E-marine, a major provider of submarine cable solutions in the Middle East, will host the next edition of SubOptic, the largest global conference for the submarine cable industry, in Dubai in a first for the region.

The announcement was made last night during the recently held closing ceremony of SubOptic 2013, and will see the event arrive in the Middle East region during late 2015 or 2016.

As one of the highlights on the submarine cable industry calendar, the event is held every three years ‘by the industry, for the industry’. It attracts between 600 and 700 attendees from over 200 organisations that span cable and component manufacturers, network and system capacity purchasers, business analysts, regulators, financiers and investors.

In recent years, the Middle East region has seen an influx in the construction and announcement of new submarine cable systems and competing terrestrial systems and the total demand for international capacity from the Gulf countries has shown significant growth.

The main drivers of this surge in activity are an increase of broadband penetration and availability, mobile penetration, and an increase in digital content consumption and emergence of local content.

Omar Jassim Bin Kalban, managing director and chief executive officer of E-marine, said: “As an organization that has helped to pioneer the development of the Middle East’s subsea cable infrastructure, we are excited to bring this global event to the region.”

“The event will have a strong focus on the future of the industry and we will hear the latest trends and strategies from experts around the world. As with any rapidly changing industry, it is critical for telecom wholesalers, service providers and support services to be aware of and prepared for fluctuating business drivers that can impact their business.

“We are confident that Dubai, as a leading conference and exhibitions destination will offer the perfect platform for the ninth edition of SubOptic,” he added.

Fiona Beck, president of SubOptic, said: “This will be the first time that SubOptic has ever been taken place outside of Europe, Japan or the US in its more than 25 years of existence and where better than an exciting global city such as Dubai.

“The excellent international flight connections and hospitality infrastructure make it the ideal place to discuss and promote the submarine cable industry, against a backdrop of significant growth expected in Middle East capacity over the coming years.” – TradeArabia News Service