With the number of mobile subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa rapidly increasing, the 9th GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa conference and exhibition scheduled for Oct. 5-6, 2004, at the JW Marriott Hotel, Dubai is expected to be an important event. Representatives from telecom operators in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen will be in attendance.
Endorsed by the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and sponsored by leading GSM technology providers, including Huawei Technologies, Ericsson, Siemens Mobile, Convergys, LogicaCMG, Metrica, Gemplus, Intext Telecom Systems and Giesecke & Devrient, the GSM in the ME, Gulf and North Africa exhibition will demonstrate the latest in GSM technology, services and solutions.
“Participants will have the opportunity to catch up on critical global and regional GSM trends through a conference program of operator case studies covering all the critical business, strategy and technical issues facing the region,” said Fiona Loud, marketing manager, IBC Global Conferences, the conference organizer.
The interest shown in GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa is indicative of the region’s GSM potential and its proven record of rapid growth. Mobile subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa grew to 38.8 million at the end of 2003, an increase of 40.1% on 2002. This figure is forecast to rise to 51.9 million by the end of 2004, fueled in particular by rapid subscriber growth in the North African markets of Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria.
In addition, there are exciting developments in particular markets that promise sustained high rates of growth in the region. 2004 has so far witnessed the liberalization of the Iranian and Saudi Arabian markets. Combined with prospective new GSM operators in Yemen, Jordan and Oman, subscriber numbers are forecast to grow by 34.3% in the region in 2005.
2004 has also seen the launch of the region’s first 3G networks by MTC-Vodafone Bahrain and the UAE’s Etisalat, with Q-Tel due to launch 3G in Qatar in late 2005. EMC forecasts 38,500 3G subscribers in the region by the end of 2004, with cheaper and more attractive handsets and the further introduction of 3G services spurring continuing subscriber growth.
