The 11th annual Arabcom telecom summit is expected to draw telecom ministers, regional operators, carriers, and more than 500 international delegates.

Arabcom 2009 will be held under the patronage of the Minister of Telecom in Lebanon, Gibran Bassil on May 28 and 29 at the Habtoor Grand Hotel in Beirut.

With the theme is 'Broadband and beyond - Strategic partnership for growth in the region,' Arabcom aims to provide a comprehensive review of the region’s telecommunications industry as well as help in laying out a strategic roadmap for its future development, said orgnisers Abrabcom group.

“The conference comes at a time when the telecom industry is poised for a 'healthy rebound' thanks to growing use of broadband and wireless,” said Katia Tayar, founder and president of Arabcom group.

It's boom time for the telecom sector in the Arab world, Tayar said, especially with the ICT and mobile penetration rates at an all-time high.

With a 300 million population in 22 countries, the region is witnessing strong growth in telecom subscriber numbers and also rising competition.

“The information and communication technology penetration has reached five per cent in many cases and 150 per cent in some others, which makes the Telecom and ICT a huge promising growing field,” Tayar pointed out.

“Lebanon mobile telecom penetration has reached 28 per cent of the population with just two operators,” she added.

The region is under pressure to deliver quality telecom and ICT services especially with the introduction of new licenses and regulations, Tayar noted.

With the launch of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Lebanon in 2007 the sector started witnessing a promising future. The TRA is set to privatise and liberalise the market and soon introduce new telecom services, as well as sell new licences in several fields.

Key issues

Arabcom, will spotlight issues that are key to the development of the telecom sector and discuss the latest technologies, business models, network deployment and case studies.

The summit helps exhibitors to meet clients, partners and prospects face to face, shorten the sales process and generate more leads and reach the right decision makers.

“No other event can provide so many potential clients in one place,” Tayar said.

The Arab telecom ministers annual meeting will also be held in parallel with Arabcom 2009 on May 28 and 29.

Developing sustainable solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in the Arab world, telecommunications and corporate responsibility strategies, gaining a strong position in the global market and successful launch of operations both regionally and globally are the issues the conference will touch upon, Tayar noted. – TradeArabia News Service