New initiatives and strategies were set out during the second General Assembly of the FTTH Council MENA held after the 7th annual conference in Muscat last November. The new board of directors has been elected as of 1st January 2016 to build the new plans for FTTH deployment in the MENA region.
Dr. Safa Nassereldin has been appointed as the new chairperson of the FTTH Council Middle East and North Africa, becoming the third person to hold this position since the organization was founded in 2011. Dr. Nassereldin replaces former chairman, Dr. Suleiman Al-Hedaithy who has been elected as Treasurer for the next two years.
In addition to her new responsibilities as chairwoman of the Board, representing Moseco Group whose operations are in Saudi, Jordan, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE, Dr. Safa was the first female Minister for ICT (MTIT) in Palestine and since June 2014 she is the vice president for Al-Quds University. Before that, she was advisor and technical assistant to the Minister for three years as well as E-gov general coordinator and team leader for the National Team for Systems and Information Security (NTSIS).
""I am passionate about promoting FTTH and honored to have been chosen as successor to Dr. Suleiman Al-Hedaithy. We believe in FTTH because it delivers a flow of new services that enhances the quality of life, contributes to a better environment and boosts competitiveness,"" commented Dr. Nassereldin.
Following the elections held at the General Assembly, two new Board members were elected. The Board of Directors now consists of the following six members: Dr. Safa Nassereldin, Moseco Group - chairwoman; Dr. Suleiman Al-Hedaithy, MEFC - treasurer; Mr. Serge Chovau, Nokia (ALU) - Board member; Mr. Faiq Shahrouri, OFS - Board member; Mr. Ammar Sabbagh, Ericsson - Board member; Mr. Jan Schindler, Prysmian Group - Board member.
Four working Committee chairs are: Gamal Hegazi, chair of the Technology and Training Committee; Richard Jones, chair of Smart Cities Ops and Aps Committee; Jan Schindler, chair of Market Intelligence and Development Committee; Christine Beylouni, chair of Policy and Regulatory Committee.
To drive understanding and deployment of FTTH in the region, the council is constantly seeking new ways to support the industry and to ensure better communication services and networking solutions are deployed. This will be fundamental in creating a brighter tomorrow through the Council’s four main focus areas for the next two years: Educating and training businesses about FTTH technology and services, creating the FTTH community network platform, developing the ICT infrastructure through FTTH expertise and consultancy, ensuring a healthy and smart society based on a solid fibre FTTH infrastructure.
