The South Asia, Middle East, North Africa region (Samena) Telecommunication Council discussed the importance of convergence and the significant impact of digitisation on the industry at a conference in Oman that concluded today (December 5).

The two-day conference, entitled “Convergence to Oman 2013,” held under the patronage of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority Oman was attended by industry experts and market leaders.

CEO Bocar A BA emphasised the need for the industry to collectively take the lead and collaborate to drive innovation, widen the horizons to look at the big picture to ensure that all spheres of the industry are analysed, explored and tapped to identify a clear road map for progress.

In his comments, Dr Hamad Salim Al Rawahi, the executive president of TRA Oman, stated that the telecom sector was facing a number of challenges driven by an explosive growth in broadband applications and services and resultant demand for bandwidth.

"Regulatory frameworks also need to be reviewed and reoriented to facilitate emerging business models and changing consumer behaviour,” said Dr Al Rawahi.

Bocar said: “The recent trends in the industry emphasise the importance of integration of various technological strands to deliver innovative solutions."

“The need of the hour is to collaborate to create a knowledge intensive pool to develop a more informed and innovative industry direction,” he added.

The main topics at the event included convergence of regulations / next-generation ICT policies - cornerstone of digital ecosystem; international roaming rates: regional exchange and agreements to achieve quality excellence and maximise efficiency; building an efficient strategic M2M ecosystem; cyber security: role of governments and operators in ensuring secure and stable ICT network, services and applications; and spectrum harmonisation: wider coverage - cost efficiency - affordable handsets. - TradeArabia News Service