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Mohammed Omran,Chairman of Etisalathas participated in the ArabAdvisors Group’s 8th Mediaand Telecoms Convergence conferencewhich took place underthe patronage of HRH PrincessSumaya bint El Hassan, Presidentof El Hassan Science Cityand the Royal Scientific Societyin Amman this week. Here hecontributed to the keynotepanel discussion on the “Stateof the Industry – Reflections of2010-11 and beyond”.In his speech, Omran saidthat: “2010 was a challengingyear for everyone, althoughgrowth was still apparent inthe telecoms and technologyindustries. This indicates thatour sector has resilience and isstill performing strongly. This isbeing driven by the success ofInternet services which are fuellingdemand for capacity andthe need to develop networksto accommodate increasingContd. from page 39focus on enabling the regulatoryenvironment to embraceconvergence through the currentrevision of the governmentstatement of public policy thisyear.”“The 2011 edition of the convergenceconference is effectivelya post-convergence conference.Convergence has already happenedwhere the media andtelecom industries have movedfrom having un-shared certaintiesto shared uncertainties inthat the new business modelsare still developing in the contextof blurring lines betweenhitherto distinct verticals.” Mr.Jawad J. Abbassi, Arab Advisorsconsumption.”He predicted: “In the comingperiod we will witness a seriesof mergers involving smalland medium-sized operatorswhich may transform them intopowerful regional competitors.This is especially likely aspenetration rates are very highin some markets which is limitinggrowth opportunities in theregion.”Omran continued saying: “Theevolution of technology andthe introduction of advancedservices is happening soquickly that mobile phonesFounder and General Managersaid. “The Arab Advisors Groupis very pleased to have the continuedsupport of HRH PrincessSumaya Bint Al Hassan, whichunderscores the importance sheplaces on advancing the TMTindustries in Jordan and theMENA region at large.” Mr. Abbassiadded. “The Arab AdvisorsMedia and Telecoms ConvergenceConference has becomethe primary annual event forbringing together the media andtelecoms industries as evidencedby the strong support from thesponsors and the level and numbersof attendees” Mr. Abbassinoted.have become more than justdevices for making calls. Theyare developing into increasinglypowerful mobile computersthat can be taken anywhereand which enable Internetbrowsing and access to sophisticatedservices at any time.”He added: “Convergence betweentelecommunications andthe media is therefore inevitableand is resulting in a leap indemand for data and content.We see a doubling in the sizeof the market and this willcreate a major challenge forour industry as we search for anew economic model that willsupport a sustainable futurefor the Internet and communications.”Mohammed Omran said: “Etisalathas great experience inintroducing technologies andprovisioning services and hasplayed a great role in meetingthe needs of customers.This has been proven timeMost Arab countries openedup their markets for multipleplayers, greatly enhancingcompetition and increasing thenumber and quality of services.By May 2011, 14 out of 19 Arabcountries had fully competitivecellular markets, with the exceptionof Lebanon, Libya, Syria,Qatar and the UAE- which hadcellular duopolies. Fixed serviceslag, however, with only fourcountries having competitivefixed telephony markets. Moreover,14 countries had competitiveInternet markets and only 4countries had duopoly Internetmarkets.On the broadcast media front,Teletimes ReportEtisalat Participates in the Arab Advisors Group’s8th Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference“A new and innovative economic model is required for the development of the sector involvingtelecoms companies, content providers and application developers”and again whether throughour next-generation fiberopticfixed-line network, or 4Gwireless broadband infrastructures.”Etisalat’s chairman concluded:“Etisalat is investing billionsof dollars to establish fiberopticinfrastructure in the UAEto meet the growing demandfor data traffic and especiallyvideo services. This will ensurethat the UAE is the world’s firstfully fiber-connected country.We will also continue to rollout our mobile infrastructureand international networkswhich have helped transformthe UAE into the regional hubfor the Internet.”The Arab Advisor Group’sMedia and Telecoms Convergenceconference aims to shedlight on the post-convergenceera. Hundreds of leading figuresfrom the telecoms sectorparticipated in the conferencethis year. Tthe number of Free to Air (FTA)satellite channels in the ArabWorld continues to grow andreached 538 FTA channels byApril 2011. The FTA landscapehas grown by 438% betweenJanuary 2004 and April 2011.The main sponsor of the 8thMedia and Telecoms ConvergenceConference was Zain. Theannual conference also receivedthe support and sponsorships ofQualcomm, ARABSAT, Motorola,Umniah, Ericsson, Orangeand Oracle. Teletimes Internationalwas the media partner to8th Annual Media and TelecomsConvergence Conference. T40 www.teletimesinternational.com15Jun - 14Jul 2011