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Ammon News - * Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, the 10th Annual Convergence Summit inaugural day commenced on June 3rd 2013 in Amman at the Four Seasons Hotel. The summit is organized by the Arab Advisors Group. The participants will deliberate over the two days the regional markets’ dynamics governing the industry including content, broadband & cloud strategies.


AMMONNEWS - HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society, inaugurated today the 10th Convergence Summit taking place in Amman at the Four Seasons Hotel. The massive two-day summit brings together top regional and global media and telecoms industry executives.

In her opening address at the 10th Convergence Summit of the Arab Advisors Group in Amman, HRH told delegates that this is an industry that Arabs can have ownership of, “but we must be sure that we are building for the future and not just for a quick fix of profit and play.”

HRH added that content, broadband and cloud strategies can help to build a brighter future for the region and connect it on an equal footing to the wider world, but the industry must work in some degree with the government and civil society to ensure that the important developmental aspects of growth are not ignored by new technology and capacity.

“But this does not mean that profit in the industry should be sacrificed,” added the Princess. “For if we make it easier for people to benefit from better opportunities in health, education or nutrition, for example, then industry players can profit with the right support and business models.”

HRH said that ‘Broadband everywhere’ strategies were an exciting possibility that could make wifi the oxygen of growth and social development across the Arab world. She said that this gave government and the industry a great responsibility to ensure that growth development and opportunities in the new age were spread equally and helped to an equitable and open future for all.

Jawad J. Abbassi, Arab Advisors Founder and General Manager said "The Arab World is ripe now for the next phase of TMT development. The massive growth in connectivity and infrastructure (such as the growth of cellular lines from 25 million in 2002 to 393 million in 2012) while very impressive – represents the “low hanging fruits”. Its recipe is relatively easy: Liberalization and investment (FDI and local). The focus now is on the soft infrastructure for 2020 and beyond, such as e-Government, e-commerce, e-health, online entertainment and the potential to better the lives of people: Economically & socially. Higher Internet adoption, along with the increased awareness of e-service, led the estimated annual spending on B2C
e-commerce in the Arab World to be more than US$ 11 billion for the year 2012.” “We thank HRH Princess Sumaya for her continuous support. Our thanks also go to the sponsors, speakers and delegates for making the 10th Anniversary of the Convergence Summit yet another successful event”. Abbassi added.

The 10th Convergence Summit discussion panels will focus on; the state of the industry globally and regionally, the future of telecom services and media consumption in the region, the role of startups and industry incumbents, cloud computing trends, and strategies for broadcast, online & social media.

In addition, the summit speakers will address important topics governing the industry; these include: the role of technology vendors in the ecosystem, the dynamics of supply and demand, demand for VSAT services by telecom operators, the broadband markets in the region and their role in enabling the convergence ecosystem, as well as digital content, mobile and E commerce and payments.

The main sponsor of the 10th Convergence Summit is Zain Group. The annual summit is also sponsored by Ericsson and Eutelsat, and supported by Paltel Group, Globitel, Elemental Technologies, France 24, Startappz, Umniah, Orange, DAMAMAX and ESKADENIA Software.

The Summit is also supported by FTTH Council MENA, Royal Scientific Society and int@j.
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