops and presentations addressing pertinent information communication technology (ICT) issues such as the potential of Voice over IP, the importance of increasing competition in the telecommunications industry to achieve market liberalization, and the necessity for procedural transparency by service providers to increase confidence and goodwill. The meeting also reviewed previous ARNET achievements, recommendations and objectives and renewed commitment to its strategic developmental and socio-economic goals.

A central tenet of the ARNET meeting proceedings was the importance of implementing directives generated by the Council of Arab Telecommunications and Information Ministers. The Ministerial Council had emphasized the issue of transparency, particularly in regard to roaming and call transferring within the Arab region. The ARNET congregation agreed to compile a detailed study on the issue, and stressed the role of individual regulatory bodies in pressurizing their respective operators to co-operate with survey studies and provide necessary information within 3 months from the meeting date.

The ARNET meeting also agreed to further a cohesive system of corporate regulation, lay down a general framework of policy regulations and technical standards for operators to follow, and develop a comprehensive plan for human capital development and expertise interchange.

Mohammad Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of TRA in the UAE, said,

'Information and Communication Technologies play a key role in promulgating competence and disseminating information in the new global economy, and the TRA aims to further the vibrancy of the regional telecommunications industry and ensure equitable access to all society sectors in order to catalyze economic prosperity and keep on par with international progress.'

The 12 member ARNET, founded in Algiers in 2003, is an independent network that supports capacity building for telecommunications regulatory bodies in the Arab world. A key aim of the network is to build on shared experiences and disseminate expertise to facilitate telecom service growth and achieve equal access to enabling information services across the Arab region.

'The 2006 ARNET meeting served as a powerful forum for the exchange of opinions and dissemination of best practices and emerged as a powerful platform for increasing the quality of regional ICT services. I extend my thanks to all participants, delegates and event organizers for their combined efforts, and also thank the Arab regional office for their help in arranging a highly successful first-day workshop. We are committed to furthering ARNET goals in providing premier ICT services within the region, and hope that our year of presidency is extremely fruitful in terms of regional growth and telecommunications progress,' Al Ghanim concluded.