Posted: 02/12/2011
Jersey's telecommunications infrastructure was highlighted as one of the key benefits of doing business with the Island at the inaugural UK ISRAEL BUSINESS and Commercial Office at the Embassy of Israel's Telecommunications ‘Roundtable' which was attended by representatives from JT.
Hosted by law firm CMS Cameron McKenna at their London offices on Thursday 10th November, the meeting was organised by UK ISRAEL BUSINESS (see Notes to Editor) to bring together the most influential figures from the telecommunications sector to discuss the opportunities for trade between Israel and Europe.
The debate focussed on the challenges and opportunities likely to emerge in the near future for the industry and the key topics arising during the debate included the massive growth of broadband usage and the pricing of it; particularly mobile, and the evolution and convergence of mobile and fixed networks.
Among the 30 delegates representing international telecoms and technology companies, was JT's chief operations and technology officer Dave Newbold and business development manager, Mark Stuchfield. The debate provided JT with a platform upon which to promote the benefits of working with Jersey and followed the profile raising exercise carried out earlier this year by Jersey Enterprise's trade delegation to the region.
Tim Ringsdore, MD of JT's Global Enterprise Division, said: “Having built close ties with China through our partnership with international telecommunications company UTStarcom (UTSI), we are now keen to secure new business in other regions. Attending this meeting was an excellent opportunity to build links with what is considered the birthplace of many internet services and remains a fast growing economy important in the global market.
“Israel represents a very interesting market for us to explore and our fixed line network (NGN) and JT Lab plans were of particular interest to those Israeli companies seeking partners for the deployment and development of their networks and internet services. Going forward we will be following up with the key contacts made at the meeting and will be engaging with UK ISRAEL BUSINESS to provide research, reports and meetings with key Israel businesses.
Senator Alan Maclean, Minister for Economic Development, comments:
"After a successful initial year of the States of Jersey and UK ISRAEL BUSINESS partnership, opportunities are being created for government and Jersey businesses to discuss sector focussed issues with key decision makers and to significantly increase their profile in International markets. It is extremely encouraging to see local businesses including JT take advantage of these opportunities and to broaden their horizons".
Speaking of the event, Daniel Seal, Chief Executive, UK ISRAEL BUSINESS; “The Telecommunications Roundtable proved an excellent opportunity for JT Global to further expose themselves to our exclusive platform of UK and Israeli telecoms operators, infrastructure providers, handset manufacturers and technology providers. It provided yet another example of how fruitful the partnership between UK ISRAEL BUSINESS and the states of Jersey has become, and exemplified the encouraging potential that exists between Jersey and Israel.”
Additionally, Daniel Saunders, Chief of Staff at the Commercial Office at the Embassy of Israel said, “Historically known for its agricultural contribution to the world, Israel has changed to become a world leader in technological advances. It has been said Israel has turned from Jaffa to Java; from supplying oranges to supplying to Orange. Israel's recognition as an innovation hub has grown dramatically over the last few years – last month, when the Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub met with the Queen, her Majesty expressed interest in Israel's impressive high tech sector. The telecommunications roundtable, bringing together industry leaders from across the UK and Israel was yet another opportunity to showcase technologies and forge partnerships between the UK and Israel. As innovation continues to flourish, everyone is looking to discover exactly why people are calling Israel the new Silicon Valley.”