While the development and growth of the telecommunications and ICT industry has been tremendous over the years, the emergence of next generation technologies and new ICT policies has resulted in a number of discussions revolving around the need for harmonized national ICT policies in the SAMENA region. Against the backdrop of this need for policies that will help with the ICT industry's development and progress in the region, SAMENA Telecommunications Council, the tri-regional telecommunications consortium will convene some of the industry leading CEO's, experts and decision makers at its annual "Beyond Connectivity 2012" conference from April 3rd-4th in Muscat, Oman.
Highlighting the theme 'Harmonized Policy - An Enabler for Digital Economy Growth?' for this year's conference, Thomas Wilson, CEO and Executive Director of SAMENA Telecommunications Council said, "Harmonized national ICT Policies are fast becoming a major issue in the SAMENA region, and will be a major component in its continued development and growth. A delicate balance is needed between such policies and the changing trends in the convergent world, which we hope will enable a competitive business environment among operators and service providers."
Bocar A. Ba, President of SAMENA Telecommunications Council further added, "We strongly believe that there is a need for a collaborative approach on numerous issues such as Spectrum Harmonization, DD (Digital Dividends), Infrastructure Sharing, Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), Public Private Partnership (PPP) and International Roaming Rates, which advocate that region-wide harmonized ICT policies and ITRs be devised and implemented to help further boost industry growth."
The two day event begins with a discussion on International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) and the need for unified ICT policies, along with how policies and regulations can be a major tool to boost broadband proliferation. Day one concludes with a discussion on how the future of the content industry compliments the demand for local content.
The highlight of the second day of the conference is the "CEO Live Session" which will provide insight into the leadership, thoughts and visions of telecoms leaders in the region, who will have the opportunity to interact and discuss with participants the future of the telecommunications industry, exploring topics related to intensifying competition and future strategies and technologies that need to be adopted, along with investments required for building next generation high-speed networks. The conference will continue with a discussion on open access LTE (Long Term Evolution) Schemes and the future of 4G, digital dividends and its value for telecommunications. "Beyond Connectivity 2012" will conclude with the important issue of net neutrality in the region.
Interested participants are encouraged to register for Beyond Connectivity 2012 by visiting www.samenacouncil.org.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Farah Ibrahim
Quelle/Source: Zawya, 25.03.2012
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