Capacity Eurasia 2011

Capacity Eurasia 2011

Cenk Yapıcı

The event held on September 14, 15 in İstanbul.
Capacity Eurasia 2011 is the only wholesale focused event for the Eurasia marketplace: Bridging together the CIS, Türkiye, Iran, Iraq and Syria and international carrier-to-carrier markets. The event held on September 14, 15 in İstanbul.

Information about Capacity Media
Capacity Media through its publishing and conferences focuses on the wholesale telecommunications market and carrier-to-carrier business. Consisting of Capacity magazine, Capacity Conferences and International Telecoms Week (ITW), Capacity Media is established as the leading source of information for the global telecommunications community. Capacity magazine is an essential source of information in today's telecommunications wholesale carrier and service provider marketplace.
Capacity focuses on the critical business issues that carriers face in this rapidly changing market. Throughout the year, Capacity looks at 'need to know' subjects such as partnership strategies, connectivity, new business models, pricing, M&A activity, new technologies and companies in the news.
Capacity offers telecoms executives a rich blend of insightful analysis and business intelligence through this online portal and the monthly publication.

Conferences bring opportunities
Capacity Conferences hold a series of events around the globe, focused on the business of wholesale telecommunications. These unique events provide extensive networking opportunities, enabling you to meet the decision makers from local, regional and international carriers and service providers. High quality, extensively researched programs ensure that you have access to compelling content that will benefit your business. With a reputation for excellence, Capacity Conferences provide the optimum forum for you to make new business connections and identify profitable growth opportunities.
The market has recently demonstrated an increased interest in the Eurasian wholesale market as it becomes an increasingly important terrestrial transit route between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Capacity Eurasia is an event which focused on key points:

• Evaluating the growth potential of the Eurasia market and what will this market look like in the coming years,
• Assessing the growth potential in the CIS and Eurasia,
• Capitalizing on new market opportunities,
• Evaluating the role of Eurasia as a bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Asia...

Türkiye's geo-political position makes it a natural communications bridge between Asia and Europe and a gateway for international sales and investments in the Telecommunications and IT sector in the Caspian region, Central Asia and CIS. Across the region, the telecommunications industry continues to experience a process of demonopolization and privatization. Telecommunication coverage is expanding and networks are being upgraded and digitalized. Satellite and mobile operations are also being developed whilst Internet and ISP use is growing as Türkiye's telecom sector prepares for EU accession.

Identifying new opportunities in the Eurasia Markets
The first panel of Conference was about assessing the growth potential in the CIS and Eurasia and capitalizing on new market opportunities. Azertelecom Chief Sales Marketing Officer Anvar Huseynov has given some information about his country and Azertelecom: ‘Azerbaijan has a most strategic place for communications hotspot. China, Russia, Iran, Türkiye and CIS countries… We want to be center of communications.’
Ali Amiri (Etisalat EVP, Carrier and Wholesale Services) told his company and operations to us: “We enable people to reach each other, businesses to find new markets and everyone to fulfil their potential. Across the UAE, we provide telephone, TV and Internet services for everyone, and much more for businesses. We are increasingly present in international markets. Our customers enjoy the latest services and technologies, as well as a choice of great entertainment. Etisalat is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world and the leading operator in the Middle East and Africa, headquartered in the UAE.
Etisalat operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, servicing over 100m customers out of a total population of approximately 1.9bn people.
Etisalat is a comprehensive telecommunications provider offering a one-stop shop for mobile and fixed-line voice and data services to individuals, enterprises and international telecommunications companies, ISPs, content providers and mobile operators. It offers a variety of hi-tech complimentary services to the telecommunications industry including managerial and technical training, SIM card manufacturing, payment solutions, clearing house services, peering, voice and data transit, and submarine and land cable services.
Etisalat has a reputation for launching the right service to the right audience at the right market at the right time. This has been seen time and again, with the introduction of mobile, GSM, Internet, NGN fixed and mobile broadband services into the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Etisalat is also the major hub in the Middle East, for internet, voice, and mobile
Broadband, broadcast, roaming and corporate data services, with an extensive regional and intercontinental network. It is the largest carrier of international voice traffic in the Middle East and Africa and the 12th largest voice carrier in the world. Etisalat is the largest comprehensive provider of carrier and wholesale services in the region with Points of Presence (PoP) in New York, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore providing a truly global reach. Etisalat has 525 roaming agreements connecting 185 countries enabling BlackBerry, 3G and voice roaming.
Etisalat is a major investor in Thuraya, one of the world’s leading satellite geo-mobile communication systems covering approximately two thirds of the planet’s surface.”

