[AfrICANN-discuss] Samena Telecommunications Council seminar on building sustainable Internet business model

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

Samena Telecommunications Council seminar on building sustainable Internet
business model
http://www.ameinfo.com/samena-telecommunications-council-seminar-building-sustainable-301760
Samena
Telecommunications Council (Samena), a tri-regional industry association of
leading telecommunications organizations, and European Telecommunications
Network Operators' Association (ETNO) held the annual Samena Chairmen and
CEOs seminar in Hong Kong under the theme "Internet Policy Dynamics:
Shaping the Future - How consensus between The Policy Makers, Content
Providers and Operators can lead us to Sustainable Digital Economies".
More than 65 chief executives and chairmen from leading telecom operators
discussed and debated the importance of collaborative efforts in building
sustainable Internet business models.

HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and PCCW
Global, an operating division of HKT which provides international
connectivity to enterprises and service providers worldwide, were
co-sponsors and hosts.

Samena and ENTO stressed that generating additional income is important for
global telecom operators, considering flat revenues from traditional
services, ever-increasing competition, very high CAPEX costs, and
regulatory pressures. Telecom operators need to rethink their Internet
business models in light of the recent trends which illustrate that
Internet traffic has experienced exponential growth and is expected to
continue in the foreseeable future.

Samena Telecommunications Council's Content Committee has been exploring a
number of possible future models that can assist operators to potentially
offset the great imbalance between their CAPEX and ROI.

The Council released a position paper on "Perspectives on Meeting Massive
Growth on Bandwidth Demands" to provide operators with a collective
framework conducive to building a sustainable Internet business model
jointly.

Mr. Sheikh Mohamed Isa Al Khalifa, Group CEO of Batelco and Chairman of
SAMENA Telecommunications Council, said, "The ICT ecosystem is very dynamic
and the telecom operators should unite to address the changing elements in
the industry, specifically in areas such as international
telecommunications regulations (ITRs) as well as the building of the new
sustainable Internet business model. The telecom operators are facing a
critical point in the evaluation of requirements for additional CAPEX
investment versus the potential realistic timely return on the same
investment from broadband margins."

Luigi Gambardella, Chairman of ETNO's Executive Board, said, "It is
essential that both Samena and ETNO work together to encourage the
development of policies that support investment in new infrastructure by
stimulating the emergence of a new Internet eco-system that encourages
commercial agreements on specific quality of service levels in order to
meet customers' needs. Differentiated offers based on QoS would foster
investment by telecoms operators while providing for a better user
experience for Internet services."

Mr. Alex Arena, Group Managing Director of HKT, said, "Telecom service
providers face commoditization in their core access businesses, and have
therefore looked to content, applications, and other transactional services
to find new revenue growth opportunities. Simultaneously, many content
providers are seeking other means of distribution using OTT (Over-The-Top)
Internet hoping to maximize their revenues."

Mr. Arena added, "The Samena Telecommunications Council is actively working
towards the development of a viable framework which contemplates a number
of forward looking collaborative business models to achieve a successful
and mutually valuable working relationship among the parties. HKT is much
honored to be hosting this year's Samena Chairmen and CEOs Dinner in Hong
Kong, bringing a significant number of key telecommunications executives
from around the world to discuss and debate these framework proposals. HKT
welcomes everyone to participate in the event while leveraging Hong Kong's
global ICT leadership position as a platform for new business."
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