Dubai - October 31, 2017 - SAMENA Telecommunications Council has announced that it will hold its Convergence series of conferences this year in Kuwait. To be conducted with patronage provided by Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority of Kuwait, CITRA, and hosted by Kuwait's leading telecom operator, VIVA Kuwait, "Convergence to Kuwait" will corroborate the need to engage stakeholders and delineate the roles that now need to be played by policy-makers, regulators, telecom operators, and private-sector alike.
The agenda of Convergence to Kuwait is aligned with and will be in continuation of SAMENA Council's earlier conferences and decision-makers' events, held earlier this year. Underlying objective of Convergence to Kuwait conference is to help collectively realize that it is now crucial to take lead on important industry and national matters and collaborate to allow the industry as well as the national economy to continually foster and benefit from innovation across all fronts and facets of development.
Mr. Bocar BA, CEO and member of the Board of Directors, has stated that "Industry stakeholders are amidst a myriad of opportunities and challenges that are associated with national and regional-level digital development. Commitments to make better use of ICTs, to achieve unique socio-economic advantages, and to make progress toward the fulfillment of sustainable development agenda, require productive and sustained dialogue. As SAMENA Council believes in continuous sustainable dialogue, Convergence is an important part of what we have strived toward throughout 2017 and will aim for in 2018 as we address the issues and challenges associated with digital services, data regulation, spectrum management, and industry fees."
Convergence to Kuwait's tentative agenda focuses on Regulatory Transformation for Fulfilling the Digital Agenda, Stakeholder Preparation for the 5G World and Harmonizing Efforts in Terrestrial, Satellite, Regulatory Co-operation, and Public Policy Considerations for OTTs.
To encourage participation in building onto this agenda, SAMENA Council openly invites private-sector players to participate in Convergence.
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About SAMENA Telecommunications Council
SAMENA Telecommunications Council is South Asia - Middle East - North Africa (SAMENA) region’s premier industry association of telecom operators and service providers. SAMENA Council voices network operators’ issues and needs to regulators, policymakers, and international institutions. The largest regional telecom groups, including Saudi Telecom, Etisalat, Batelco, Ooredoo, Viva Kuwait, Orange Jordan, Turk Telekom, Zain, Omantel, among other leading operators and technology companies, are a part of the Council’s membership. SAMENA Council is a sector development partner to the private and the public sectors, and believes in bringing all stakeholders closer together to help create a sustainable business environment for the industry, and to accelerate digital development in regional economies.
As an international non-profit organization, SAMENA Council is contributing to the understanding of cross-stakeholder priorities within the public and the private sectors. The Council has created a unique regional position as the regulatory reach and operator advocacy organization, promoting institution-level engagements with leading private and public-sector organizations.
SAMENA Council was founded in 2006. In February 2016, Saudi Telecom Company, represented by Dr. Khaled Biyari, became the chairman of the Board of Directors of SAMENA Council.