16 Giants of African Telecoms Named

The question at hand is 'who is the leading CEO in African telecoms' - and we at +Total Telecom don't know the answer - YET!

We will soon, because you are going to help us find out, by voting for CEO of the Year for the first ever Total Telecom Africa Awards.

The shortlist has come from the industry, who have been busy nominating their favourites, and now it's time to narrow this down to the one who stands head and shoulder about their peers.

Have your say and vote now.

The contenders are:

•  Abdeslam Ahizoune - Maroc Telecom
• Bob Collymore - Safaricom Limited
• Chris Wood - WIOCC
• Eng. Saeed AlHamli - Etisalat Misr
• Joseph Ged - Ooredoo
• Karim Khoja - Smart Telecom
• Lex van Wyk - Teraco Data Environments
• Michael Ikpoki - MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd
• Nic Rudnick - Liquid Telecom
• Shameel Aziz Joosub - Vodacom
• Sifiso Dabengwa - MTN Group
• Sipho Maseko - Telkom SA SOC
• Stanley Jegede - Phase3 Telecom
• Sunil Joshi - Neotel
• Theo Klein - Telecom Namibia
• Ziad Dalloul - Africell

All votes must be cast by Friday 24 April 2015 - VOTE HERE

Your opinion matters more than anyone's

Total Telecom are conducting our annual User Survey and your opinion is the most important. Before we get carried away, let us explain; when a media owner like Total Telecom asks for your opinion, it's very easy to ignore it and let someone else complete the survey, but the reality is we conduct this research to try to create better products, one's that you and your colleagues get value from, and the only way we can do this is by understanding what YOU want and need.

So please take five minutes to help us achieve this. the survey is short and should give us some more insight into what we should be writing about, how we should be presenting it, and what other events and solutions we should offer to help you do your job better.

All the information will be treated in confidence and the results used only in aggregate, unless you have specifically asked for more information. The more responses we get, the better the result, so please feel free to share with your colleagues, on social networks, the company intranet etc...

The survey should not take more than 5 minutes to complete, and can be found on the Survey Monkey platform at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HXJXY6K

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

p.s. don't forget - your opinion matters most!

View the video's from the Total Telecom Festival and World Communication Awards

This years Total Telecom Festival and World Communication Awards generated an extensive libraray of video, ranging from insightful speakers to elated winners.

Check though the playlist to hear from companies including: IDT, TeliaSonera International Carrier, SingTel, NTT Communications, Netnumber, Summit Communications, Telkomsel, Astelit, Huawei, TalkTalk Business, Orange Business Services, Portugal Telecom, TRA Bahrain, Plum Consulting, Movitel, Telkom Indonesia, Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS), B&B Electronics, and Orga Systems.



Videos include:

• A new eco-system is needed
• Anyone not looking at the end user is potentially dead #WCA14 #TTFest
• Anywhereization - the trend changing the telco industry #TTFest
• Bangladesh Update - Summit Communications #TTFest
• Building a digital society in Indonesia #TTFest
• CCS drive innovation in wireless backhaul system for small cells.
• Child safety is driven by collaboration says TRA Bahrain #TTFest
• Indipreneur scoops award for Best Small Business Initiative #WCA14
• Interview Alex Sinaga - CEO - Telkomsel
• Interview Konstantin Zhilin - Astelit #TTFest
• Interview: Pieter Veenstra of Netnumber #TTFest
• Mozambique based Movitel win Best Operator in an Emerging Market #WCA14
• NTT - becoming a global ICT partner #TTFest
• NTT Comm named Best Global Operator 2014
• Orange wins Best Enterprise Service # WCA14
• Portugal Telecom offer the best customer care in telecoms #WCA14
• Project of the Year won by Orga #WCA14
• SingTel are the choice of the telecom user
• Taking service assurance to the next level
• TeliaSonera - focussing on what we do best #TTFest
• TeliaSonera win Best Wholesale Carrier #WCA14
• The Most Innovative Connectivity Solution in #IoT
• Wholesale Market Highlights #TTFest
• Winners reaction Huawei at the 2014 World Communication Awards #WCA14

7 Reasons for you to attend the Total Telecom Festival

With this years Total Telecom Festival just three weeks away, here are seven reasons why you should attend:

1. Outstanding speakers sharing their knowledge and views. C-Level executives, leading analysts, and industry thought leaders including:

Alex J. Sinaga - CEO - Telkomsel

Bill Barney - CEO - Global Cloud Xchange

Camille Mendler - Principal Analyst - Ovum

Fotis Karonis - CTO - EE

Luigi Gambardella - CEO - ETNO

2. Engage with your peers during the interactive roundtable sessions - meet, exchange business cards and build valuable business relationships

3. Discover the leaders in the emerging Internet of Things space at the first ever IoTA's - see who you'll meet here

4. Leverage an amazing networking opportunity in the relaxed atmosphere of the World Communication Awards

5. Meet the winners at the 2014 World Communication Awards - see who you might meet by viewing the shortlist

6. Learn what makes a great telecom operator in our unique participant lead session on day 2 of the Total Telecom Festival - share your knowledge and learn from others

7. Have some fun - the World Communication Awards is the biggest and best party in telecoms and the plans for 2014 look outstanding!


TO BOOK YOU TICKET VISIT www.totaltele.com/festival

Look whose coming to #CarriersWorld - over 80 companies confirmed

That's right, more than 80 companies have already confirmed their participation in this years's Carriers World conference, organised by Total Telecom. Here's a selection of those coming to Europe's leading #wholesale event:

There's still time for you to get involved as a delegate, sponsor, or book one of our new networking pods.

Carriers World takes place at the fantastic Jumeirah carlton Tower in London's Knightsbridge - just round the corner from Harvey Nichols (so bring your credit card!)

Find out more about the leading speakers and fantastic networking opportunities on the website www.totaltele.com/carriersworld

What are the real requirements for IPX

IP eXchange or IPX is one of the hot topics today and will be the subject of a 1 day Total Telecom conference on the 10 October.

But what do customers really think about IPX? Our partners at Hot Telecom have put together a report based on interviews with 70 customers to give you some insight.

The report covers:

• Define the current status of service providers' IP migration as a whole
• Validate what service providers understand of IPX and how they define it
• Identify the services and features customers really need and want
• Determine what is important for customers when choosing their IPX providers
• Understand what are the main factors delaying the use of IPX for operators not already using it and what makes migration difficult
• Define the differences in service providers' opinions and needs based on their region of operation and core service offering

So if you are serious about the IPX opportunity, buy the report and come along to the Total Telecom IPX Summit

Total Telecom at CommunicAsia

Total Telecom is in Singapore this week for CommunicAsia, and you can keep up with all the latest content from our editors here

In addition we'll be producing video from a studio in Marina Bay Sands and from the third annual Asia Communication Awards on Thursday night. You can watch this on the dedicated channel on Total Telecom

Voted categories open #WCA13

The voted categories are now open for the 2013 World Communication Awards.

With the rise in popularity of the voted categories over the last few years, we expect to see even more participation for 2013, the 15th year of the prestigious World Communication Awards, and to ensure the competition is stronger than ever, we've been reviewing the assessment methods to ensure the most worth winners are named on the 3rd December 2013 at the awards dinner.

For success in the voted categories you need to enlist the assistance of your staff and clients, so don't delay, start working on them today:

1. CEO of the Year - one of the most prestigious of all categories, won last year by Vittorio Colao, Vodafone [watch his acceptance video here]. This category relies first on nominations and then on a public vote. In the first instance, start nominating if you want your CEO to be in the running. NOMINATE HERE

2. Best Place to Work - launched in 2012, this category has been refined for 2013 with the emphasis firmly on the opinions of those who know - your employees. The winner is determined based on net promoter scores, and to be assessed you need at least 50 responses. ENCOURAGE YOUR STAFF TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

3. The Users' Choice - now in it's 5th year, this is a research based category with studies carried out in parallel by Total Telecom and our partners at Ocean82. Winning this category is particularly valued by operators, as it is the views of their enterprise customers that count. WHY NOT SHARE THE SURVEY WITH YOUR ENTERPRISE CLIENTS. Last years winner was Orange Business Services

This year the World Communication Awards forms part of the Total Telecom Festival. Find out more by visiting www.totaltele.com/festival

Should you care about IPX

At Total Telecom we clearly care about IPX, that's why we are launching The IPX Summit in October, but should you?

We think you should, so watch this video interview with Isabelle Paradis of Hot Telecom to see why.


To find out more about the IPX Summit visit www.totaltele.com/IPXSummit 

Make no apologies for voice - it still matters

This weeks Breakfast with Total Telecom briefing, 'The Future of Voice' reaffirmed for anyone who had doubts in their mind that voice is very much alive.

