Cisco Helps Service Providers Reap The Rewards of Liberalized Telecom Markets

At Middle East Connection 2005, top Cisco executives discuss strategies for service provider success through revenue enhancement and operational efficiency

Dubai, UAE, March 8, 2005 – The rapidly evolving Middle East telecommunications market and its implications for operators, as well as Cisco Systems' strategies for service providers in this increasingly competitive environment were the focus on the first day of the two-day Middle East Connection 2005 event organized by Cisco for senior-level industry executives.

The event is being held under the patronage of Ahmed Bin Byat, Director General, Dubai Technology & Media Free Zone Authority and Member of the UAE Supreme Telecommunications Committee.

A principal partner in building carrier-class IP-based infrastructures for companies in the region and globally, Cisco has leveraged its experience and technology leadership to host this conference which provides insight into telecom market dynamics and demonstrates the value of Cisco solutions to customers large and small.

Top Cisco officials – including Robert Lloyd, President Europe, Middle East and Africa; Mark De Simone, Vice President Middle East and Africa, and Massimo Migliuolo, Vice President, Worldwide Mobile Operations Cisco Systems – were on hand to share their experiences and hear from local and regional operators. Cisco also invited senior representatives from Telecom Italia, British Telecom, Swisscom Mobile and consulting firm NextEdge to contribute their perspectives on these issues.

"Cisco has been at the heart of liberalizing telecom markets regionally and globally for years and has drawn on this experience to develop a four-pronged service provider strategy to help operators achieve a strong market position. First, we want to help them build infrastructures to lower their total cost of ownership; second, help develop new services that meet market demand and generate revenue growth; third, help accelerate demand by leveraging our knowledge of SMB and enterprise requirements to enhance their new services, and fourth, use Internet methods and procedures to deliver operational efficiencies," Lloyd commented between sessions.

Middle East Connection offers service provider incumbents, challengers, mobile operators and ISPs a packed schedule of presentations and panel discussions on a range of topics. During the opening day session, the panel discussion on "The Impact of Telecom Reform on Incumbent Strategy and Service" concluded that incumbent providers must enhance operations to meet these new challenges, while the "IP Mobility" seminar looked at the benefits of IP-based mobile services.

Speakers at the "Incumbent Voice Transformation" seminar focused on what existing providers can do to strengthen their position through smart infrastructure development, while the panel on "The Role of Value-Added Services for Service Provider Revenue Growth" agreed that such services could serve as an antidote to commoditization.

"A key concern for operators is the fear of commoditization. Cisco's Intelligent Information Network, our 3-5-year technology vision and strategy for the evolution of networking to a global systems approach, can help providers prevent this," said De Simone. "By absorbing more functionality into the network, telecoms can add specialized services and balance resource coordination with service demand, allowing new and richer application innovation and scale."

Panels on the second day will continue to explore a range of topics, including "Triple-Play Broadband", "The Impact of Cisco Support on OPEX" and "Maximizing Profit Through Next-Generation Infrastructures".