Informa Telecoms & Media confirms participants at North Africa Com Congress.
p>Informa Telecoms & Media confirms participants at North Africa Com Congress.
Informa Telecoms & Media, organisers of the North Africa Com congress, announced today confirmation of Orascom Telecom Algeria’s CEO - Mr. Tamer El Mahdi - as a VIP speaker for the event, which will take place in the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo on the 26-27 October 2010. Mr. El Mahdi’s presentation will take place in the special Algeria Focus Session, aimed at encouraging debate and innovation around issues affecting this complex market.
Algeria has a mobile penetration of close to 90 per cent and even its fixed-line penetration was around 10 per cent in early 2010. Algeria has one of the highest teledensities in Africa, and its relatively well developed infrastructure includes a national fibre backbone, furthermore it boasts one of Africa’s first FTTH deployments.
The country’s oil and gas reserves have made it one of the wealthiest nations in Africa, but the global economic crisis has affected the telecoms market, and its recovery will depend on a combination of regulatory and economic factors, as well as choice of business models. North Africa Com will provide a forum during which these opportunities can be discussed, and strategies to face these challenges can be debated.
Algeria’s mobile voice market is approaching saturation, and subscriber growth has begun to flatten - so the attention is shifting to maintaining or improving average revenue per user (ARPU) which has continued to decline under intensifying price competition between the three networks: Algerie Telecom’s Mobilis, Orascom Telecom’s Djezzy, and Wataniya’s Nedjma. The operators have entered the underdeveloped Internet market by launching basic mobile data services, but the licensing of third generation (3G) spectrum is being delayed, which makes it difficult for them to fully compete in the broadband sector. Mr. El Mahdi has years of experience from working for Orascom Telecom, and since September 2008 has been CEO in Algeria. He is ideally placed to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the mobile market.
Focus on North Africa
The 5th annual North Africa Com is the ONLY event focused on the whole of North Africa. Incorporating 35+ speakers including 20 operators, attendees will learn from and network with the who’s who of North African telecoms. Join 600+ telco professionals from around North Africa at the brand new central location – The Semiramis Intercontinental – for two days of congress sessions & networking. What’s more, you can view & try all the latest technologies and products at the 40+ stand exhibition located alongside the conference. Leading visionaries will be speaking at this year’s North Africa Com including:
Hatem Dowidar, CEO, Vodafone Egypt
Mohamed Elnawawy, VP Corporate Strategy, Telecom Egypt
Yasser Shaker, VP Technology, Mobinil
Dr. Olfat Abdel Monsef, VP Policy & International Relations, National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) Egypt
Michel Monzani, Senior VP, Orange France Telecom Group - EAMEA
Charles-Henri Levaillant, Group Director - Telecoms Sector Monitoring, Strategy & Development, Vivendi Group
Mohammed Bouhelal, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Canar Telecom, Sudan
Nyla Khawam, CEO, Orange Jordan
Hussein Rifai, Chairman & Managing Director, MDC, Lebanon (Managing Firm of VivaCell Sudan)
Marc Aafjes, Group Director, Head of Corporate Strategy & Intelligence, Qtel International
Nazar Sahal, IT Director, Expresso Telecom Group (present in Mauritania)
