3G comes to the Middle East

February 21, 2007

Six years after the telecom industry first hyped 3G service as the next big thing in communications, regional subscribers may finally begin adopting the service.

Mazen Hamadallah, a regional manager for Alcatel-Lucent, which produces telecommunications equipment for fixed networks, 3G and the new WiMAX standard, said new entrants and expanded offerings from existing 3G operators should begin to push the service into the mainstream.

"We believe the Middle East market will start to prepare itself for 3G networks, and this is something that we're trying to promote more and more," Hamadallah said. "We expect 2007 to become the year when 3G networks start to grow."

3G networks offers the ability to conduct video calling, as well as delivering both voice and data traffic at the same time at speeds approaching 384 kilobytes per second, which is nearly 50 times more bandwidth than what is required for a voice call. But while the high-bandwidth offers improved functionality, the public has been slow to adopt it.

However, not only will new licenses for 3G mobile service be awarded shortly in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but existing 3G operators are implementing plans to enhance their capabilities by installing new functionalities, according to Hamadallah.

In fixed line services, growth is also expected due to new fixed telecom licenses in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as the spread of television service over Internet Protocol networks - so called "IPTV."

By contrast, Alcatel-Lucent sees considerable time before the adoption of WiMAX becomes a reality, a new long-distance wireless broadband technology that holds great promise but requires deploying completely new infrastructure. "Operators are still looking for a business case, and it's not yet there," he said.

Hamadallah presides over Alcatel-Lucent's operations in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The company became the world's largest provider of telecommunications carrier equipment in September when shareholders approved France-based Alcatel to merge with US firm Lucent Technologies in a deal reportedly worth $11 billion.

A wave of consolidation has swept through the telecom equipment industry as firms maximise economies of scale and concentrate their research and development efforts as consumers and telecom operators demand new innovative products.

In April, the proposed merger between the telecom equipment units of Nokia and Siemens is expected to be finalised.