RIYADH, 29 February 2004 — With the advanced high-tech developments in the field of telecommunication, telephone users have been given a wide range of options in products and services by various companies participating at the Riyadh International Communications and IT Conference which begins today. The multibillion dollar expansion of the communication and IT industry has evoked global interest in the Kingdom’s market. The total number of fixed lines is now estimated at four million, while mobile lines have increased to seven million besides the 1.5 million Internet users in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom also plans to have an additional 1.5 million digital lines, 500,000-line expansion of the GSM network, wireless local loop systems and long-haul fiber optic connections.
Within a short span of time Saudi Telecom Company was able to build an information network which is considered to be one of the largest and most advanced. It is the leader in the high-growth sector and deemed to be the live wire of the communication industry. “More than 23,000 employees work at STC in all engineering, administrative and technical disciplines. Saudis account for 87 percent of its staff,“ says STC President Khalid ibn Abdullah Al-Mulhem. The STC also seeks to strengthen the Saudi economy by contracting most of its projects to Saudi companies and establishments. STC procures most of its supplies such as cables, communications, equipment and other needs from within the Kingdom.
Ericsson claims that 40 percent of all mobile phone calls are made through its systems throughout the globe. It is the only supplier to all 2G and 3G mobile standards for the next generation of mobile networks.
Convergence of phone calls, Internet and multimedia means that sophisticated multi-service networks would be needed to accommodate the new demands. Ericsson has created these solutions for operators of both fixed lines and mobile services that allow transition from circuit to packet services. Its microwave and optical solutions are an important part of the 3G offering.
Siemens offers some of the world’s most successful technologies and its annual business turnover remains at 7.1 billion euros. Its products include global integration of voice, data video across networks of all types, the telephone network and Internet. A total of 265 million people around the world use its integrated digital switching systems. Alcatel provided end-to-end communications, solutions, enabling carriers, service providers and business to deliver content of voice, data or multimedia. The demand for more end user services is fueled by the explosion of broadband. Its volume of data is growing steadily and generates increase in traffic much of it relies on the wide use of DSL technologies where Alcatel is the leader. Last year, Nokia’s sales have reached $36.2 billion. It has become a global communication giant in the communications field. Although the company is well-known for its mobile phones, its product line is much more advanced with a sizable amount of its business related technologies such as data management, web services, mobile messaging and multimedia messaging technologies.
At the ongoing conference, Microsoft is introducing its corporate and government user base with its specialized offerings of products and services that seamlessly combine information and communication technologies.
Microsoft’s Exchange Conferencing Servers are designed to improve productivity for teams that collaborate either intranet or the Internet. Data conferencing, audio and video conferencing, schedule management, public folders and outlook e-mail services.