A packed room heard opinions from analyst and voice wholesaler, financial services, and OTT player, and all were in agreement - voice is still in rude health and isn't going anywhere soon.

Watch this video to hear from Hot Telecom, IDT, and Samba Mobile


There was an active discourse on Twitter with the hashtag #TTWholesale, with a few of the most notable Tweets being:

• 5 stages of operator grief: denial,anger, depression,bargaining, acceptance. Isabelle Paradis: President of Hot Telecom
• Telcos need to move into internet world not the other way around - Ben Atherton: CEO and Founder of Samba Mobile
• Voice wholesale 'not as dead or dull as you might think' Jonathan Nierenberg: Senior VP Business Development Americas at IDT
• Visa is helping operators build propositions that matter Hugh Kingdon: Vice President, Product Development at Visa Europe

Related upcoming events from Total Telecom include:

• Total Telecom IPX Summit - 10 October
• Carriers World - organised by Total Telecom - 15 & 16 October

Mobile World Congress 2013: Special Edition #MWC13

Total Telecom+ has put together this Special Edition to gather all the news and views from this year's show

Inside the issue you will find:

• News & Views: A round-up of some of the major stories from Mobile World Congress 2013
• Business: Executives ask whether it is possible for most mobile operators to turn a profit in Africa
• Technology: The world’s biggest telcos urge regulators to allocate spectrum in a manner that encourages investment
• Geography: Key quotes from MWC 2013 show that telecoms operators the world over face the same challenges
• Events: Dates for your diary and details of the must-attend events in the telecoms industry over the coming months

Total Telecom+ is a designed for digital publication, Download Now:
• Get the App for you iPad (iOS) or Android device
• Download the issue as a PDF

Telecom genius? 19 questions to test your knowledge

So how much do you really know about telecoms? How well have you kept up with the news?

Test your knowledge in the Total Telecom end of year quiz.

There's no prize, but if you get 100% you'll be marked out as a true telecom expert!

All the answers are in the Total Telecom+ End of Year Review.

TAKE THE TELECOM QUIZ

2013 Media Information

The new media kit for Total Telecom in 2013 is now available. Download it at www.totaltele.com/media

Video's available: #WCA12 and #TTW12

The video's from this years World Communication Awards and Total Telecom World conference are now available as a playlist. There's 21 of them in total that you can view here, or via our YouTube channel.



Featured are winners and sponsors of the World Communication Awards, as well as presenters from Total Telecom World.

Fighting talk from the East

‘I aspire to be number one in the world, but everything should be done in steps’ says Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, number 13 in this years Global 100 Operators report.

Growth from the East is one of the key trends in this years Global 100 which can now be downloaded for FREE from Total Telecom

650,001 Apps in the iPhone App Store

OK, OK this might not be entirely true, but About.com reports there to be 650,000 apps in the App Store as of June 2012 and with the launch today of the Total Telecom news app, that makes 650,001...

But we hear you shout Total Telecom already has an app, and so we do, but this is different. We've had since March 2011 a dedicated app for our Total Telecom+ analysis publication, and now well over 4,000 of you have downloaded this, but we didn't have an app for Total Telecom news.

All that changes today with the launch of the shiny new Total Telecom news app. This offers , for free, a whole range of features, including:

• The latest news from Total Telecom online, delivered into topic specific sections, including: Mobility, Networks and Business, as well the latest Press Releases and White Papers.
• Updates from the @totaltelecom Twitter feed, which has almost 10,000 followers
• Access to our main LinkedIn group, where you can network with around 20,000 of your peers
• Video from Total TeleVision

In addition there a whole raft of other features which we will be 'growing' into, including some networking tools that you'll be able to utilise when you attend one of our events, such as:

• Finance Summit
• Total Telecom World
• Customer Experience Summit

We hope you'll find the new app useful, not least because it will enable you to keep up with the latest news from Total Telecom when you are not online. So download it now!

>> To download the Total Telecom News App Click Here

>> To download the Total Telecom+ Analysis App Click Here

Did you have cake? #Skype

Last week Skype celebrated it's 9th Birthday. It was described by commentator Andy Abramson as the "the single most disruptive service ever to hit the telecommunications world" but what next for Skype now it's part of the Microsoft juggernaut?

