THE TELECOMS INDUSTRY MEDIA PLATFORM

EVOTEQ driving the digital transformation transition in times of crisis Jihad Tayara, CEO, EVOTEQ

Celebrating The immersive Cloud computing telecommunication future of video and remote working: and ICTs conferencing A match made in heaven

JUNE 2020 CONTENTS 2

THE TELECOMS INDUSTRY MEDIA PLATFORM

6 14

EVOTEQ driving the digital transformation WiFi 6 powers an always-on society transition in times of crisis 16 18

“Etisalat keeps all segments of the society Digital identification: A gateway to digital connected” – Dr. Ahmed Bin Ali inclusion

16 Nexign CEO sheds light on navigating the 5G era 32 Cloud computing and remote working: A match amid COVID-19 made in heaven 20 Celebrating telecommunication and ICTs 34 Ensuring a digital recovery

24 Ericsson’s Fadi Pharaon talks pandemic-induced 36 Overcoming the challenges of IoT digital transformation 38 Connected and autonomous cars: Balancing 26 The immersive future of video conferencing morality and regulation 30 How telcos respond to unprecedented demand 48 The transformational power of telecommunications 31 How STL helps telecom operators in effectively and efficiently manage telecom networks 52 The rise of the hybrid cloud JUNE 2020 EDITORIAL 3

Editor in Chief & Senior ICT Analyst Toni Eid [email protected]

Senior Journalist & Content Manager Toni Eid, Christine Ziadeh founder [email protected] editor in chief Telecom Review International Journalists Tala Issa [email protected]

Orlaith Finn [email protected]

Editorial Team Christine Ziadeh (Lebanon), Jeff Seal (USA), Jennifer Saade (Lebanon), Lacinan Ouattara (Ivory Coast), Marielena Geagea (Lebanon), Shelley Beyak (Canada), Shalini John (Malaysia), Tala Issa (UAE), Orlaith Finn (UAE), THE RISE OF Toni Eid (UAE)

Copy Editor Shelley Beyak

Advertising Enquiries Mohammed Ershad video call applications [email protected] Covid-19 has negatively impacted many businesses such as airlines, hotels and Graphic Designer most of tourism-related companies and activities. But, at the same time, this Tatiana Issa has benefitted the companies who run video conferencing and online meeting Responsible Manager applications, namely Zoom, in addition to Cisco WebEx, Skype for business by Joseph Bou Daher Microsoft, Microsoft Teams and lately the free app, Google Meet.

News Last quarter, Zoom announced increased profit of 125% year on year, which will Provided in cooperation with AFP, the global news agency also reflect on the results of others.

Published by Telecom operators and analysts see an opportunity of increased data revenues, but not enough to compensate for the losses from roaming revenues or selling short-term SIM cards to travelers.

Trace Media Ltd. After Covid-19, the telecom scene will not be the same and interests will be Zouk Mikael, Lebanon different. 5G will be the tool for mobility services in video conferences and calls. Kaslik Sea Side Road, th Badawi Group Building, 4 Floor, People’s behavior will change in a way that will serve the interest of the ICT sector P.O. Box 90-2113, Jdeidet el Metn Tel. +961 9 211741 and vendors will leverage the situation to create more hi-tech video services. M. +961 70 519 666

Trace Media FZ.LLC. Dubai Media City, UAE Building 7, 3rd Floor, Office 341 P.O. Box 502498, Dubai, UAE Tel. +971 4 4474890 M. +971 55 639 7080

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JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 6

Jihad Tayara, CEO, EVOTEQ EVOTEQ driving the digital transformation transition in times of crisis While COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc on businesses, UAE-based company, EVOTEQ has been digitally enabling its customers to overcome the ensuing challenges. In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Jihad Tayara, CEO, EVOTEQ, explained how the company reacted to the impact of COVID-19 and the solutions it has been offering to its customers for them to adapt to the new normal. JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 7