Türk Telekom is the heart of communication
Türk Telekom International & Wholesale Senior Vice President Mehmet Toros informed the delegates about Türk Telekom company profile and visions: “Türk Telekom Group, the leading communication and convergence technology group in Turkey, provides integrated telecommunication services from PSTN and GSM to broadband Internet. As of March 31, 2011; Türk Telekom group companies have 15.8 million Fixed Access Lines, 6.7 million ADSL Connections and 11.8 million Mobile Subscribers. Group companies have a modern network infrastructure covering the whole country and offer a wide variety of services to residential and commercial customers all over Turkey. Apart from 81,4 % shares in Avea, one of the three GSM operators in Turkey, Türk Telekom owns 100% of wholesale data and capacity service provider company Pantel International AG and its subsidiaries, 99.9% of broadband provider TTNET, convergence technologies company Argela, IT solutions provider Innova, online education company Sebit A.Ş., online gaming company Sobee and call center company AssisTT. Türk Telekom also has an indirect minority share in Albtelecom, the Albanian incumbent telecom operator. 55% of Türk Telekom shares belong to Ojer Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. and 30% belongs to Turkish Treasury. The remaining 15% is publicly traded. Türk Telekom shares are listed in İstanbul Stock Exchange since May 2008.
Being the leader of the market with its capability to perceive customer expectations, its knowledge, and its entrepreneurial and competitive identity, Türk Telekom had witnessed one of the most important developments in its history when Oger Telecom had purchased 55% of Türk Telekom shares after its privatization in 2005. The broadcasting corporation called “Acquisition Monthly” on which the international investors keeping close tabs had awarded the privatization regarding the block sale of Turk Telekom as the “transaction of the year in developing markets” with respect to mergers and acquisitions. This union has also brought the company international standards in service mentality.
Our mission which defines the reason for the existence of the Company, and which value has been created for the customers is to provide customer-focused integrated communication solutions to our customers anywhere and anytime.
Our vision, which defines the future the Company wants to create and which is the destination the Company aims to reach, is to be the preferred communication operator carrying to the future.
Our values which represent the set of beliefs which makes the Company unique; and the cultural traits which define the character of the Company are as follows customer focused, trustworthy, innovative, responsible and dedicated. Our strength is Solidarity and Team Spirit.”

Connecting the World of the Golf
Mohammed Elagazy SVP International Relations, Business Development and Strategy informed us about GBI. He also talked about their vision, mission and benefits: “GBI’s vision is to facilitate economic and social growth across the Gulf region. GBI’s mission is to be the carrier’s carrier of choice for wholesale telecommunications traffic around the Gulf and beyond. GBI will achieve this mission by investing in and operating a state-of-the-art fiber network offering carriers greater bandwidth, choice, resilience and value. Maintaining a market position as the carrier’s carrier, GBI will seek to serve all carriers equally. GBI’s cable system will play an integral part in raising the quality of the communications infrastructure around Gulf region and thereby facilitate social and economic growth.
GBI’s network is one half of a very powerful partnership. We provide connectivity and when this is linked to IT, it changes the way people, enterprises and societies operate. This combination has been one of the main driving forces of globalization and enables companies to create a collaborative environment. GBI’s infrastructure will play a key role in driving this change. Improved connectivity will increase the region’s attractiveness to foreign investors. Governments around the world have realized the importance of high speed connectivity in attracting foreign investment and are taking steps to address this. The GBI network will position the region favorably when it comes to competing for inward investment.
It is not only business that will reap the benefits from the powerful partnership between IT and high speed connectivity. Consumers are also changing their habits, utilizing on-line information to be better informed, source products and services.
The GBI cable system will ensure that the Gulf has the right connectivity to be heard and is an active participant in global conversations.
GBI’s Network will provide operators with several benefits. The most immediate benefit GBI will deliver is increased bandwidth which will address the significant forecasted increase in telecommunications traffic generated in and around the Gulf.GBI’s investment will ensure that there is enough capacity for businesses and consumers alike as they increase their dependency on real time communications. Aligned with this increase in capacity will be our ability to offer greater levels of resilience to telecom operators. The core ring of the GBI network is designed to be self-healing, which means that traffic can be re-routed automatically to minimize any network outages. The GBI network will give telecom operators more choice of who to route their network traffic over. Choice creates more competition, which results in greater value. This will benefit not only the telecom operators, but also end customers. By investing in the latest technology and people, GBI will be able to offer superior service levels that have never been seen in the region before.”

