SAMENA TRENDS EXCLUSIVELY FOR SAMENA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL'S MEMBERS Volume 04 Issue 04 BUILDING DIGITAL ECONOMIES April 2013 A SAMENA Telecommunications Council Newsletter The Future of Telecom and Broadcasting: Forging New Synergies and Cooperation Franco Bernabe Chairman & CEO Telecom Italia EDITORIAL The Future of Telecom and Broadcasting Both telecommunications operators and work together—the more synergistically it broadcasters have similarities in what their can be done, the better results it may yield. core business aspires to achieve in the future. That is, both groups want to ensure better Technologically speaking, cooperation- content and multimedia service delivery building can be realized through the amidst the influx of alternative competition, implementation of next-generation network and both want to efficiently make use of the technologies and strategies, which allow for spectrum available to them—be it for legacy effectively dealing with complex network service offerings in their respective domains traffic patterns. Clearly, from a network or for creating innovative services and point of view, should telecom operators and applications in the telecom-media converged broadcasters decide to strategically combine domain. In any case, both require growth and their tangible and intangible assets, various sustainability. challenges will be faced. However, combined experience and expertise in creatively As associated network costs, declining profit attending to customer demands could help per user, and the entry of new players into the manage such challenges. Moreover, the telecoms and content value-chains become presence of enabling regulatory and legal more pronounced, the need for creating new frameworks is highly critical, as this should business models to protect core business enable smooth and seamless exchange and interests becomes even greater. delivery of in-demand integrated content services. Telecoms operators rely on their experience in leveraging their network assets—which have A direct involvement of the policy-makers and increasingly become more advanced and the regulatory bodies is absolutely required resilient than could be thought of earlier—as for both telecoms operators and broadcasters much as they do on their customer bases to move ahead on a synergistic path to and technology partnerships. Similarly, success. After all, the new digital revolution broadcasters rely on their experience in demands that greater degree of cooperation aggregating content, ensuring its targeted and collaboration be sought across industries delivery, and amassing large customer bases. and across various stakeholder sets. Thus, given the challenges that are common to both, it is needful for both telecoms operators and broadcasting companies to Yours truly, Bocar A. BA Chief Executive Officer SAMENA Telecommunications Council SAMENA TRENDS Volume 04 Issue 04 April 2013 www.samenacouncil.org 1 CONTENTS The SAMENA TRENDS newsletter is wholly owned and EDITORIAL operated by The SAMENA Telecommunications Council 01 EDITORIAL FZ, LLC (SAMENA). Information in the newsletter is not intended as professional services advice, and SAMENA Council disclaims any liability for use of specific 03 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW information or results thereof. Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Franco Bernabe SAMENA Telecommunications Council, (unless otherwise Chairman & CEO noted, described or stated) and cannot be reproduced, Telecom Italia copied or printed in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. 05 SAMENA ACTIVITIES The SAMENA Council does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with the Post Event Report - Annual Chairmen & CEO Dinner content, comments, opinions or statements made in The Google joins SAMENA Telecommunications SAMENA TRENDS by any entity or entities. Information, Council as member products and services offered, sold or placed in the newsletter by other than The SAMENA Council belong to 09 REGIONAL PERFORMANCE the respective entity or entities and are not representative of The SAMENA Council. 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BA Active Consultations & Invitations for Feedback Country-wise Policy & Regulatory Developments Contributing Editors Regulatory Activities Beyond the SAMENA Region Izhar Ahmad Europe’s Broken Telecom Policy Javaid Akhtar Malik Bahjat El-Darwiche Bassam Hajhamad 42 SATELLITE UPDATES Zakir Syed Ali Tahir Satellite News Contributing Member 44 ROAMING UPDATES GBI ETNO Roaming News Publisher SAMENA Telecommunications Council 46 TECHNOLOGY UPDATES Subscriptions Technology News [email protected] Connecting Cars: Digital Technology on the Road Advertising [email protected] Legal Issues or Concerns [email protected] SAMENA TRENDS #304, Alfa Building, Knowledge Village PO Box: 502544, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971.4.364.2700 © 2013 - All rights reserved. SAMENA TRENDS is a trademark of SAMENA Telecommunications Council. SAMENA TRENDS Volume 04 Issue 04 April 2013 2 www.samenacouncil.org Exclusive Interview Operator Leader’S VISION Franco Bernabè was born in Vipiteno/Sterzing (Bozen) on September 18, 1948. He is married with two children. Since April 2011 he is Telecom Italia Chairman and Chief Executive Officer after having the position of Chief Executive Officer in the previous three-year period. After earning his degree with honors in Economics and Political Science at the University of Turin in 1973, Mr. Bernabè worked for two years as a post-graduate fellow at the Einaudi Foundation. He began his professional career in 1976 as a Senior Economist at the OECD Department of Economics and Statistics in Paris. In 1978 he joined the Planning Department of FIAT as Chief Economist. In 1983 he joined Eni as an Assistant to the Chairman and became subsequently the Head of Corporate Planning, Financial Control and Corporate Development. From 1992 to 1998 Mr. Bernabè was CEO of Eni. During his two terms, he achieved the turnaround of the company and its successful privatization bringing Eni to be one of the largest oil companies by market capitalization worldwide. In November 1998 he became CEO of Telecom Italia, a position he retained until May 1999 after the acquisition of the company by Olivetti. At the end of 1999 he founded FB Group, an investment company active in the areas of financial advisory, ICT and renewable energy. In 2004, following the merger of the financial advisory activities of FB Group with the Rothschild Group, he was appointed as Vice Chairman of Rothschild Europe, position which he left when he became CEO of Telecom Italia. Mr. Bernabè is currently Chairman of the Board of GSMA, the international organisation of mobile operators, member of the Board of Directors of PetroChina, and member of the European Roundtable. He is also Co-President of the Italy Brasil Business Council and Vice President of the Rome Industrialist and Enterprises Association with special duties for innovation and Broadband. He is member of the Governing Board of Confindustria. He has served on the Board of TPG-TNT, of FIAT, on the Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the Board of the Peres Center for Peace. He has also served pro bono on different public assignments: in 1999 he was appointed by the Italian Prime Minister as a special representative of the Italian Government for the reconstruction of Kosovo; between 2001 and 2003 he was the Chairman of La Biennale di Venezia, and since 2004 he is the Chairman of the Mart Museum. In 2011 he was appointed “Cavaliere del Lavoro”. Since February 2012 Mr. Bernabè is President of the Telecom Italia Foundation. Franco Bernabe Chairman & CEO Telecom Italia SAMENA TRENDS Volume 04 Issue 04 April 2013 www.samenacouncil.org 3 Exclusive Interview Q. In the last years the internet Q. In the past, fast changes in the ecosystem has changed at a fast pace. internet ecosystem were followed by What is your perception on where the sudden fall due to the unsustainability of telecom sector is headed and what does the business models. Do you think that this means for operators like Telecom a sustainable internet business model is Italia? emerging or there are some drawbacks A. The emergence of Over the Top and their services that can affect this industry? need a quantum leap in terms of capacity and bandwidth. A. Within the information society most of the In recent years the Internet traffic has grown at a very fast processes and transactions take place through the exchange pace and the forecasts indicate a further increase in terms of of bits, which are recorded, stored and processed.