OVID-19 has new normal post-COVID-19. As the affected almost renowned economist Milton Friedman all businesses said: “Only a crisis – actual or and sectors in the perceived – produces real change.” region and the world. Did you halt EVOTEQ has been identifying blind all your projects? spots and gaps for our clients and Our strategy has been WhatC strategy did you adopt to pursue helping them overcome these with the operations? right digital tools and infrastructure to create value for While COVID-19 has indeed had a through our in-depth expertise. Our dramatic impact on human lives strategy during these difficult times our clients by offering and the global economy, it has also has therefore been to create value for acted as a catalyst for companies our clients by offering technologies contactless solutions to accelerate the pace of their digital and contactless solutions that meet transformation. Companies have the needs of the hour such as remote had to rethink their business models, working tools, facial recognition that meet the needs processes and offerings in the midst security systems for contactless of partial or full lockdowns around access into buildings, electronic of the hour the world. For a digital solutions and bracelets and thermal scanning consultancy provider such as EVOTEQ, systems for temperature checks. the current situation has enabled us to continuously help our clients This means that instead of needing push the boundaries of adapting to a to halt projects, we have just JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 8

reprioritised and are currently pursuing even management of the operations of opportunities that are most relevant in these solutions for our clients. this climate. In your opinion, how important is it Did you adopt any particular for businesses to embrace digital measures to help your customers transformation now more than ever? amid this crisis? The COVID-19 crisis has proven that As mentioned earlier, we have been companies and industries who fail to providing the necessary digital adapt to technological changes are at applications and solutions for our a serious disadvantage. Not only does EVOTEQ does not clients who have had to transition to digital transformation ensure business remote working arrangements. This continuity and resilience, equip just implement work includes introducing the right employees with the tools and systems and secure platforms and tools for to work across different circumstances technological them, depending on their business – but it also lowers costs, boosts requirements. productivity and performance, as well as allocate resources more efficiently. solutions, we work in a We also have been helping other With the right digital infrastructure organisations measure their digital in place, businesses are in a strong collaborative fashion readiness through surveys and position to weather difficult situations consultation, contributing to their with greater flexibility and expand business contingency plans and value-added offerings to their own advising them on how to fortify their customers. operations. EVOTEQ does not just implement technological solutions, we COVID-19 emphasized the important work in a collaborative fashion starting role of advanced technologies. Which with consultancy and advisory, through ones do you think are playing the to the selection of the right technology most important part today? all the way to implementation and There are a number of technologies JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 9

that are the critical right now. Tracing technology and AI have been invaluable in monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and predicting the risk of infection from patients. We have seen various countries using robots, electronic bracelets and mobile applications for this purpose with qualifiable results.

In addition, advanced traceability technologies can also be implemented within global supply chains. With the crisis affecting various countries at different times, global supply chains have been severely impacted along with food security and availability of products. As countries and businesses look to diversify their supply chain, traceability will be essential for fortifying supply chains, ensuring availability of goods and verifying their origins.

Contactless payments and contactless security access, which often use voice and facial recognition, have also seen some momentum for companies who are customer-facing, or whose employees have physically returned to the office.

Communications platforms have seen the largest growth with increased traffic and user bases, such as Microsoft Teams, Webex and Zoom. Unified digital communications have had unprecedented demand during this time as people seek connectivity and businesses face the need to bridge gaps between leadership, stakeholders and employees. This will lead to a greater burden on our global networks, and as such, the advent of 5G will be very welcomed.

In your opinion what are the gaps that this crisis has amplified? The pandemic has proven that companies and industries who fail to adapt to technological changes are at a serious disadvantage. Not only does digital transformation ensure business continuity and resilience, equip employees with the tools and systems to work across different circumstances – but it also lowers costs, boosts productivity and performance, as well as allocate resources more efficiently. With the right digital infrastructure JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 10

With the right digital infrastructure in place, businesses are in a strong position to weather difficult situations JUNE 2020 COVER STORY 11

in place, businesses are in a strong position to weather difficult situations with greater flexibility and expand value-added offerings to their own customers.

Similarly, while the UAE has had admirable success in dealing with COVID-19 patients, many countries have not been as reactive. The pandemic has taken its toll on healthcare systems across the globes. But herein also lies an opportunity for leveraging technology to shoulder the burden on the healthcare sector such as telemedicine, remote monitoring tools, sensors and wearable technology.

