Key Players to attend Executive Summit at Broadband MEA

Leading industry executives across the Middle East and Africa are being invited to a highly exclusive summit at the region’s premier broadband event. The Executive Summit at Broadband MEA 2012 will be held on Monday 26 March and will allow participants to address critical issues in today’s broadband industry and agree how to drive sustainable growth in the MEA region.

“The Executive Summit is the perfect platform for insightful and informative debate and executive-level discussion. I look forward to exploring these key issues with my peers and to a positive outcome for the future.”

The Summit is held to Chatham House Rules* and is designed to encourage open discussion between top decision-makers from operators and key vendors. The Middle East is leading the way with fibre rollouts and LTE deployments in both fixed and mobile markets, and this summit gives operators the opportunity to explore ways to ensure co-existence and further development.

Rob Gallagher, Principal Analyst and Head of Broadband and TV Research at Informa Telecoms and Media, will take the Chair. He says: “While broadband deployments present major challenges to many operators and policymakers in the Middle East and Africa, the region is also home to some of the most innovative and advanced strategies in the world. As such, The Executive Summit, and event as a whole, will provide an essential forum to learn about and debate the future of broadband, including next-generation technologies, for stakeholders from across the region and the entire industry.”

The morning session will see Matthew Willsher, Chief Marketing Officer of Etisalat, open with a critical speech on what the future holds for the next generation of fixed and wireless broadband co-existence. Willsher says: “Etisalat is pleased to participate in Broadband MEA 2012 as its Strategic Operator Partner. Etisalat is one of the world’s first operators to begin a nation-wide roll-out of its fibre-optic network and in launching mobile broadband technologies such as HSPA+ and LTE (4G) services providing downlink speeds of up to 100MBps to customers. In line with our vision for the nation and the Arab region in general, we are pleased to bring to this event our experiences and insights on broadband connectivity through a mix of advanced technologies.”

Subhra Das, Senior VP of Marketing and Customer Experience at du, is set to explore one of the most crucial issues facing operators in the Middle East and around the world with a presentation on customer experience innovations in the era of convergence.

Delivering a case study in the afternoon session about the impact of Andorra’s fibre rollout on the mobile network is Jaume Salvat, CEO of Andorra Telecom. Salvat says: “The Executive Summit is the perfect platform for insightful and informative debate and executive-level discussion. I look forward to exploring these key issues with my peers and to a positive outcome for the future.”

An international perspective on converged broadband services to drive growth will be given in the afternoon by Philippe Gautron, VP of Western Europe and AMEA Home Line of Business at France Telecom/Orange Group, before the executives will participate in an open discussion session.

The executives will also have the opportunity to attend a private networking lunch with access to the exclusive VIP lounge for further senior-level networking and fast track entry.

The Executive Summit will take place on day two of the event and attendance is executive and invitation only. To enquire about invitations please contact Nicola Allen at Nicola.allen@informa.com.

Broadband MEA takes place from 25 – 27 March at The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, Dubai, UAE.