Mai Barakat

Areas of expertise: Evaluating operator and vendor strategies, analysing operational and financial developments in the mobile and fixed telecoms markets and tracking global mergers and acquisitions in the ICT industry.

“With high penetration levels, subscriber acquisition is no longer of importance to operators in the Middle East. Stronger focus will be placed on mobile broadband and the provision of converged services as operaotrs look to strengthen customer retention”

Mai is a Research Analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media. She works as part of the Middle East and Africa team and has a key focus on operator and vendor strategies in the Middle East and North Africa. In her role Mai covers the mobile and fixed industry by analysing operator financials, network developments, and regulatory issues. She also tracks mergers and acquisitions on a global scale and is Editor of the Middle East and Africa Wireless Analyst newsletter. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences, as well as a regular press commentator. Her recent research interests include m-heath initiatives, mobile money strategies and LTE deployments.

Mai joined Informa Telecoms & Media in January 2009 as a graduate and was covering the East African and North African markets. As of January 2011, her focus changed to the Middle East and North Africa Region.

Mai holds an MSc in Marketing and a BSc (Hons) in International Management and Modern Languages (French).