Istanbul – March 6, 2013 – At the SAMENA Council’s Beyond Connectivity 2013 conference, ETNO and the
SAMENA Council, jointly representing telecommunications operators and service providers in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, both reiterated their commitment to closely cooperate in addressing high‐priority industry issues and to collaborate on developing frameworks, which may assist the industry in creating innovative and efficient business models.

"In today's converged and interconnected markets, our organizations directly benefit from working together and sharing best practices. Operators in both regions are faced with similar challenges. In today's digital economy, operators have to search for new business models and markets need more efficiency and consolidation. We are faced with new types of competition, coming from outside the telecoms sector and from beyond national boundaries. Our sector is increasingly faced with global challenges which demand global answers", says Luigi Gambardella, ETNO Executive Board Chair.

Operators in Europe and in the SAMENA region, while experiencing varying growth rates that tend to depend on numerous market dynamics and conditions, are faced with the same necessity: innovate, seek synergies, and develop new business models to counter declining traditional revenues. Given the fact that telecommunications operators are now competing with new players, which may not necessarily have the same regulatory obligations as do the operators themselves, it has become imperative for the telecom operator community to be engaged with policy‐makers and regulators, in order to strive toward a levelplaying field. Fragmentation of rules across national borders, among similar challenges, often limits innovation and deprives operators from necessary scale to develop new products.

Bocar BA, CEO of the SAMENA Council, believes that “Cooperation and collaboration are a key to success in today’s business. As our regions increasingly embrace advanced digital services, we realize how important it is to create new enabling policies that could help sustain the pace of technological advancement. Telecoms operators are and will remain a major stakeholder in the industry and it is important that they be equipped to deal with emerging business challenges.”
New business models are essential for the industry, as they assist stakeholders in exploring new ways to  benefit from advanced telecommunications technologies, and help operators sustain investments in establishing next‐generation wireless and fiber networks, which have become integral to the realization of
digital economies around the globe. Both ETNO and the SAMENA Council see important benefits from increased cooperation in areas such as spectrum, access to content, ICT skills, and new innovative business models.
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About ETNO
ETNO’s 37 member companies and 12 observers, including leading telecoms operators and equipment manufacturers, from Europe and beyond represent a significant part of total ICT activity in Europe. They account for an aggregate annual turnover of more than €600 billion and employ over 1.6 million people. ETNO companies are the main drivers of broadband and are committed to its continual growth in Europe. For more information, please consult www.etno.eu or contact Thierry Dieu, ETNO Director for Communications and Public Policy (dieu@etno.be) or at +32 2 227 10 82.

About SAMENA
SAMENA Telecommunications Council is a tri‐regional, non‐profit telecommunications association that represents over 40 telecommunications operators in 25 markets, representing an aggregate subscriber base of 790 million mobile users, including mobile broadband users, 79 million fixed‐line users, and 22 million fixed broadband users. The Council’s membership embodies a community of telecom operators, manufacturers, government bodies, academia, and leading global management consultancy organizations. SAMENA’s Board of Directors and member companies include the largest regional operators and global multi‐network operators as well as new competitive entrants. SAMENA focuses on digitization and broadband investment policies, and aims to promote beneficial regulation and governance that further industry evolution, as well as cooperation among key ICT industry stakeholders. For further information, visit www.samenacouncil.org or contact SAMENA Communication at +971 4 364 2700 or email to (communications@samenacouncil.org).

Contact (SAMENA Council)
Rola Osseiran
Marketing & Communication Director
Tel: +971 4 364 2700
Email: communications@samenacouncil.org

Contact (ETNO)
Thierry Dieu
ETNO Director for Communications and Public Policy
Tel: +32 2 227 10 82
Email: dieu@etno.be