SAMENA's Beyond Connectivity 2008 is nearing and we are truly excited about this conference, for we have worked so diligently, building the nexus of information, which is the foundation of this grand conference. The conference opens on April 7th and closes on the early afternoon of April 9th at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in downtown Dubai.

Beyond Connectivity is meant to bring answers and solutions to the table for our member service providers and operators with regard to multiple regulatory issues, which include Market Liberalization and Growth, WiMAX Compliance, Convergence and International Roaming Rates. These very issues have received our utmost attention, and are being liberated amongst the SAMENA community, including SAMENA's strong and highly talented Regulatory Committee.

The group is led by the Co-Chairmen of the committee, Mr. Saeed Mohammed Al Qahtani, GM., Strategies & Regulatory Studies of STC and Mr. Ibrahim Harb, Legal & Regulatory Affairs Director for Jordan Telecom Group. Expert regulatory and legal perspectives are being facilitated by Mr. Matthew Glynn, Head of Telecom - Middle East, South Asia and Africa DLA Piper Middle East LLP. The committee is being supported by Mr. Samir El Battah, Advisor to the Regulatory Committee for SAMENA, and all experts are currently constructing a core curriculum for the decision-making process with regard to the aforementioned instrumental regulatory topics. The aim of the committee is to explore the subject matter in depth, provide a focused market research element, and bring together viewpoints or a consensus with which the SAMENA members feel comfortable going forward.

The current telecommunications growth in this region is truly emblematic of the character of the regional markets, and this growth will occur with or without any efforts on the part of the industry participants. The entire region is absolutely the hottest and most explosive high-growth telecommunications and ITC market worldwide. Thus, the growth potential is advantageous for all. This opportunity, this hugely impacting moment in our industry right here and right now, is a once in a lifetime situation for many of us, and I, for one, am absolutely enraptured by the sheer strength, magnificence and the agility of the market to adapt. It is truly a wonderful time to be in telecoms.

Including Beyond Connectivity 2008, we at SAMENA have planned a total of eight regional meetings for the year 2008: These span Dubai (Beyond Connectivity 2008, Mobile TV Consortium), Amman (Dead Sea - Convergence to Jordan in October 2008), Muscat (Planned at the end of November 2008), Riyadh (March 18th - Regulatory Workshop), Islamabad (Summit Telecom 2008 - Network Security First - June 25th and 26th), and Pakistan (Regulatory Workshop - December 2008). One of our planned events, the January 2008 WiMAX Workshop, has already been held in Dubai.

The staff at SAMENA is working every day for its members. Our market researchers are working continuously on ad hoc market research for members as well as conducting internal research for other parties interfacing with SAMENA. We are currently working to prepare and publish a telecommunications reference guide, "Visions 2008", which will be launched in April 2008. In addition, we have added two regulatory experts internally to the staff of SAMENA to work very closely with SAMENA's committees, especially the regulatory committee.

It's an exciting time in the telecommunications world across the globe and particularly right here in the SAMENA region. We hope that you would try to keep pace with what is to come. We are certainly looking forward to it.

Sincerely,
Thomas W. Wilson