Qtel hosted the 28th Arab GSM Operators Conference in Doha from the 1st till 2nd of March 2005. Representatives of GSM Operators from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as service providers and manufacturers took part in the conference.
Qtel CEO, Dr. Nasser Marafih said "We are confident that this conference will create an environment where information is accessible to the participants and where discussions will lead to improvements in their respective fields." "This conference is one of the most important in the region because it brings together all the Arab GSM Operators under one roof and we are proud to host companies of such a high caliber."
Held under the auspices of Qtel's Chairman, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Bin Saud Al Thani, the conference saw representatives of Arab GSM Operators, experts and other concerned parties coming together with the aim of setting out future business strategies and seeking out new areas of cooperation and coordinating efforts between companies, in addition to lobbying the International GSM Authorities.
Eng. Mohamed Abdulaziz Al Ageel, Head of the Organization of Arab GSM Operators, GSM IT General Manager Saudi Telecom and Meeting Chair said "one of the goals of this meeting is for Operators to seek out new technologies and services to better meet their subscribers' needs. With GSM penetration in the region at 14%, or almost 42 million subscribers, there is room for growth and investment. There are over 100 million GSM subscribers world wide and the Middle East represents only 3% of that number."
The conference was an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience and to get information about developments in the GSM field in the Arab world.
Taking part in the conference were over 100 representatives from all the Arab GSM Operators and leading international communications specialists including solution and service providers. With Qtel, the participating companies include: Saudi Telecom, MTC Kuwait and Lebanon, Batelco, Orascom, Etisalat, Asia Cell, Al Wataniya, Al Mada, Mobilcom, Tunis Telecom, Iraqna, Thuraya, Syriatel, ITC, Atheer, Jawal, Fastlink, Meditel, Morocco Telecom, Mobitel, Oman Tel, Saba Phone, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorolla and Siemens.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nasser said, Qtel's QR800 million investment in expansion of its GSM infrastructure would also see the commercial launch of Third Generation (3G) mobile services by the end of this year. The 3G project, he disclosed, was now in the final stages of negotiations.
As part of the expansion of the Qatarnet network, Qtel will shortly commission the Charging Gateway, which will facilitate post-paid mobile phone users to migrate to the Hala pre-paid service and vice versa, while retaining the same mobile number.
The mobile services proliferation rate, which presently hits 62 per cent in Qatar with more than half a million subscribers connected to the post-paid and pre-paid services, was expected to reach the 100 per cent mark within the next couple of years.