A pan-European Carrier
George Nikoloudis, Chief Operating Officer told us current status of connectivity links and future plans of OTEGLOBE.
“OTEGLOBE, headquartered in Athens Greece, is a provider of international telecommunications wholesale services to high-capacity carriers and multi-site organizations in the broader SE European region. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of OTE (ASE: HTO, NYSE: OTE), the leading telecommunications Group in Greece and the Balkans, and has been operational since October 2000. OTEGLOBE has grown to a regional hub delivering a complete portfolio of voice, data/IP and capacity services over a robust infrastructure.
OTEGLOBE operates two dual path high capacity optical networks, the GWEN and the TBN, stretching from Greece to Western Europe as well as an IP/MPLS network (MSP) with 14 nodes in Western Europe, SE-Europe and New York. In addition, OTEGLOBE has rights in several regional and transatlantic submarine cable systems; Trans border fiber optic networks to all neighboring countries and more than 150 direct bilateral routes.
OTEGLOBE’s international network connects SE Europe region with major telecom hubs in Western Europe.
It consists of two networks, physically and geographically diverse: the GWEN and the TBN.
In parallel, OTEGLOBE owns a Data/IP Multi-Services Platform (MSP), a private, state-of the art international network with PoPs in Western Europe, New York and major SE-European cities. We adjust our solutions to your individualized needs. OTEGLOBE analyzes and assesses your specific needs and provides you with customized solutions that combine high quality, reliability, availability, security, constant upgrading, thus fully satisfying even the most demanding telecommunications requirements. OTEGLOBE is committed to secure your business continuity with future-proof telecommunications solutions.”

