The 1st Albanian Telecom Forum was Successfully Convened

Bringing Together Technology & Academia

Tirana – November 10, 2009 – More than 200 participants from Albania and the Balkan region gathered today at the Sheraton Tirana Hotel for the First Telecom Forum in Albania "ICT Convergence in the Era of Unifed Communications: Bringing Academia and Industry Closer – Exploring Albania's Opportunities".

The forum was organized by INTRACOM TELECOM Albania S.A., with the scientific support of Athens Information Technology (AIT), under the auspices of the Minister of State for Reforms and Parliamentary Relations and the collaboration of the Polytechnic University of Tirana, as well as the Agency of Electronic and Postal Communications (AKEP). This year’s media sponsorship was courtesy of Monitor magazine.

The First Telecom Forum brought together for the first time all the main actors of Albania's telecom market, governmental entities, and academia; senior representatives of Albania’s major telecom operators, such as Mr. Stefanos Oktapodas, the CEO of AMC; Mr. Ali Taskin, the CEO of Eagle Mobile; Mr. Mustafa Akdogan, the CEO of ALBtelecom; Mrs. Evis Karandrea, the Legal, Regulatory & Strategy Director of Vodafone Albania; as well as Mr. Genc Pollo, the Minister of State for Reforms and Parliamentary Relations; Mr. Altin Rrapaj, the Director of Economic Regulations representing the Agency of Electronic and Postal Communications (AKEP); and Mr. Jorgaq Kacani, the Rector of the Polytechnic University of Tirana.

The future of Albania's rapidly developing telecom market will be defined by the close interaction of technology with academia. The most important issue is the need to elevate Albania’s telecom market to European standards by partnering academia and business and making this Forum a platform to enhance cooperation and constructive debate.

The Albanian telecom market has significantly advanced the last few years but there is still further margin to be pursued. Its contribution in the local economy is substantial since it reaches 6.6% of the country’s GDP, compared with 2.2% in EU countries. The role of the information and communication technology is well recognized by the Albanian Government which acknowledges bringing Albania into the digital era as a major objective. The Minister reaffirmed his will to expedite the licensing of 3G and WiMAX services in the country and support new investments in the field, but according to the mobile companies, AKEP has to speed up the 3G licensing process.

Academia contributes by providing highly skilled students and research and development specialists. To facilitate this, INTRACOM TELECOM Albania S.A., in cooperation with AIT, set a good example of such collaboration by announcing the Intracom Telecom Albania Scholarship Program for Albanian Citizens.

This program will offer new graduates the possibility to attend the Master of Science program at AIT, affiliated with Carnegie Mellon, one the most prestigious universities worldwide.

10 November 2009

ICT Convergence in the Era of Unified Communications: Bringing Academia & Industry Closer - Exploring Albania's Opportunities