ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 1 Abdelfattah ABUQAYYAS Coordinator Arab Centre of Excellence ITU BDT ITU CoE/ARB Initiative and Activities

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 2 Background  Changing environment  Main interactive forces underlying change in the Telecom Industry sector : restructuring (liberalization/competition), globalization, technology,convergence of telecom with IT & multimedia, growing customer demands.  The presence of highly qualified staff at key levels in telecom organizations becomes a critical factor for a smooth transition to the current telecom environment.  The regional Center of Excellence initiative:  A mechanism aimed at offering a greater and better range of training products for high-level staff in all telecom-related organizations.  Also, to serve as a regional focal point for training, professional development, research and information.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 3 Role and Objectives  Target population  Policy makers, regulators and managers, in charge of the development of national policies and regulations for the telecommunication sector.  Senior corporate executives and managers, responsible for aspects related to management of telecommunication networks and services.  Purpose of the Center of Excellence:  To establish a regional mechanism aimed at strengthening the capacity, within the region, to develop high-level know-how and expertise in telecommunication policy, regulatory matters, corporate management and advanced telecommunication technology.  The ultimate objective is to better meet some of the priority training and human resource development needs of the telecommunication sector in the concerned region.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 4 Organization and Financing  Organization  Training activities (face-to-face/distance-learning) are conducted from the institutions that constitute the CoE network.  A coordination office to plan, organize and follow-up the activities to be carried out in the region.  A Steering Committee, which is responsible for setting policies, strategies and approving the CoE’s action plan and budget.  Financing  Achieve self-financing through cost recovery mechanisms.  Seed fund granted by the ITU through the Telecom Surplus program.  Programs supported by different players.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 5 Structure and Partnerships  Structure  A network of existing telecommunication training, educational and/or research centers in the Region, together with public and private sector players.  Foster greater synergy by pooling available resources and expertise, develop new areas of expertise, facilitate interaction and exchange of information/experiences.  Potential Partners  Partnerships Objectives To establish collaborative and exchange relationships with other Centres and other bodies, within the Region and abroad, which are engaged in similar or related endeavors. The purpose is to increase the capabilities of the CoEs and to keep them up-to-date with modern technology and best practices.  The relationship with Partners providing in-kind or in-cash contributions will be governed by appropriate Memoranda of Understanding and relevant project documents.  The partners can include: Existing telecommunication training centers; educational and/or research centers; universities; governments and regulatory organs; operators and service providers; regional organizations and industry players.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 6 A ‘win A ‘win-win proposal’  Governments, regulators, operators and all other stakeholders in the telecom sector who would gain access to a range of training and professional development products which have so far not existed or have been limited and expensive.  Content providers who would reach the widest possible audience at regional level and worldwide, providing valid training alternatives to meet the increasingly demanding needs of the telecom sector.  Industry sponsors who would be supporting telecom development in the region and stimulating the emergence of an even more attractive regional telecommunication market.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 7 The ITU CoE Network  Center of Excellence for Western and Central Africa  Major Node: Dakar  Center of Excellence for Eastern and Southern Africa  Major Node: Nairobi  Center of Excellence for Asia Pacific  Major Node: Bangkok  Center of Excellence for the Americas  Major Node: Cordoba  Center of Excellence for the Arab Region  Major Nodes: Damascus, Cairo, Amman, Tunis, Khartoum, Manama  Center of Excellence for EUR and CIS Countries  Major Node: Moscow