The novel coronavirus crisis has also highlighted the need for us to re-think our workplaces and buildings. With so much of time spent within buildings and interacting with people, there is a need to learn from the pandemic and introduce technologies such as facial and voice recognition, contactless pathways and other smart building elements to help mitigate the risk from infectious diseases in the future and help us boost performances.

Have you elaborated a recovery plan? What are the main elements you intend to focus on to achieve a successful recovery? As a company with the DNA of a digital player, EVOTEQ has very quickly adapted to the changes, smoothly weathering disruptions and having promptly adopted a new way of working from home. We had a frictionless infrastructure and digitally- ready employees, which did not encumber our business operations and customer engagement at any point.

In addition, when it comes to our business strategy and focus, addressing customer pain points and advising them about the use of technology is at the heart of what we Addressing customer pain points and do. We didn’t have to considerably change our strategy. What happened advising them about the use of was that our customers’ concerns, pain points and challenges radically evolved. technology is at the heart of what we do We stepped in to help them overcome these issues, mainly with cloud, contactless and frictionless solutions as mentioned earlier. JUNE 2020 OPINIONS 12

WiFi 6 powers an always- on society In an increasingly digital world, new technology is needed to better handle the vast amounts of data that will be generated. With expected growth of 430% over seven years, from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to 175 zettabytes by 2025, data will be a core component of tomorrow’s fully connected, intelligent world. To put connectivity. It also eliminates any that into perspective, if you were to download 175 dizziness from the VR/AR experience zettabytes, you would need 175 billion terabyte drives. and results in zero packet loss during AGV roaming. Huawei AirEngine APs WiFi 5 was fine for the connectivity needs of yesterday, are also the industry’s only APs with 16 spatial streams and therefore but tomorrow’s world needs the advanced abilities of achieves a throughput rate of up to 10.75 Gbps, delivering fiber-like WiFi 6. network experience for heavy-traffic hile current first year that WiFi 6 went into service. This is complemented with WiFi commercial use. According to the AI & Bigdata based proactive O&M to standards report, the overall revenue of the focus on user experience in a WiFi will remain global WiFi 6 market grew explosively network rather than network elements relevant in the first three quarters of 2019, using Campus Insight. for the growing to 30 times that of 2018, quantities while revenues for WiFi 4 and WiFi 5 In today’s world, with more people ofW data generated by most home decreased slightly. working from home than we have ever users for the time being, areas experienced before, WiFi 6 can power of intense connectivity – offices, At Huawei, we’ve spearheaded the remote collaborative offices that are entertainment and sports venues, shift to WiFi 6 by helping enterprises able to support up to 400 concurrent airports, educational institutions, to build networks without coverage users, and enable seamless anytime hotels and so on – will undoubtedly holes, provide services with no working via mobile apps. But even benefit from WiFi 6. With the ability waiting time and achieve no packet when things return to whatever our to support four times higher network loss during roaming. Between Q3 new normal may be, WiFi networks bandwidth and user concurrency 2018-2019, Huawei ranked number will remain central to not only the than WiFi 5, WiFi 6 is the solution one in the share of the global WiFi efficiency and connectivity abilities of to providing a heightened user 6 indoor access point market offices, schools, hotels and more, but experience and empowering (excluding North America) through to their digital transformation. corporate connectivity. It has already its provision of quality services been adopted by a growing number for customers across sectors as Reliable, data-capable WiFi 6 of enterprises, schools, hospitals and diverse as government, education, networks will offer fast speed, low other pioneers to connect everything retail, healthcare and manufacturing. latency and high stability even when on their campus networks. These Huawei’s contribution to WiFi 6 challenged with excessive usage. early adopters use WiFi 6 to deploy standard proposals is also the This ensures service continuity for all innovative applications such as highest among device vendors. users, at all times – because there 4K/8K HD video conferencing, virtual is nothing more frustrating than and augmented reality (VR and AR) Moreover, Huawei’s AirEngine WiFi experiencing lag on a conference interactive teaching, telemedicine and 6 is unique in its ability to slash call, buffering during a live video intelligent robots. network latency from 30ms down broadcast or an outright internet to just 10ms, as a result of built-in outage due to lack of bandwidth. The increasing popularity of WiFi 6 5G-powered antenna and algorithm amongst global organizations was technologies. With such low By Alaa Bawab, VP for Enterprise noted in the latest report by Dell’Oro latency, wireless 4K HD conferences Networking Business for Huawei Group which examines 2019 – the are conducted with seamless Middle East JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 13

