Under the patronage of the President of the Council of Ministers, H. E Mr. Saad Hariri, represented by the Minister of Telecommunication of Lebanon H.E Mr. Jamal Jarrah, the 8th edition of Telecom Review Leaders' Summit that was co-hosted by Alfa, managed by Orascom Telecom, was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut on the 20th of April, 2017.
Telecom and ICT Leaders took part at the event, notably the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Yasser El Kadi, the CEO and Chairman of Alfa, Mr. Marwan Hayek, Vice Chairman Group CEO of Zain, Mr. Bader Nasser El Kharafi, the CEO of Touch, Mr. Emre Gurkan, and the CEO of du, Mr. Osman Sultan, and many other CEOs of international and local telecom companies.
In the framework of the Summit, Alfa accomplished another achievement in cooperation with Nokia. It undertook a live demo of its 4G+ network and achieved a speed of 950 Mb per second, which is the highest record achieved in Lebanon so far.
Highly distinguished guests took part in several panels that focused on the importance of 5G and its impact on societies and how it will change the telecommunications sector and the level of speed, efficiency, and network capacities. Other panels tackled IoT's impact on our daily lives, how to promote smart cities, and the operators' and governments' role in this transformative process.
Mr. Toni Eid, CEO of Trace media and Founder of Telecom Review magazine, gave a welcoming speech, highlighting that Telecom Review magazine is the largest Telecom Media in the world and covers 80 percent of the telecom and ICT audience.
In addition, Mr. Eid praised the success achieved in Telecom Review Summit, noting that the summit will witness the commitment of the Lebanese government towards the telecoms sector, which will lead to the digital economy that brings prosperity to the country.
Mr. Eid extended his heartfelt thanks to H.E. Jamal Jarrah and his team, the co-host, Alfa, and Mr. Bader Nasser Al Kharafi, in addition to all the sponsors for their support to this event.
On the other hand, H.E. Jamal Jarrah stated that holding this Summit at this particular period shows that Lebanon is on the right track. Lebanon was the leader in the region in terms of telecommunications and was the first to introduce the newest telecom technologies that promoted the country's prosperity. He added that we are all convinced that the telecom's industry is not only rapidly evolving, but we are also nwitnessing daily developments in several fields. He noted that the Ministry of Telecommunication has the support of the President of the Council of Ministers and is determined to deploy tireless efforts to achieve its vision for the sector while taking into account the great Lebanese human capacities.
On another side, Mr. Hayek tackled Alfa's greatest achievements since its establishment in 1994. He said: "We have made headway through our leading technological projects and the innovative services, which have helped us to transform from a traditional operator to a digital one, leading the IoT revolution in Lebanon and the region. This role was reflected through the accomplishments that the company has achieved since its establishment. In fact, we were the first company to launch GSM mobile service in Lebanon, 3G+ in 2011, 4G in 2013 and today 4G+ has become a reality, covering more than 92 percent of the population on Alfa's network and soon we will reach 5G."
He added that Alfa has become a digital operator aiming at providing the best services to the Lebanese people at the level of the internet speed and other services that address the citizens' needs.
Mr. Hayek also talked about unprecedented records achieved by the company in terms of smartphone penetration that reached 88 percent which's equivalent to the percentage reached in the most developed countries. He added that more that 75 percent of Alfa's 2 million subscribers are data consumers and 30 percent of them use LTE devices.
A gala dinner at Casino Mehanna followed the Summit, where Merit Awards and certificates were presented to distinguished ICT Leaders as a token of appreciation. At the end some lucky guests won Huawei P10 smartphones in an entertaining raffle draw.
