Alcatel-Lucent hosted its annual Tech Symposium in New Jersey in November, and the atmosphere was decidedly confident, be it on a low key basis. The company, which was facing deep financial distress just a couple of years ago appears to have turned the corner as it looks to change the gears of its ‘Shift Plan’ strategy and focus on innovating, transforming, and growing the company

Michel Combes was proud to report that as part of 2014’s Alcatel-Lucent Tech Symposium, the company had held its first investor day since 2006

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On November 9, 2014, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) introduced the Virgin brand into Saudi Arabia, following up on the October 1 introduction of its co-brand FRiENDi mobile into the same market. While the decision to launch and incorporate two mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) brands in the same market simultaneously has already set VMMEA apart from its competitors, the company’s ability to simply commercialise its operations in the kingdom is probably its largest differentiator to date

Mikkel Vinter said VMMEA is pursuing a 10x5x10 strategy, looking to be in 10 markets in five years, counting 10 million customers

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The telecommunications industry faces declining revenues in developed markets and stagnating growth in emerging ones. Telcos thus need to tap into new sources of revenue growth, while reducing their cost structure. Big Data has been proposed as one of the industry’s solutions for both revenue growth and cost savings.

Santiago Castillo, Principal at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

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Comm.’s annual list of leading technology company leaders has been highly anticipated given the exceptional work many of them have put in to drive their businesses forward, remain relevant in a rapidly evolving ecosystem, and maintain high levels of innovation and differentiation

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By Christophe Firth, Media & Telecoms Consultant at A.T. Kearney Middle East

Globally, over-the-top video (OTTv) is becoming mainstream[1]. In the Middle East, however, OTTv is still nascent by global standards. Fewer than 100,000 homes subscribe to dedicated commercial OTTv services—less than one per cent of television-viewing households[2]. Yet interest is strong and the market is evolving. Istikana and icflix launched the region’s first major standalone OTTv services in 2011 and 2013 respectively. OSN recently followed by announcing the launch of Go by OSN for non-pay TV subscribers. In 2014, beIN SPORTS relaunched its OTT service and began selling multiscreen subscriptions, and MBC partnered with Samsung to launch Shahid on smart TVs.

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