Agenda

Unlike other events, TowerXchange Meetups offer a unique balance of keynote debates and over 40 curated roundtable discussion groups, enabling participants to tailor the agenda to their own needs and interact in an intimate setting with industry experts.

Preparations for the Meetup MENA agenda are underway. Click here to view a list of the full list of speakers and roundtable hosts.

Download TowerXchange Meetup MENA 2019 prospectus

Meetup Day One

  • 08:00

  • Welcome coffee & registration

  • 09:00

  • TowerXchange welcome address: The evolution of the towerco industry and the MENA tower landscape
    Kieron Osmotherly, Founder & CEO, TowerXchange
    Frances Rose, Head of EMEA, TowerXchange

  • 09:45

  • Keynote | Rethinking the shape, ownership and management of communications infrastructure in a digital economy

    Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat International
    Kamil Hilali, Chief Strategy Officer, Zain Group
    Senior Representative, Saudi Telecom Company
    Ali Khan, Senior Expert, M&A, Omantel

  • 10.30

  • Keynote | Creating a supportive environment to foster infrastructure sharing and develop a robust tower industry

  • 10:50

  • Keynote | The role for independent towercos in driving network efficiencies

    Moderator: Gulfraz Qayyum, Managing Director, TMT, Citi
    Ted Manvitz, EVP & Chief Strategy Officer, IHS Towers
    Suresh Sidhu, CEO, edotco Group
    Kash Pandya, CEO, Helios Towers
    Robin Weber, VP M&A and Strategy, Africa, American Tower
    Akshay Grower, Chief Investment Officer, ISON Towers

  • 11:35

  • Networking refreshment break

  • 12:05

  • Roundtable session 1*

    Participants are divided into discussion groups of roughly 20 participants, hosted by an expert moderator on a selection of different topics. All sessions are held under Chatham House rule to facilitate open exchange

    Buyer briefings
    Invitation only sessions where key MNOs and towercos explain their upcoming procurement requirements

  • 13:05

  • Networking lunch

  • 14:30

  • Roundtable session 2

    _

    Buyer briefings

  • 15:30

  • Networking refreshment break

  • 16:30

  • Panel | MNO owned towers, MNO captive towercos, independent towercos and other models – the pros and cons for the telecommunications sector

    James Maclaurin, Non-Executive Director, Dialog Axiata & Founder, edotco
    Nihat Narin, CEO, Global Tower
    Marc Perusat, Managing Partner, TASC Towers

  • 16:45

  • Panel | The investibility and investment case for towercos and infracos in MENA

    Moderator: Ioannis Mavridis, Senior Vice President, TAP Advisors
    Abu Chowdhury, CFO, ASMA Capital Bahrain
    Eric Crabtree, Chief Investment Officer, IFC
    Rustem Umerov, Managing Director, ASTEM

  • 17:30

  • Chair’s closing remarks

  • 17:40

  • Networking drinks in the exhibition hall

  • 19:30

  • Networking dinner
    (Separately bookable)

Meetup Day Two

  • 08:30

  • Morning coffee

  • 09:00

  • Panel | Infrastructure for smart cities and 5G: Business models, partnerships and technologies to deliver efficiencies

    Moderator: Sam Evans, Partner, Delta Partners
    Kevin Smithen, Managing Director, Digital Colony (afc)
    Gayan Koralage, Director of Strategy & Commercial, edotco Group
    Senior Representative, Etisalat (tbc)

  • 09:45

  • Panel | Connecting the unconnected: Network restoration, rural coverage expansion and temporary coverage

    Zhardasht Khalid, Network Rollout Manager, Korek Telecom
    Hussein Abdulkhader, COO, Asia Consulting Group

  • 10:30

  • Networking refreshment break

  • 11:00

  • Roundtable session 3*

  • 12:00

  • Networking lunch

  • 13:30

  • Roundtable session 4*

  • 14:30

  • Networking refreshment break

  • 15:00

  • Reducing the cost and improving the efficiency of cell site operations

    Gordon Porter, VP, Operations, IHS Towers
    Wiktor Barcicki, Technology Economics, Etisalat International
    Alex Leigh, Chief Commercial Officer, Helios Towers

  • 16:00

  • Chairs closing remarks and end of Meetup

Provisional roundtable topics

  • - Evolution and comparison of towerco business models globally
    - Creating a win-win regulatory environment
    - MNO joint venture towercos: can they work?
    - Tower value crystallisation for MNOs without sale & leaseback – can “truly independent” towercos create more value than a majority MNO-owned towerco?
    - Carving out and creating value in MNO owned towercos
    - Sale & leasebacks: The good, the bad and the ugly
    - Infrastructure requirements, timelines and models for 5G rollout in the GCC
    - The MENA MNO landscape: Data and subscriber growth, competition and M&A
    - Achieving value through decommissioning
    - What drives value for tower investors?
    - Getting active sharing agreements off the ground
    - Infracos and infrastructure sharing models for smart cities
    - 5G use cases and commercialisation: reality versus myth
    - Indoor coverage in a 5G era
    - Who will be the infrastructure owners in tomorrow’s networks?
    - Delivering rural coverage cost effectively
    - How to scale a towerco
    - MENA fuel trends and the role for hybrid solutions over generators
    - What role will ESCOs play in MENA?
    - Optimising energy efficiency at high temperatures
    - How tighter asset management can deliver better margins in developed markets
    - Strengthening and future proofing sites for increased infrastructure sharing
    - Accelerating co-location
    - Pricing considerations and common pitfalls to avoid with your commercial negotiations
    - Reducing site opex in developing markets
    - Low cost rapid deployment solutions
    - Saudi Arabia
    - Iraq
    - Egypt
    - North Africa
    - Pakistan
    - GCC
    - Conflict markets: Where and when the growth will be