Arab Advisors Group reveals Bahrain’s communications connectivity leading the region

Bahrain’s position as a regional leader in telecommunications was confirmed by the Arab Advisors Group at the 5th Annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference.

Using the Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM), the Group revealed the groundbreaking progress made by Bahrain which has led to the impressive score of 210.4% connectivity per person - dwarfing the regional average of 135.37%.

Bahrain - which has a reputation for leading ICT in the region - was rated above its fellow GCC states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. The Kingdom’s success in connectivity owes much to the recent growth in fixed telephone lines and the internet as well as the traditional source of growth in connectivity, increases in cellular phones. Both reflect the liberalisation policies introduced by the government in 2002 designed to increase competition and choice in the Kingdom’s ICT market.

Since its establishment in 2002 the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which follows international best practices, has issued 152 licences as of December 2007, eight of which are national fixed line providers. The Oxford Business Group reported that Bahrain invested more of its GDP in ICT than any other GCC country in 2006. Major multi-national companies including Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Zain have chosen to establish regional offices in Bahrain.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board commented: ‘Communication and connectivity lie at the heart of Bahrain’s vision to provide the best environment for business in the GCC. Businesses locating in Bahrain recognise the excellent ICT infrastructure as one of the many advantages that moving to the Kingdom can bring.

Connectivity and wider ICT development are a vital part of the Kingdom’s economic diversification and Bahrain continues its leading role in the region to adopt state-of-the-art technology. Bahrain is fully committed to ensuring a competitive telecommunications industry, and in recent years the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has made considerable strides in diversifying the industry and improving services.’

The results build on Bahrain’s strong track record in ICT. It was the first Middle Eastern country to install a computer, introduce smartcards and hold an online referendum. Bahrain’s success in ICT is largely due to the Government’s policies designed to foster greater connectivity within Bahrain, by liberalising the telecommunications industry and allowing competition to fuel the rapid expansion of this sector of the economy.

The Total Country Connectivity Measure recognised the ever-increasing number of Bahrainis that are connected via telecommunications or internet access. The Arab Advisors Group measured Bahrain’s connectivity by adding together the household mainline telephone penetration, cellular penetration, and Internet users penetration rates within the country.

Tags: Annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference, Arab Advisors Group, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa

400 executives confirm attendance at the region’s premiere Conference on Media and Telecoms Convergence

The Fifth Annual Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference, set to take place in Amman on the 2nd and 3rd of June Under the patronage of HE Jordan’s Minister of ICT Eng. Bassem Al Rousan, has been met with strong interest from regional and global companies.

400 senior delegates have already registered to attend the conference representing over 135 regional and global operators, vendors, government agencies, banks, and professional services companies from over 21 countries around the world.

To meet the strong demand, the organizers have taken steps to increase the maximum capacity to 450 delegates.

‘The strong interest in attending this year’s conference and the wide array of sponsoring and exhibiting companies is a clear demonstration of how the entire area of telecom and media convergence is a real world issue, challenge and opportunity for media companies, regional telcos and governments alike,’ said Arab Advisors Group’s Founder and General Manager Jawad Jalal Abbassi.

Thirty nine senior and visionary speakers from a diverse array of telecom and media operators and vendors, will share their experiences and visions.

The speakers come from Zain Group, Paltel, Jawwal, ESKADENIA Software, GLOBITEL, QUALCOMM, SIGNAL Communications - PRIMUSTEL, Ericsson, Orange, Greenpacket Networks, Optimiza, Batelco, DU, NileSat, Rotana Digital Entertainment, BBC, Oger Telecom, Waseela, Friendi, Nokia, HITS Telecom, Telekom Malaysia, Cyberia, MBC, Nawras, Al Ghad Newspaper, Info2cell.com, wi-tribe, Cisco, Oliver Wyman, Xpress, Tech Mahindra, Rapid TV news and Spot On PR.

‘The Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference has gone from strength to strength each year over since the first annual conference was held back in 2004. We have worked to increase the maximum capacity for the conference to 450 delegates to be able to accommodate the strong interest and still maintain an optimal networking atmosphere between all delegates’ said Abbassi.

The Zain Group is the Main Sponsor of the Arab Advisors’ Fifth Annual Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference 2008.

Zain (formerly known as MTC) is the pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and now a major player on the African continent.

Today, the Zain Group is a leading wireless services provider and the 4th largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in 7 Middle Eastern and 14 sub-Saharan countries, providing mobile voice and data services to over 45.7 million active individual and business customers.

The company’s mobile telecommunications operations in Ghana will begin later in 2008.

The annual conference also received the support and sponsorship from Jawwal (Palestine), ESKADENIA Software (Jordan), GLOBITEL (Jordan), QUALCOMM, SIGNAL Communications - PRIMUSTEL (Jordan), Ericsson, Orange (Jordan), Greenpacket Networks (Bahrain) and Optimiza.

Conference exhibitors and partners include Waseela, Friendi, Nokia, Hits Telecom, Telecom Malaysia, Cyberia, Elite, DVV Media, Trade Arabia, ITP, Spot On PR, Mena FN, Telecom Review, ISI Emerging Markets, Media ME and int@j.

The Fifth Annual Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference 2008 will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman on June 2&3 2008.

As part of its vision to advance the knowledge and technology industries in the Arab World, the Arab Advisors Group has waived the delegate fees for telecom and broadcast operators.

As for paying delegates, they receive their choice of Arab Advisors Group reports for the same value of the registration fees.

Tags: Arab Advisors Group, Bassem Al Rousan, Jawad Jalal Abbassi, The Fifth Annual Media and Telecommunications Convergen