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Middle East Telecom Companies Prepare for Next Generation Internet Use

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 21:00 CST

By Middle East and North Africa Business Report, Amman, Jordan

Mar. 16--Higher usage for broadband services in the Gulf is driving regional providers of telecommunications and internet services to evaluate their existing network infrastructure capability, as well as how they charge customers.

A "fair use" concept where customers demanding certain services pay a premium for their reliable and speedy delivery is the most likely billing model telecom companies in the region will employ.

"The infrastructure and billing are the two key components," said an industry source. "Customers want the capability to download games and movies, for example, quickly and reliably, but regional internet service providers can't afford to have those same customers sitting on the network, eating up all the capacity, without paying for it."

The most intelligent remedy, sources say, is for the service providers to rapidly deploy a portfolio of new, revenue-generating services that provide internet users with a next generation technology experience without the service provider losing control of its network. "All the new services we are talking about are dependent on improved quality of service, meaning that the region's telecom vendors require a more intelligent network capability that only comes with a new services delivery architecture beyond standard "best effort" internet access," said Joseph Neil , regional director of Caspian, a supplier of next generation internet hardware and services. "In short, they require a next generation traffic management system for internet services." With Caspian Media Controller, network managers can control and deliver guaranteed multimedia and predictable real-time internet protocol (IP) services that can instantly transform the networks into next generation IP infrastructures. Assuming the future internet service provision model of "pay-for-delivery" prevails, the region's residential and commercial broadband users can expect faster and reliable services, while providers work on improving online access.

Kamran Hussain, vice president of Tech Access, the channel development partner of Caspian agrees: "Caspian products and solutions are ideal for the region because they meet a real and immediate need for better traffic management, something all regional enterprises can benefit from. Together with our professional services, Caspian has quite a lot to offer the Middle East's growing communication-dependent economy."

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To see more of the Middle East and North Africa Business Report or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.menareport.com/.

Copyright (c) 2006, Middle East and North Africa Business Report, Amman, Jordan

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Middle East and North Africa Business Report (Amman, Jordan)

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