Welcome

Welcome to MVNOs & VAS Growth Markets 2010. Bringing together two of the hottest topics in the region, MVNOs & VAS Growth Markets 2010 will examine operator and MVNO business models, and look at the strategies which are proving essential as the industry rapidly moves forward.

However the introduction of MVNOs provides bothopportunities and threats to the existing operators,and understanding how to effectively manage thesechallenges is of huge importance for the key marketplayers.

As a result, the provision of innovative value addedservices is now a top priority for operators, MVNOs,handset manufacturers and content publishers acrossthe region, offering them an opportunity to increaseARPU and differentiate their services in thisincreasingly competitive market.

With over 30 speakers across this two-day event,MVNOs & VAS Growth Markets offers all membersof this exciting value chain the opportunity to opennew revenue streams in 2010 and beyond, and takeadvantage of the new market opportunities on offer.

We look forward to meeting you at the event in March!

Why MVNOs Growth Markets?

"It is also becoming evident that MVNOs are at their mostsuccessful when they can offer real partnership benefitsto MNOs and when their value proposition is both clearlytargeted and offers a differentiating factor. For example, SprintNextel, which hosts the largest number of MVNOs in North America,is unequivocal in describing what it looks for in an MVNO partner – astrong brand, unique marketing, a clear focus on an underservedsegment or common lifestyle and exclusive, compelling and relevantcontent and applications.

Following this cocktail of requirements should lead to a healthytransition in MVNO business models. An advantage of coming to amodel later in its evolution is that the likes of Friendi Mobile andMajan Telecommunications are able to take stock of thosebusiness models that have worked and those that havenot, and take note of new and emerging MVNO strategies"

Why VAS Growth Markets?

"As voice markets mature – and mobile penetration isalready very high in most of the GCC states – operatorsmight begin to look more seriously at content servicesto maintain growth. And the rapid growth in mobilebroadband subscription numbers in some countries in the region,notably Saudi Arabia, has shown that there is demand for dataservices. According to a recent online survey conducted by Du,27% of Internet users in Saudi Arabia had used mobile servicesto get online.

At Informa Telecoms & Media’s Africacom conference in CapeTown in November, it was apparent that major operators acrossthe continent are looking more to data and other value-addedservices to stimulate future expansion, as the stronggrowth in mobile subscription count seen in the past fewyears begins to slow."