SAMENA Telecommunications Council

SAMENA Telecommunications Council is South Asia – Middle East – North Africa (SAMENA) region’s sole industry association, driven primarily to represent telecommunications operators and service providers. SAMENA is a not-for-profit organization with no affiliation, in any shape or form, with any interest groups or companies, for-profit organizations, or any government body. Its member organizations, however, do include telecom vendors and technology companies, cellular and fixed-line operators, consultancy groups, as well as telecom regulatory bodies.

About

The Council strives to provide its Members the power and the means to actively learn the dynamics of telecom markets in the three high-growth regions. Collaboration among the regional entities and involvement with SAMENA help drive strength and develop strategies, which would not just help each of its members but also add force to SAMENA’s purpose and ability to act in support of its members and the industry.

The Council has been a key figure in the development and promotion of telecoms & ICT with special emphasis on the key enabler of ICT i.e. broadband and its growth across the region. The Council since its inception has been playing a strategic role and has come up with various initiatives to help bring the social and economic benefits of telecoms & ICT to the public of this region. SAMENA in this regard is playing a decisive role by providing a platform for its member regions for promoting and uplifting telecoms & ICT.

The Council’s membership comprises more than 80 leading regional and international organizations, including Nokia Siemens Networks, Turk Telekom, Saudi Telecom, Etisalat, Qualcomm, Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) of Jordan, among others. Headquartered in the UAE, SAMENA was founded in 2006 by Mr. Thomas Wilson, the founder and CEO of Teralight & Subsidiaries, and was initially led by Dr. Muhammad Ali Al Wohaibi, then-CEO of Oman Telecom, which now owns a majority stake in Pakistan’s World Call. Subsequently, SAMENA was chaired by Orange Jordan Telecom Group’s CEO Mr. Mickael Ghossein. Currently, the group CEO of Saudi Telecom Company, Eng. Saud Al Daweesh, is the chairman of the SAMENA Board of Directors.

Industry Roles & Contributions

SAMENA, in collaboration with Pinsent Masons, an international law firm specializing in telecommunications and regulatory issues, is initiating an unprecedented survey to study and analyze the markets of the South Asia – Middle East – North Africa (SAMENA) region in terms of markets in terms of regulatory environments. The survey will be conducted in each of the twenty-five SAMENA region’s countries. Recently, SAMENA launched its Content Committee, headed by the CEO of UAE’s du, Mr. Osman Sultan, and initiated a leading step to bring forth the issue of content ownership and IP in the region. At the end of 2009, SAMENA launched its International Roaming Group (SIRG) to take up a leading position in the region to tackle the issue of international roaming through consensus-building. The group, though in its initial stages, has already received industry recognition from a UK-based market intelligence firm, Informa Media & Telecom. SAMENA’s Career Portal, launched earlier in 2010, is yet another region-wide initiative by the Council to facilitate further growth of telecommunications and ICTs in the region.

SAMENA Annual Awards

Every year, SAMENA Telecommunications Council organizes its awards ceremony in which awards are bestowed upon the most deserving candidates—both executives and telecom companies—in the most fair and transparent manner. SAMENA Awards, now in its third year, is a way to recognize leadership and excellence in the telecommunications sectors of the SAMENA region. SAMENA Awards recognizes regional organizations (operators, regulatory authorities, vendors, and professionals), for their outstanding contributions and achievements.

SAMENA Committees

In order to promote its goals of supporting both the telecom industry and the end user, SAMENA Council has formed five committees covering various aspects of the industry. Following are the Five SAMENA Committees:

  1. Content Committee
  2. Regulatory Committee
  3. Revenue Assurance Committee
  4. Satellite Committee
  5. Technology Committee

The purpose of these Committees is to take a leadership role in developing and shaping the emerging telecom landscape in the SAMENA region. The Committee seeks to represent the best interests of telecom markets of the member countries.

Achievements

SAMENA has to its credit the following achievements in just four years of its nascent existence:

  • A diverse membership of 80+ telecommunications organizations.
  • Recognized as one of the most innovative and strategic marketing platforms in the region.
  • The only council, among a few similar platforms in existence worldwide, to have created a multi-market telecoms reference guide (400+ pages) of its kind in just two years of its origination.
  • Membership of ITU-D and subsequent participation and representation in the ITU activities.
  • Co-organized with the ITU and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Bahrain, one of Bahrain’s most important telecom industry events on the subject of ubiquitous telecoms network.
  • Encouraged and adopted consensus-building approaches by establishing subgroups and committees, to cater to the operators’ need to understand and resolve issues concerning content, international roaming, EMF radiation, broadband, regulatory issues and regional assessment, intellectual property, WiMAX, UMTS 900, mobile TV, among others.