‘Global İletişim brings you Next Generation Networks’
Mustafa Ünal, Head of Product Marketing & Business Development of Global İletişim informed the delegates about Global İletişim. He told their company and also infrastructure.
“More than 2000 strong brands and names have chosen to work with Global İletişim, an alternative telecom operator that offers an entirely new approach to telco operation. With a strong infrastructure and a collaborative approach, Global İletişim distinguishes itself from the competition providing its customers new and creative products based on countless innovations born of a rapidly developing technology.
With the technical infrastructure of NGN (Next Generation Networks) architecture, Global İletişim data and voice services are provided through a single network in a fast and reliable way. With services on a strong backbone in Turkey and abroad, and with an open structure that is always ready for expansion, Global İletişim provides its customers with all the advantages of one powerful infrastructure. With Telecom Infrastructure Operations License, Global İletişim is able to realize its own infrastructure projects. Our customers benefit from a designated and personalized, uninterrupted, reliable and economical infrastructure with all the independent voice, data services. And they are never tied to the processes, products, routes and the costs of an incumbent telecom operator.
Global İletişim İstanbul and Ankara datacenters are fully equipped and have technologically advanced infrastructures. Along with Global İletişim data and voice services, all datacenter services provide a work environment which allows customers to receive a fully comprehensive, high quality service from a single point.
Global İletişim offers a broad spectrum of services utilizing a wide range of communication products with three different licenses in six different product groups. Our tariffs are clear, transparent and easy to calculate. All regulations related to communications are carefully examined and systems are designed to provide direct solutions to meet customer needs and products and related services are designed accordingly.
Global İletişim voice, data, video and Internet services all operate from a single platform using NGN architecture. These high convergence processes are managed by experienced experts. A Global İletişim team of experienced marketing, development and sales experts develop integrated IT and datacenter projects, and PBX and network projects, while integration is realized by experienced technical teams who have led many successful projects.
Global İletişim convergence provides every customer a separate amount of time and work without incurring extra costs, while at the same time offering the convenience of a profitable and customized implementation start up.
Global İletişim technical infrastructure is based on NGN (Next Generation Networks) whose infrastructure, Internet access, data and voice services are all provided with high speed and reliability through a single network.
With a total of 24 POPs (Point of Presence) in various provinces in Turkey and in Frankfurt, Global İletişim connects to these points through its own backbone and the Turk Telekom voice network. The Global İletişim backbone has a fully redundant structure which is connected by circuits running through different routes. All equipment used is individually backed-up and the most advanced service continuity is provided on the network.
Devices on Global İletişim’s infrastructure, have received certification from international organizations such as ETSI; and support advanced technologies and new protocols such as SS7, ISUP, SIP, H.323, MGCP, etc.
There are many interconnectivity agreements between Global İletişim and major telecom operators including Turk Telekom and all Turkish GSM operators.
All routers and voice gateways have QoS capability which prioritize voice and allows you to manage voice packages. SS7 signaling protocol is used to make interconnection with telecom operator. Turk Telekom interconnection
Built in accordance with internationally accepted standards, Global İletişim has 3 datacenters- two in İstanbul and one in Ankara.
Global İletişim datacenters provide the most advanced technology in firewall, intrusion detection, virus protection and physical access security.”

Broadband is power
Rob Houghton, Vice President, Product Management, EMEA, Level 3 Communications made a presentation and told us about Level 3 and today’s communication technology:
“Explore how we evolved from being the best-funded start-up in history to one of the world’s six Tier 1 Internet operators. Meet the team behind our mission to combine comprehensive telecommunication services with true partnership. Discover how Level 3 is improving communication and enabling next-generation technology.
Level 3 was founded on the premise that cost-effective, scalable and reliable networks were the future for the telecommunications business. Once called “the best funded start-up in history,” we continually invested in infrastructure to become a world-class communications provider and have won the trust of the world's most sophisticated communications companies. It’s been an interesting history and is an ongoing story, one that we think you’ll want to know about in greater detail.
Today’s business applications require more bandwidth, but you need more than just a network. Level 3 provides a comprehensive suite of telecommunications services. Our global voice, transport and IP networks are the foundation of an extensive portfolio of products and services for voice, data and video. These assets, combined with our commitment to customer service, performance and value help you meet the challenges of business today.
You work hard to produce content that helps you stand out from the competition. High quality and rapid delivery are critical to your audience. The Level 3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) provides the bandwidth, worldwide connectivity, security and control to help quickly monetize your content. The right balance of performance, security, reliability and scalability creates value for your business and a great experience for your audience. Providing your customers with rich, high quality content grows more important every day, right along with the volume of informationavailable on the Web. Our global network of caching locations, the on-demand scalability of our IP network and our full suite of content delivery services ensures that your audiences’ experiences meet their expectations and needs. You want high traffic volume. You just need to optimize traffic flow and make sure that the right content is delivered to the right place, at the right time. Level 3 Content Delivery for Extended Libraries (CDXL) opens access to massive data storage and asset management, so visitors to your site can experience even long-tail content the way it’s intended to be.
Level 3 delivers a superior streaming media experience to your broadband users. We are uniquely positioned to support the rich-media delivery that users demand. Powered by one of the most connected content delivery networks in the world, the Level 3 Streaming platform is designed to support the next generation of streaming for leading media formats. Using this network, combined with Level 3 Vyvx video broadcast backhaul services, we can be your single-source transport provider, from Content Creation to Consumption.’