9 Dec 2011

Google to speak at West & Central Africa Com 2012

Google was the first company to confirm their participation as speakers at the 2012 West & Central Africa Com. The event will take place on 13-14 June in Dakar, Senegal, and will look at the new business models, partnerships, services and technologies in the region's market.
As in previous years, the conference will include contributions from the region's leading operators. In addition in 2012, new players will share their views on innovative ways of doing business and reaching customers in the region's telecoms, media and ICT sector.
Lola Masha, New Business Development Manager for West Africa at Google, will join the event to discuss the opportunities in cloud computing services in the region. She is responsible for driving strategic partnerships, exploring new ventures and investment opportunities for Google across the region. She engages closely with mobile telecommunications players, content owners and organizations whose business model aligns well with Google's objectives.
Her contribution will bring a new perspective, and should encourage debates.

More speakers added to the EurasiaCom 2012 programme: Google, Nokia, Telekom Serbia

The programme for the EurasiaCom 2012 event is nearly finalised, and it promises to be even bigger and better than in previous years!
The Eurasia region (from Eastern Europe to the Caspian and Central Asia), has become a leading force for emerging markets. Some of the most dynamic companies and most innovative services are to be seen in the region, seizing the new opportunities in today's converging, digital market.
EurasiaCom 2012 is the best place to discover these new trends and discuss how to generate long-term revenues for the whole sector: operators, ISPs, OTT providers, social media players, investors, broadcasters, apps developers, cloud computing providers etc.
The programme will include representatives of the major companies present in the market. In addition to keynote speakers from Vimpelcom, Turkcell, Turk Telekom and more, and the following speakers have confirmed their participation this week:
- William Kanaan, Head of New Business Development - Middle East & North Africa, Google
- Sasa Lekovic, CTO, Telekom Srbija
- Salih Ozka, Head of EDX team, Nokia Turkey
Keep an eye out for the full programme, to be published soon!

6 Dec 2011

Gameloft confirmed to speak at North Africa Com 2012, representing a content provider's perspective

Sébastien Givry of mobile games publisher Gameloft has confirmed his participation as speaker at North Africa Com, the annual telecoms, media & ICT event taking place in Tunis on 13-14 May 2012.
Sébastien's presentation will look at global trends in mobile content and multimedia consumption, the specificities of the mobile content market in North Africa, and the mobile gaming market.
Gameloft is the #2 world developer of mobile games with published revenues of €141 million in 2010, expanding its activities in all electronically distributed formats as IPTV and consoles. Through its partnerships and distribution channels, Gameloft is serving its game to over 3 billion consumers.
As Sales Director, Sébastien is in charge of developing Gameloft’s presence and overall turnover in 31 countries. Over the past 7 years Sebastien has been with Gameloft, he has gained an expertise in mobile content from the distribution of Gameloft’s games through various channels, the implementation of in-house turn-key eCommerce solutions, and the promotion of games through social networks and more traditional channels. Sebastien is also involved in the implementation of Gameloft’s IPTV gaming solutions as well as partnerships with manufacturers in the Region.

North Africa Com 2012 programme being confirmed - Get involved!

The North Africa region is experiencing exceptional socio-economic change. As the world is going through a digital revolution, now is a great time to look at the new opportunities and challenges affecting all players in the telecoms, media and ICT sector in the region.

The 8th North Africa Com conference and exhibition will take place in Tunis on 15-16 May 2012. The event will bring together companies from the whole digital ecosystem (operators, OTT players, content providers, regulators, investors, vendors etc.) to discuss all the key trends affecting the market.

The following themes have been pre-selected to be part of the programme:
- How Telcos Are Adapting to a New Digital Environment
- Making Sense of the New Digital Ecosystem: Traditional Telcos, Alternative Service Providers, New Media, Disruptive Players
- Content & Apps: Innovative Applications and New Solutions to Increase Revenues
- Mobile Broadband & LTE Developments
- Smartphone Strategies to Encourage Data Usage and Increase Revenues
- Evolving Regulations to Facilitate Greater Market Development
- Delivering Excellence in Customer Experience Management

As the programme is being developed, now is you chance to send suggestions for topics and speaking proposals. Please contact Julie Rey on julie.rey@informa.com for more information.

5 Dec 2011

OTT PROVIDERS DEFINE THE FUTURE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST


Last week’s Middle East Telco World Summit in Dubai was a buzzy affair with over 1,400 executives drawn from the entire Middle Eastern telecoms ecosystem in attendance.

Reflecting the changing landscape of the telecoms industry, the keynote panel discussion questioned “How are OTT Providers Disrupting the Operator Business Model?”. CEOs and Vice Presidents from operators and OTT providers debated the next step in competition or collaboration to maximise the potential of OTT service provision for all parties.

A packed conference room heard the views of Google’s Vice President Emerging Markets , Mohammad Gawdat, Ahmed Nassef, VP and Managing Director Middle East Yahoo!, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, Nawras’ CEO Ross Cormack, Khalifa Al-Fora SVP Technology and Network Strategy, Etisalat, Medhat Amer, CIO Mobily , Andrew Hanna, CCO VIVA Bahrain, Jigar Budhdev, General Manager MENA, Nimbuzz and Areeba Areeba’s CEO Ayman Irshaid.

Delegates were invited to join the launch of a report by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. . With the growth of the mobile tech industry comes opportunity. It makes social & economic sense to include women and the report, prepared by the Foundation in collaboration with STC, provides an in-depth study on the opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the mobile industry report provided an in-depth study of the opportunities available.


The 2nd day focus on LTE highlighted the region’s recent commercial launches. Case studies from Etisalat, du and STC demonstrated the reality of LTE, the impact on the consumer experience and the challenges and opportunities that remain for the operator.


The country focus sessions enabled delegates to gain a deeper understanding of the highlighted markets. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan/Afghanistan were examined in detail with keynote presentations and panel discussions drawing out the successes and opportunities in each market.

The summit concluded, as it opened, with a panel discussion on OTT – this debate asking “Should OTT Players Pay for their Data?” With representation from the vendor, operator and OTT communities the lively discussion was a fitting end to a conference that demonstrated the need for operators to adapt to the changing communications world.