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 8 CoE/ARB Project Strategy  The introduction to new technologies, the move towards corporatisation and competition and the separation of regulation from operations of telecommunications cannot be easily achieved without the necessary technological, managerial, policy and regulatory expertise  All countries need highly trained human resources to facilitate the transition to the new telecommunications environment.  ITU Arab Centre of Excellence project aims to facilitate the sharing of expertise and provide assistance with the planning, organization and implementation of high quality training and development programs to improve human capacity building in telecommunications, especially for senior government officials, and executive managers from the private and public sectors and regulatory organs.  This high-level human capacity building project aims to implement innovative and relevant training programs (face – to – face and distance learning) developed in close collaboration with the users, their organizations and other key stakeholders.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 9 CoE/ARB Main functions  To assess priority training and HRD needs for policy makers, regulators and operators  To establish cooperation agreements between governments, regulators, operators, service providers, financing and development bodies and regional and international organizations aimed at mobilizing resources  To promote the use of IT and telecommunications for distance learning and tele-working  To plan, organize and implement the activities to be carried out in the region  To maintain an inventory of existing facilities and expertise in the participating institutions

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 10 ARB CoE Programs  Telecom Policies Program, In Cooperation with the National Telecommunications Institute (NTI)  Regulatory Issues Program, In Cooperation with Jordan Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC)  Business Management Program, In Cooperation with Bahrain Telecommunications Company (BATELCO)  New Technologies Program, In Cooperation with the National Telecommunications Institute (NTI)  IP Awareness Program, In Cooperation with the Centre d”Etudes et de Recherches des Télécommuunications (CERT).  Rural Connectivity Program, In Cooperation with the Sudan Telecom (SUDATEL).

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 11  To maximize the synergy between the concerned Training Providers and neighboring Subject Matter Experts of the Administrations/Operators for the design and implementation of the selected programs.  To match diversified training needs of the Sector Members, while developing new training materials and optimizing the use of existing training resources: Let’s be prepared for Replication and Adaptation  To develop the use of electronic resources in the implementation of the Capacity Building Process  To promote Train-the-Trainers actions in virtual mode as well as in face-to-face mode when using Partnerships Opportunities Why to develop Arab CoE Networking Process ?

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 12 Achievements in 2001  The steering committee conducted two meetings in 2001 in Tunis and Damascus for launching the CoE/ARB project and approving the its action plan for  The CoE started its functionality in the 4 th Quarter 2001in Damascus.  During the 2001 the ARB CoE organized two regional activities:  Regional Workshop on “Marketing & Revenue Forecasts for Telecom Operators in a Competitive environment”, held in Manama.  Regional Seminar on “Telecommunication Policies", held in Cairo.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 13 Training Activities 2002 Program NameActivityPlace and date Regulatory IssuesWorkshop on Regulatory issues Amman 11 – 14 February Workshop on Interconnection Principles and practices Rabat 2 – 5 September Telecom PoliciesForum on Telecom Policies & International Standards: Impacts and Implications Cairo May New Technologies and Services Workshop on New Trends in Telecommunications Damascus 15 – 17 July Internet and Information Technologies Workshop on IP Technologies and Applications Tunis !7 – 19 June Business Management Virtual Forum on Business Drivers and Data Collection 4 Weeks, starting 24 June Rural ConnectivityRural Connectivity and Universal Access Khartoum 10 – 12 December

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 14 CoE/ARB Output Place WorkshopParticipantsLecturersCountriesOrganizations Bahrain 01 Revenue Forecasting Cairo 01 Telecom. Policies Amman 02 Regulatory Issues Cairo 02 Standardization Tunisia 02 IP Technologies Damascus 02 Telecom. Trends Morocco 02 Interconnection Khartoum 02 Universal Service Cairo 03 DSL Applications Tunisia 03 IP Applications Damascus 03 NGN Economics Amman 03 Licensing Sanaá 03 USP & F Amman 03 IT Security TOTAL/AVG

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 15 Building Capacity CoE-AMS CoE-ARB CoE-ASP CoE-AFR EUR&CIS

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 16 CoE/ARB Participation per Country Algeria 17 Mauritania 5 Bahrain 20 Oman 22 Comoros 2 Palestine 13 Djibouti 3 Qatar 1 Egypt 185 Saudi Arabia 39 Iraq 4 Somalia 6 Jordan 168 Sudan 55 Kuwait 7 Syria 145 Lebanon 5 Tunisia 147 Libya 17 UAE 7 Morocco 15 Yemen 30

