Middle East and Africa telecom CEOs in search of growth areas as global mobiles head for six billion by 2013
The leaders of the top telecommunication companies and regulators in the Middle East and Africa are to gather in the United Arab Emirates in May for a special summit on the global and regional challenges facing the industry.
They will be taking part in the Telecoms Leaders Roundtable Summit for Chief Executive Officers on the opening day of the Middle East Communications (MECOM) exhibition and conference from 25-27 May 2009 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
"In spite of the global economic slowdown, mobile phone connections are expected to rise 50% to six billion by 2013 from the current four billion, according to the GSM Association," said Ed Malkoun, Group Exhibition Director of IIR Middle East, the organisers of MECOM 2009.
"Growth is driven primarily by the integration of mobile into previously unconnected devices and increasing subscribers in emerging markets in which many Middle East operators have made significant investments through partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. The Middle East and Africa also remain dynamic in terms of telecommunications business opportunities," he added.
"The Telecoms Leaders CEO Roundtable Summit has been designed as a high level event at which key decision makers will discuss global growth strategies, which markets are the most attractive and the telecommunications landscape globally and regionally."
A growing list of chief executives or their equivalents of leading telecom companies and regulators have confirmed their attendance at the Roundtable Summit. Among them are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, India, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Kuwait and Egypt. The industry names include Du, Vodafone, Yahsat, Nawras, Majan, STC, Mobily, Orange, Omantel, Mobitel, Warid Telecom, MTN, the Arab League of Regulators, and the GSM Association.
Industry decision makers will also be taking part in the Connect Strategic Telecoms Summit on 26 and 27 May 2009 which also runs alongside the MECOM exhibition.
"We have worked hard to create an event that will bring industry leaders and telecoms experts together for discussion and networking at the Connect summit," said Malkoun. "For example, Werner Vogels, Vice-President of amazon.com, will make his first appearance in the Middle East, with a visionary overview of Web 2.0 meeting Telco 2.0."
MECOM brings together many of the region’s operators and service providers presenting the largest platform for multi-million dollar deals and partnerships throughout the region.
The showcase is the only dedicated communications for enterprise trade show for Telecoms Operators, Service Providers and Vendors to do business with their customers.
Last year MECOM attracted 5,640 business-to-business visitors from 49 countries. The organisers say they are expecting even greater attendance this year.
For more information log on to www.mecomexpo.com
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