Industry leaders & senior executives from over 20 countries are set to attend Arab Advisors Group's 12th Convergence Summit next week. 40 local and regional industry leaders will tackle the massive opportunities presented by the Internet of Things in addition to relevant and pertinent topics including the role of Big Data in vital verticals, how to optimize continued investments in broadband and telecom infrastructure, the opportunities and challenges facing mobile and electronic payments, professionally produced content and its prospects, as well as discuss wearable technologies and their state in the MENA region

Amman, May 27, 2015

Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society, the 12th Convergence Summit will take place in Amman on the 1st & 2nd of June 2015 at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The summit comes in parallel with the increased adoption of Internet services in the Arab World which presents strong opportunities based on the Internet of Things. The summit's discussions will assess the current state of the Internet of things in the Arab World, how home-grown businesses and operators can leverage it, its role in transforming vital sectors such as health care and education and how to nurture a stable vibrant Internet of Things ecosystem.

By February 2015, 9 countries in the Arab World had commercially available LTE networks, while a majority of 17 countries offered 3G services. Moreover, fiber optics services are available in 15 countries of the MENA region.  Total fixed Internet accounts in the Arab World exceeded 15 million by end of 2014 with Internet users exceeding 100 million. The number of cellular lines in the Arab World exceeded 400 million by end of 2014.

On the media front, the HD TV adoption is growing among the free-to-air channels. By March 2015, the total number of unique HD channels, which are broadcast on the 7 main satellite operators that target the region (Arabsat, Es'hailsat, Eutelsat, Gulfsat, Nilesat, Noorsat, and YahLive), reached 195 channels, up from 134 channels by the end of February 2014.

As for e-commerce and m-commerce, a new Arab Advisors Group's survey revealed that close to 24% of smartphone users in Jordan use e/m commerce services.

"Arab Advisors Group is proud to organize the 12th edition of the Convergence Summit. Owing to the trust of the industry leaders that speak at the summit and the continued trust of the sponsors, it has become the premier event on convergence dynamics in the region. The summit's keynote session will focus on the Internet of Things and its status in the Arab World" Jawad J. Abbassi, Founder and General Manager of Arab Advisors Group said.

The 12th Convergence Summit is sponsored by Orange and Umniah.

The summit is supported by Paltel Group, Qualcomm, Ericsson and Arabsat. The summit is also supported by the Ministry of ICT, FTTH Council MENA, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and int@j.

The CEO of Orange Jordan, Jean-Francois Thomas, emphasized Orange Jordan's commitment to redefining the benchmarks of the ICT landscape in both the Kingdom and the region, particularly when it comes to the world of digital communications and its associated technologies. He noted that the operator lends particular focus to fledgling concepts such as the "Internet of Things," which, with adequate investment, can truly reshape the modern urban landscape for individuals and enterprises alike. This pursuit, he explained, falls in line with the operator's longstanding objective of simplifying the daily lives of its customers by allowing them to experience the many possibilities of the modern digital age. It also embodies the long-term vision of His Majesty, King Abdullah II, which seeks to transform Jordan into a leading regional ICT hub.

"It gives us great pleasure to once again participate in this key event, which is of great importance to all participants who come from around the globe to discuss the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in the ICT and media industries" concluded Thomas.

For his part, Umniah's Marketing Director, Omar Omoush said: "We at Umniah are delighted to sponsor such an important event at this time, which is witnessing increased rates of connectivity in Jordan and the rest of the region."

"As a leading operator that is keen on realizing a positive change in the digital scene in Jordan through constant development of infrastructure, we believe that the forum provides an opportunity for sharing expertise and latest trends in the industry" said Omoush.

During the summit, delegates will interact with an impressive array of speakers that include: (alphabetically by last name)  Mr. Mohammad Al Haj (Chairman and COO, Gulfsat), Dr. Jon Anderson (Professor of Anthropology, Catholic University of America), Mr. Faris Awartani (Treasurer and Board Member, FTTH Council MENA), Dr. Samer Bagaeen (Discipline Area Leader, University of Brighton Planning School), Ms. Maha Bahou (Executive Manager, Central Bank of Jordan), Mr. Raslan Deiranieh (Deputy Chief Executive Officer - Chief Financial Officer, Orange), Mr. Mohammad Dergham (President, Ericsson North Middle East), Mr. Luigi Gambardella (Founder Broadband4Europe and VP Telecom Italia), Mr. Bassam Hajhamad (Director in Strategy & Communication, Strategy & PWC), Mr. Ghassan Hasbani (CEO, Graycoats), Mr. Robert Lakos (CCO, MyHD), Mr. Peter Lyons (Director Middle East and North Africa, GSMA), Mr. Ziad Matar (Senior Director, Business Development MEA and SEA, Qualcomm ), Mr.  Mohamad Mourad (Managing Director MENA, Google), Mr. Ghassan Murat (Commercial Development Director, Eutelsat), Mr. Baris Ozistek (Chief Executive Officer, Netmarble EMEA), Mr. Sanjay Raina (General Manager, Fox Middle East), Mr. Nael Salah (Managing Director & Founder, ESKADENIA Software), Mr. Allen Samawi (Digital Services & Partnerships Manager, Umniah), Mr. Santino Saguto (Partner, Deloitte & Touche), Mr. Fares Sayegh (General Manager, Roya TV), Mr. Charles Shaban (Executive Director, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property), Mr. Nabil Shanti (VP/CCO, Arabsat), Mr. Jean Francois Thomas (CEO, Orange), Mr. Irfan Verjee (Principal for the Service Provider Transformation Group, Cisco), Mr. Philippe Vogeleer (Executive - External Affairs, Vodafone Group), Mr. Stewart White (CEO, Akhet consulting), Mr. Jawad Abbassi (Founder and General Manager, Arab Advisors Group).

As part of its vision to advance the knowledge and technology industries in the Arab World, the Arab Advisors Group offers free registration for telecom operators and media broadcasters. Also press members can attend the summit at no charge.

The 12th Convergence Summit 2015 will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman on June 1 & 2, 2015.

For more details and Online Registration please visit the summit website at:

www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/registration/index.htm

Follow Arab Advisors Group on Twitter (@ArabAdvisors)
Official summit Hashtag #CS2015

For more information, please contact:
Arab Advisors Group
Ms. Muna Atallah
+962- 6- 5828849
+962-78-7987987
muna@arabadvisors.com

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Arab Advisors Group:
Arab Advisors Group, a member of the Arab Jordan Investment Bank Group, is a specialized research, analysis and consulting company focused on the communications, media and technology markets throughout the Arab World (MENA) region.  The Arab Advisors Group's scope of services include providing primary research based analysis, market sizing forecasting, the competitive landscape, the regulatory landscape, market research, technology developments, market opportunity and risk assessments.

The Arab Advisors Group's team of analysts in the region has produced over 4,125 reports on the Arab World's communications and media markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group's (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and/or Telecom).

To date, Arab Advisors Group has served over 715 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients. Some of our clients can be viewed on http://www.arabadvisors.com/clients.htm

Arab Advisors Group provides reliable research, analysis and forecasts of Arab communications, media and technology markets.

Arab Advisors Group Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecoms) are annual subscriptions. The services cover nineteen countries in the Arab World: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. 

For more information, please contact the Arab Advisors Group offices. www.arabadvisors.com

© Press Release 2015