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 17 Action Plan 2003 Training ProgramTraining ActivityPlace and Date Regulatory Issues TRC Licensing2-4/9 Amman Conducted Spectrum ManagementAmman January 2004 InterconnectionJanuary Tunis 2004 Spectrum Management Virtual Forum2004 Telecommunication Policies NTI Sector Reform LiberalizationMerged in One workshop 2004 Competition Policies New Technologies NTI DSL Tech. and Services4-6/3 Cairo Conducted NGN Economics18-21/8 Damascus Conducted Migration towards 3 rd Gen. MobileQ Business Management BATELCO VSAT Business Applications8 – 10 /12 Manama COSITU2004 Business Management Virtual ForumQuarter 4 IP Technologies CERT Internet Applications. And Digital Divide17-19/6 Tunisia Conducted Networks Security21-23/7 Amman Rural Connectivity SUDATEL USO and Funding7-9/10 Sana'a

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 18 Suggested CoE/ARB Action Plan 2004 ProgramWorkshopDatePlaceRemarks Regulatory Issues Frequency SpectrumJanuary Amman - JordanAgreed Frequency SpectrumQ3Oran - AlgeriaAgreed Frequency SpectrumWhen availableE-LearningCoE EUR NumberingQ3To be decidedAgreed InterconnectionJanuary Tunis - unisiaAgreed InterconnectionWhen availableE-LearningProposed Policy Issues Sector Reform LiberalizationQ1Cairo - EgyptAgreed e-Business policiesQ3To be decidedSuggested Policy and RegulationWhen availableE-LearningCoE/AMS New Technologies and Services 3 rd Generation MobileQ2To be decidedfrom ‏2003‏‏ Wireless Network EvolutionsQ4To be decidedSuggested Technologies for in e-BusinessWhen availableE-LearningCoE/AMS Internet and IP awareness Ipv6 AwarenessQ2TunisiaAgreed IP TelephonyQ4CairoAgreed Security networks for businessWhen availableE-LearningCoE/AMS Corporate Management COSITU for trainersQ2Manamafrom ‏2003 Financial ModelingQ4To be decidedSuggested Telecom Service MarketingWhen available E-LearningCoE/AMS Rural Connectivity Wireless SolutionsQ1Khartoum E-Suggested Universal Access Tele-centersQ4To be decidedSuggested Universal ServiceWhen availableLearningSuggested

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 19 Distance Learning Approach  The Distance Learning approach will be available to train managers in various issues  Two activities will be organized:  Frequency Spectrum Management Virtual Forum  Business management Virtual Forum  In cooperation with CoE for Americas a set of distance learning sessions will be available for the Arab Region through CoE ARB  Available On-line modules: Introduction to Regulation Interconnection Licensing Spectrum Management Regulation of new services and IP applications Internet and e-commerce  Human Recourses are required to act as facilitators/instructors for the distance learning activities.

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 20 Future Steps  A set of CoEs network will be established.  New more proactive role of the Leading party.  Workshop and distance learning approaches will be emphasized.  Limited number of lecturers and more specialized topics will be approached.  Increased role of the Instructors from the Region.  Data base of Regional Experts and trainers is required.  Support to be provided by existing Subject Matter Experts.  Availability of data, case-studies, tools, etc,. for Working Group activities within the workshop

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 21 We are Looking for:  A team of Experts for E-Learning content development and on line delivery  Nomination of a focal point from each Regulatory Office  A list of experts and trainers in the various fields of interest  More active role on hosting the CoE activities  More contributions: Presentations, case studies..  Financial support to insure the sustainability and self standing of the CoE  Potential partners from the Region  Sponsors for LDCs fellowships compensation

ITU CoE/ARB 11 th Annual Meeting of the Arab Network for Human Resources 16 – 18 December 2003; Khartoum - Sudan 22 For more Information !  For more information and free access to workshops materials and case-studies:  please visit  Contact the CoE/ARB Coordinator