Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

”Youth market to power growth of mobile content services” | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Dubai-The youth market in the Middle East region has emerged as a key driver of growth of mobile content services, and mobile service providers should seek to exploit the full potential of this segment by introducing innovative applications and providing quality content services that appeal to them, said Bashar Dahabra, CEO of Info2cell.com, the leading Wireless Application Service Provider (WASP) in the Middle East, during the recently-concluded international telecoms summit, Connect 2005.

Speaking at the summit, Dahabra said: &#34The importance of accurate segmentation of the market to help increase market penetration cannot be overstated. A broad understanding of the nature as well as varied and specific demands of the market segments is critical to providing innovative and segment-specific mobile content service.&#34

&#34The youth market has emerged as a critical factor behind the growth of mobile content services such as SMS, MMS and WAP in the region. About 50 per cent of the population in the Arab world is under 18 years of age. This represents an excellent growth opportunity for mobile service providers, which should be fully exploited by introducing innovative applications and providing quality content services,&#34 Dahabra added.

Dahabra said: &#34It is also important to understand the needs of various segments within the larger youth market. Research from the U.K. suggests that the generation gap between a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old is the same as the generation gap between a 15-year-old and a 33-year-old. Sensitivity to these differences is key to packaging services that will appeal to the various segments within the youth market.&#34

Observing that mobile video content is emerging as the breakthrough service, Dahabra said: &#34Mobile entertainment is coming of age as a consistent and reliable source of revenue for carriers, product developers and aggregators of content. Mobile video services have of late gained greater strategic importance as they are instrumental in driving up the average revenue per user (ARPU).&#34

&#34Mobile video content services are emerging as a viable market opportunity for content owners and an effective means for consumers to access high-quality content. Forming partnerships with reliable content and broadcast providers has become crucial for mobile operators to leverage this advantage,&#34 he added.

&#34Today, customers expect to be constantly updated on the latest global events and critical business alerts. This requires mobile service providers to partner with quality content providers with extensive reach. To meet this need, Info2cell has partnered with leading names in both the international and local media to provide our customers speedy and reliable information on a variety of topics,&#34 Dahabra said.

&#34More events like CONNECT should be held to enable industry professionals in the region to exchange ideas and expertise, and to keep pace with the latest global developments in the mobile market,&#34 Dahabra concluded.