Industry experts believe that the next generation of advanced mobile telecommunications services, commonly known as 4G, is expected to continue spreading rapidly throughout the GCC, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the way. Ushered in with the advent of Long Term Evolution, or LTE, technology, 4G allows smartphone users to migrate from 3G's largely voice-based offering to enjoy the super-high Internet speeds -- 150Mbps downlink, 50Mbps uplink -- required to access massive volumes of video and data. The 4G revolution and LTE technology will be among the key discussions at this year's Gulfcomms, held at Gitex Technology Week 2012, which runs from October 14-18 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Gulfcomms is the largest and most important platform in Middle East, Africa and South Asia, or Measa, region that focuses exclusively on the enterprise level telecoms sector. As the largest business-to-business exhibition for the sector's carriers, cable, fixed telecoms, Internet protocol and satellite across the Measa region, it opens unparalleled opportunities to solution providers in the fields of telecommunication networks, next generation networks, IP technology, satellite communications, infrastructure solutions, backhauling, and teleconferencing. The headline sponsor of this year's Gulfcomms is Vocalcom, which provides social contact centre solutions, mobile and Web live customer service software, social customer relationship management solutions and in-store connected kiosks to engage customers using cloud technologies. With a recent International Telecommunication Union report noting that youth account for 60 per cent of the population in the Arab world, it comes as no surprise that platforms such as video sharing, social media and smartphone applications are fast being adopted as a key part of a digital lifestyle. According to Gartner, the sale of smartphones grew 58 per cent in 2011, with units sold worldwide in 2011 reaching 272 million -- this accounts for 31 per cent of all mobile device sales. Khaleej Times
