TELSA TO DISCUSS 2nd SAUDI NATIONAL ICT STRATEGY (2013-2017)

Exhibition to attract over 2,000 local, regional and International visitors
With the overwhelming success of the debut of TELSA last year, this year’s event is of no exception, is set to provide a unique opportunity for all types of companies seeking to enter the Saudi telecom market to meet with the Kingdom’s major operators, regulators and service providers in understanding the regulatory framework and market dynamics at work in the largest telecom market in the GCC.
Making its debut this year due to the success last year, the summit has been expanded from one to three, one -day summits, which will include the Saudi Telecoms & ICT Summit, the Saudi Broadband Technology Summit and the Saudi Cloud Innovation Summit, featuring expert analysis, insightful opinions and engaging debates among more than 300 top decision makers.
Highlighting the importance of this year’s event, Hussain Al-Harthy, Managing Director, National Exhibitions Company said, “Over the last five years, the Saudi telecom market has been registering exceptional growth, contributing as much as 3{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} to the Kingdom’s annual GDP. This is primarily due to the active role its telecom regulator, the CITC, has played in improving broadband access and resolving pricing constraints for consumers through a reduction in interconnection and access charges. Such developments are the main reason this year’s TELSA is a must for anyone seeking information on present market conditions and the future of the Saudi telecom industry,”
Day One of the Conference, which will include the Saudi Telecoms & ICT Summit, will focus on global opportunities in the Telecom and ICT market and how the Kingdom’s operators can take advantage of this cash-heavy sector. The summit will also discuss the 2^nd Saudi National ICT Strategy and the four themes planned for the next five years.
Presently, among the most sought after information concerning the Saudi Telecom industry is broadband technology, mainly due to increasing population in major cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, being spurred by rural to urban migration, as citizens move from the nearby towns and villages to the major cities in search of jobs and a better standard of living.
Among the issues to be discussed at the Saudi Broadband Technology Summit on Day Two are the management of 4G, which includes information on monitoring systems and technologies, balancing between outsourcing 4G talent, versus building in-house knowledge and future forecasts of TDD-specific requirements in years to come.
Day Three features the Saudi Cloud Innovation Summit, which address challenges and opportunities within public clouds for the Saudi market and ways that various governmental sectors can utilize cloud computing, in addition to presentations of case studies by the Riyadh Military Hospital and King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center.
Another exciting activity at this year’s TELSA, is the Saudi Telecom Awards, also expected to be a spectacular event designed to identify and pay much-deserved recognition to outstanding contributors to the Saudi telecom sector. The awards are open to all telecom companies and related entities. The awards will take place as part of the TELSA event on February 10, 2013 and reward companies in five categories including, Best Saudi Telecom Operator (Value-Added Services),Best Saudi Telecom Operator (LTE/Broadband Services), Best Saudi Telecom Operator (Customer Service Provider), Best Saudi Telecom Innovative Vendor.
Currently in its second year, TELSA, the only dedicated B2B telecommunications and ICT Event in Saudi Arabia, will be held from February 10-12, 2013 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh under the sponsorship Zain, Blue Coat Systems and Integrated Telecoms Company, as well as the support of the Kingdom’s telecom regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).
There is no doubt that TELSA is the leading telecom event in the Kingdom for local and international professionals, supporting the government’s vision for growth and improvement of products and services in the telecom industry, highlighting iconic infrastructure development and providing direct access to the region’s biggest telecom market in the GCC – Saudi Arabia.