A recent article from Gigaom speculates on some of the features and places we might see Skype appearing, but for a more focused discussion you might want to join in the discussion with @totaltelecom during our Disruption Eruption conference in November. Here you'll meet representatives of all kinds of OTT players, including a keynote from Andreas Bernstrom, Chief Executive at Rebtel, who are arguably Skype's biggest rival.

Historically of course VoIP services like Skype have run via desktop computers, but the move to enabling them over any device is front of mind. Tony Bates, president of the Skype Division of Microsoft spoke to USA Today and said addressing people adopting BYOD was their number one priority.

This is therefore an interesting fit with an increasing number of mobile operators who are seeking to improve their user experience by using Wi-Fi for competitive advantage. Indeed The New York Times recently wrote an article on the lessons from the London Olympics, highlighting the Benefits of Free Wi-Fi and this will no doubt be a subject for the Customer Experience Summit that Total Telecom are organising on the 14 November 2012.

Total Telecom World - the Disruption Eruption conference, takes place in London on the 13th November 2012. It is followed by a one day focused Customer Experience Summit on the 14 November. On the evening of the 13th November, you are invited to join up to 600 of the most senior executives from the telecom industry at the 14th annual World Communication Awards.

Whole lot under one roof! #TTW12

The websites have been updated for the three events colocated under the - very large - roof of the Lancaster London this November.

This year you will find the 14th annual World Communication Awards sits alongside the 2nd Total Telecom World conference and new for this year the Total Telecom Customer Experience Summit.

World Communication Awards: established 1999, attracts up to 600 senior executives from global telecom operators and service providers. The awards take place on the evening of the 13 November in the fabulous Nine Kings Suite on the ground floor. www.worldcommsawards.com

Total Telecom World returns for the 2nd year and will take place in the Westbourne Suite on the 13 November. This years theme is Disruption Eruption, bringing together a line-up of speakers who are challenging how telecoms business is done. www.totaltele.com/world

The Total Telecom Customer Experience Summit is new for this year and takes place on the 14 November and examines how operators can profit from well defined and applied customer experience strategies.

Whether you attend one event, or all three, you need to ensure you have the dates in your diary to meet compelling speakers and key peers to network with.

Book today for the largest savings!

Check out the venue floorplans

How fast is fast enough? #DisruptionEruption

Photo: flickr.com/photos/davidneff

Interesting to read the article by CNET's Stephen Shankland asking how fast is fast enough? This exactly mirrors the subject to be presented by Mark Kellet, CEO of operator Magnet where he will discuss how can smart pipes allow users to do more with less?

Stephen's article also quotes  John D'Ambrosia, chair of the Higher-Speed Ethernet Consensus group who points out "For 2015, we expect the bandwidth that needs to be supported to be 10 times what it was in 2010, and in 2020, 100 times what it was in 2010,"

This is just one of the disruptive issues facing telecom operators grasping the opportunities to deliver a profitable telecom business, so if this sounds like something you are grappling with, maybe you should attend Total Telecom World. Register by the 24 August for the lowest possible rate.

The Future of Communications #OTT

What's the future of communications? That's the central question that will be posed by the second annual Total Telecom World summit in November, and instead of the usual raft of companies hypothesising on what it might be, we're going to show you.


This year our theme is the Disruption Eruption and we're are bringing together a line up of speakers that are actually challenging the status quo and who will change the face of the global communications industry.


The one day conference ahead of the 2012 World Communication Awards will examine key issues including:

• How OTT players are disrupting the market
• Operator Business Models
• What will the successful operator of the future look like
• Capitalising on big data and more

In an increasingly competitive market, it's time for the telco's to think out of the box, and our aim with Total Telecom World is to show what life outside the box looks.

To top the day off, the 14th annual World Communication Awards will take place in a different part of the same venue (Lancaster Hotel, London). Bringing together up to 600 of the most senior executives in the industry, there's clearly no group better qualified to discuss the future of communications!

DISRUPTIVE NOTES: Camille Mendler of Ovum recently picked up on a similar theme with her post "Telcos: Want to fight OTT?" - drawing an interesting parallel of disruption that telecom operators should be interested in. In this case we're seeing French rail operator SNCF launching bus services between Paris and London to compete with the low cost air carriers and the like. SNCF is of course now headed by Barbara Dalibard (ex-Orange BS) so their experiences should perhaps be especially pertinent to the telecoms industry.