The Middle East telecommunications sector has been growing steadily since 2000, when most of the countries in the region liberalized their telecom industries and allowed investment from the private sector. In the two decades since, the region’s industry has created more than 360,000 jobs and more than 640,000 indirect jobs. As of 2019, the top nine telecommunication companies in the Middle East, which includes Saudi Telecom and Zain Group, had combined sales of $58.6 billion.
Representatives from these and other operators in the Middle East meet on an annual basis at the Telecoms World Middle East conference. The event is hosted and organized by Terrapinn, which also organizes Connected America, Connected North, and Telecoms World Asia, among other regional events. Telecoms World Middle East 2023: Digital Transformation of Telcos for Operators & Partners, is scheduled from May 30-31 at The Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
The event brings together not only key telecom leaders but also representatives from national governments, regulators, major enterprises, OTT and digital service providers, and utilities and infrastructure. Here are four things to know about it:
#1: A Diverse Agenda
More than 1,500 people, including 120 speakers, are expected to attend Telecoms World Middle East 2023. The two-day conference will also feature more than 50 exhibitors, including title sponsor Evina as well as other sponsors like Digital Virgo, Mastercard, Telecoming, and Whale Cloud. There are four conference tracks and 23 distinct themes, including mainstream 5G, cybersecurity, cloud, connected industries, digital transformation, the new digital economy, and next gen connectivity.
The conference begins with a keynote speech titled, “Limitless possibilities: CSP’s, the metaverse explosion and the future of business as we know it.” Subsequent sessions on the first day include an interview with Virgin Mobile UAE managing director Rob Beswick on how operators plan to redefine the digital experience for telecom customers and a panel on enterprise 5G market competition. Radio Free Mobile Founder Richard Windsor will also moderate a panel on how telecom companies and partners can benefit from technology like Generative AI and ChatGPT.
The second day keynote is titled, “How intelligent edge infrastructure will enable our digital future and shape digital economies.” Other sessions cover topics such as AI at scale, boosting network performance, 5G network deployment and how it will benefit fast-growing societies, and the importance of ESG.
#2: Compelling Speakers
Andrew Hanna is among the headline speakers at Telecoms World Middle East 2023. Hanna was appointed CEO of Zain Group in 2021 and previously held executive roles with other Middle East telecoms, including Omantel, Kuwait Telecommunication Company (stc), and Batelco. The first mobile operator in Kuwait, Zain had a market value of more than $7 billion in 2020, which ranked third among all Middle East telecom companies. Hanna will join Bahrain Network chief commercial officer Shaima Alhamed and Virgin Mobile CEO Yaarob Al-Sayegh in a keynote panel titled, “A digital-first lifestyle and economy: Telcos shaping the connectivity and digital future of the Middle East.”
Other speakers include Sohail Qadir, vice president of wholesale business at Omantel; Isabelle Hajri, chief marketing officer at Ooredoo Algeria; Diego Camberos, chief operating officer at Vodafone; and Ahmed Alsharif, chief technology and digital officer at stc.
#3: Plentiful Networking Opportunities
Beyond educating themselves on important industry topics, many people attend conferences to network and engage with key prospects. Telecoms World Middle East 2023 will feature a revamped networking program that pairs a networking manager with all sponsors to guarantee introductions and meetings with potential customers. Attendees will also have access to a networking app in advance of the conference so that they can arrange meetings and connect their company’s salespeople with prospects.
A Recap of Telecoms World Middle East 2022
Based on projections, Telecoms World Middle East 2023 could be a significantly more well-attended event than the 2022 event at The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC, in Dubai. A total of 937 people attended last year’s event representing telecom operators, media and broadcasting businesses, wholesale carriers, and content delivery providers. Unsurprisingly, 75 percent of attendees were from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, while others came from Europe (15 percent), Asia (5 percent), Africa (3 percent), and the United States (2 percent).
“The audience numbers grew, along with overall NPS (Net Promoter Score), providing a great springboard for 2023,” wrote Gina Bester, Terrapinn’s GM for the MENA region, in the post event report for Telecoms World Middle East 2022. “Amongst the crowd we saw influence not only from local and regional telco operators and C-level representatives, but also MVNO, broadcaster and content streaming providers, government, regulators and start-ups too. This is a trend we want to expand on in our next edition, building a diverse and high-profile audience from across the industry.”
The 2022 event, the 17th iteration of Telecoms World Middle East, also featured an awards ceremony. Zain was named the Best Telecom Operator, while other winners included Batelco (Innovation Award – Operator), Netcracker (Virtualization Award and 5G Innovators Award), Ericsson (Digital Transformation – Operator), and Virgin Mobile (Best Customer Experience).