Wataniya Telecom To Host GSM Arab World Meeting

08/04/2014 08:20 AST

Wataniya Telecom, member of Ooredoo Group, announced it will be hosting the 39th GSM Arab World annual meeting, due to take place in Kuwait at the Sheraton Hotel, from the 14th to the15th April, 2014. The move represents Wataniya’s firm belief in supporting the organizations ongoing efforts to drive telecoms development and innovation in the area. The eventis set to bring together leading representatives from across the telecom industry to discuss the future of mobile services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Eng Abdulaziz Fakhroo, GM & CEO of Wataniya Telecom and former chairman of GSM Arab World, commented: “Wataniya Telecom is pleased to host such an event in Kuwait for the second time. Back in December 2006, Wataniya hosted the 31st GSMAW meeting. Today, we are honored to host the 39th meeting as part of our commitment to bring the mobile ecosystem together from various representatives from the telecom sector aimed at adding value to our Arab region”.

Fakhroo added “The region is a diverse and exciting market. The meeting always provides an excellent forum for the telecom industry in the Arab world to come together, share ideas and debate the future of mobile communications in the region. The GSMAW will provide valuable insight into how telecoms organizations can react and adapt to the future challenges and opportunities this changing market will carry along the way.” “The event is an excellent opportunity for operators to meet with each other and with our partners from the Arab world, shedding light upon the new horizons, the latest developments as well as the recent challenges in the dynamic world of telecommunications.” Fakhroo concluded.

Ziad Al-Hassoun, Chairman of the GSMAW, said “We are delighted that Wataniya Telecom will host the 39th GSM Arab World meeting. Wataniya’s support and participation in regional events is acknowledged and appreciated. In this meeting, experts from the Arab operators and the GSM Association will speak and participate in panel discussions”. The GSMAW is one of the GSM Association’s six Regional Interest Groups (RIGs) in which the mobile industry can address issues relevant to particular geographies.

Al-Hassoun added “Our goal in this meeting is to stand together as Arab operators and members of the telecom sector to discuss our industry’s future challenges, and to debate the right approach to overcome these challenges.” The MENA market comprises a mixture of high-income countries with relatively mature telecoms markets, and countries that are experiencing strong growth. While mobile voice services continue to be an important revenue stream, in recent years, operators have been shifting their strategies to focus on driving demand for mobile data services. Some of the key focuses at GSM Arab World #39 will be the LTE Roaming, the regulatory landscape in the Arab States as well as identifying opportunities for social and economic impact and stimulate the development of scalable, life-enhancing mobile services like mHealth and mMoney.

Arab Times