PRESS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE ON
January 26, 2007

Contact: Nermeen Negm, Marketing Manager
Tel: 971.4.348.7473
E-mail: nnegm@samenacouncil.org
URL: www.samenacouncil.org

SAMENA'S BEYOND CONNECTIVITY CONFERENCE BRINGS LARGE TELECOM MANUFACTURERS TO SAMENA    Top

DUBAI, UAE — SAMENA Telecommunications Council has reported major developments and success in its recently held annual conference, “Beyond Conference”, in Dubai.

Organized to bring SAMENA Telecommunications Council’s Members together to discuss current telecommunications challenges and issues, Beyond Connectivity attracted a large audience of executive managers and decision makers, and some of the biggest names in the regional and global telecoms arena.

“Some of the major telecom manufacturers have interacted here with us and are convinced that SAMENA offers a platform that provides immense business development opportunities”, commented Mr. Asher Siddiqui, Vice President Network Operators Relations, SAMENA.

The event provided a solid platform to SAMENA Members to participate in and lead discussions on a multitude of areas, including broadband technology deployment issues, vertical market set ups, operator issues, revenue-generation opportunities, and regulatory challenges. Additionally, the conference provided prospective members to learn about SAMENA, what it aims to achieve in the SAMENA region, and the ways in which it can help operators and manufacturers in getting their interests and visions represented.

Some of the most notable developments of the Beyond Connectivity conference included an interconnection agreement between UAE’s du and Oman’s incumbent, Omantel. Further, globally renowned telecoms equipment manufacturer, Nokia, committed to joining SAMENA and being a valued addition the SAMENA Membership, which, in addition to a growing number of telecoms business companies and service providers, now also includes top manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies.

ZTE Corporation, China’s largest listed telecoms manufacturer and a strong name in the globe, has also joined SAMENA. The manufacturer’s current endeavors toward global expansion, and particularly in the SAMENA region, will now be better facilitated by joining a collaborative hand with SAMENA Telecommunications Council, which is committed to aiding innovative and collaborative expansion of telecommunications services throughout the region. ZTE’s strong presence will, in turn, add to the Council’s capabilities as the SAMENA region’s premier collaborative forum.

PTA’s Member Technical, Dr. Mohammad Yaseen, also participated in the conference and presented his views on the regulatory aspects of the telecommunications arena, and what the future holds for telecom sector of Pakistan. PTCL’s CEO, Mr. Mohamed Abdulla Ali Bamakhrama, member SAMENA’s Board of Directors, also participated in the conference and provided his insights during the conference’s CEO Live session.

About SAMENA
SAMENA Telecommunications Council is a tri-regional, non-profit telecommunications association that embodies a community of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African telecoms operators, manufacturers, regulatory authorities, and academia. SAMENA aims to be the ultimate promoter of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the SAMENA region that spans 25 countries, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

The Council is driven by telecoms issues that operators in South Asia, the Middle East, and in North Africa face, and is determined in providing its advocacy expertise to help aid the incubation of novel approaches and ideas that would provide better means for the expansion and utilization of telecommunications in the region.

Headquartered in Dubai, SAMENA is chaired by Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Wohaibi, Executive President, Omantel and is directed by Mr. Thomas W. Wilson, CEO, Teralight.

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FOR RELEASE ON
January 22, 2007

Contact (South Asia): Riaz Asher Siddiqui, VP Network Operators Relations
Tel: +92.51.287.6272
E-mail: asher.siddiqui@samenacouncil.org
URL: www.samenacouncil.org

Contact (Middle East): Nermeen Negm, Marketing Manager
E-mail: nnegm@samenacouncil.org
Mob: +971.50.379.7980

OMANTEL AND dU REACH AN AGREEMENT AT SAMENA’S “BEYOND CONNECTIVITY”

DUBAI, UAE — January 22, 2007—SAMENA Telecommunications Council announced today that Omantel and du, both SAMENA Members, have signed an Interconnection Agreement.

The agreement, a major development that took place on the second day of SAMENA’s “Beyond Connectivity” conference, has been endorsed by regulatory bodies of both UAE and Oman, and would allow Omantel and du to terminate call traffic across each other’s infrastructure. The agreement would allow both parties to better manage costs, and direct resources toward providing better services to their customer bases in the region’s increasingly competitive environment.

Expressing his enthusiasm over the opportunity to work with Omantel, du’s CEO, Mr. Osman Sultan stated that “this is a major development for du as we near the launch of our network in UAE. This international interconnection agreement with Oman’s incumbent is going to provide us a business edge, and will help us actively participate in allowing healthy competition to emerge in the Middle East, and particularly in the UAE. In a way, this would allow us to live up to the expectations that our emerging customer base has of us. We are excited by the prospect of working with our fellow SAMENA Member, and greatly appreciate SAMENA’s direct and indirect roles in facilitating this major development.”

SAMENA’s chairman and CEO of Omantel, Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Wohaibi, also communicated his views about the deal. “The business handshake that we are witnessing today is illustrative of the collaborative spirit, which SAMENA is trying to bring forth in our region. This is exactly what it’s all about—bringing people together, creating a mutually beneficial dialogue and business ties, and allowing companies to reap the fruits of cooperative and collaborative efforts to help promote healthy competition. Omantel’s and du’s relationship has now become multifaceted. I am very optimistic that similar developments will continue to take place here under the SAMENA platform.”

Leading SAMENA representatives, including Engr. Saud Bin Majed Al-Daweesh, Saudi Telecom’s president and Thomas W. Wilson, Teralight’s chief executive, also witnessed the signing of the contract. Top executives from Oman Mobile and a collage of leading interregional and global companies were also present.

SAMENA’s Beyond Connectivity conference has been organized to bring together top decision makers from leading regional and global organizations to lead discussions on various issues that are currently surrounding SAMENA region’s telecom sector. The conference will conclude on January 23, 2007.

About SAMENA
SAMENA Telecommunications Council is a tri-regional, non-profit telecommunications association that embodies a community of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African telecoms operators, manufacturers, regulatory authorities, and academia. SAMENA aims to be the ultimate promoter of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the SAMENA region that spans 25 countries, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

The Council is driven by telecoms issues that operators in South Asia, the Middle East, and in North Africa face, and is determined in providing its advocacy expertise to help aid the incubation of novel approaches and ideas that would provide better means for the expansion and utilization of telecommunications in the region.

Headquartered in Dubai, SAMENA is chaired by Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Wohaibi, Executive President, Omantel and is directed by Mr. Thomas W. Wilson, CEO, Teralight.

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