ICT: A key catalyst for sustainable development ITU’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is celebrated annually to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies.

he theme for 2020, The ICT sector is also delivering ICT-based solutions have already “Connect 2030: ICTs substantial benefits across the global been a crucial tool in helping for the Sustainable healthcare ecosystem. The rapid organizations achieve energy Development Goals spread of COVID-19 has been causing efficiency and reduce emissions. The (SDGs)”, focuses cascading economic and social ICT industry has also been making on specific ICT- stress across the world. The concept strides in more environmentally sound enabled solutions of the ‘digital divide’ has never been and less carbon-intensive products Tand emerging trends for fostering more relevant, when a lack of internet and services. These include smart economic, environmental and social connectivity could be a matter of life grids, smart buildings and homes, sustainability – key themes of both the and death, restricting the amount and smart logistics that improve Connect 2030 Agenda and SDGs. of information available to people energy efficiency and lower energy regarding the deadly coronavirus. consumption across different sectors. It is widely acknowledged that ICTs have great potential to accelerate A recent WHO and ITU initiative to Smart ICT applications for progress towards the 17 United share coronavirus healthcare advice energy, transport and buildings, Nations SDGs. The UN Assembly via text is an example of how quickly manufacturing, smart services, sees ICT infrastructure as a cross- information can be disseminated agriculture and urbanization also help cutting ‘means of implementation’, thanks to ICTs. The organizations meet the challenge of responding underpinning the achievement of every are working together with operators correctly to climate change. For goal. All three pillars of sustainable to spread the reach of vital health instance, ICTs can help reduce development – economic prosperity, information, particularly to those resource usage, waste and emissions. social inclusion and environmental without access to the internet. In addition, they provide the means protection – need ICT as a key catalyst. to foster resilience and climate ICTs allow health workers to be adaptation, such as real-time weather ICTs are able to achieve sustainable connected to health information information updates. development at scale, speed and and diagnostic services. Analytics cost that were not imaginable just can help healthcare professionals It is evident that ICT offers an a decade ago. They are means to make projections about diseases and incredible platform for achieving advancement in the areas of health enables the effective and continuous the SDGs. Every goal - from ending care, education, finance, governance management of health practices. poverty and halting climate change to and agriculture, among others. They enhancing education and healthcare - help to reduce poverty and hunger, Technology has also complemented, can be positively impacted by the ICT boost health, enhance education, enriched and transformed education industry. mitigate climate change, improve for the better. With connectivity, energy efficiency and make cities students can access learning The ITU is committed to and communities sustainable. More resources and opportunities even in reaffirm a shared global vision than 2 billion people in the world don’t remote or low-income areas. Teachers for the development of the have bank accounts, while access can prepare for classes anytime or telecommunication/ICT sector, under to digital financial services has been anywhere. ICT opens up access to the Connect 2030 Agenda envisaging proven to help lift people out of poverty. education to underserved populations “an information society, empowered Connectivity promotes work by giving for whom improved educational by the interconnected world, where access to income-generating business opportunities lead to improved telecommunications/ICTs enable opportunities, and financial inclusion economic opportunities. Quality of and accelerate social, economic and by enabling services such as mobile education is absolutely critical for long- environmentally sustainable growth banking. term economic growth. and development for everyone.” JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW 14

“Etisalat keeps all segments of the society connected” – Dr. Ahmed Bin Ali Staying connected and safe are key in today’s current scenario in the country for families, friends and businesses. During this unprecedented period, that has challenged both health and economy, Etisalat has taken all steps to make sure that its network, services and teams are well equipped to help all our customers.

s one of the leading Etisalat’s primary goal is to keep continue. There are thousands of telecom groups, our valuable customers, employees, families without internet broadband Etisalat has shown and society fully connected - now at home who are now able to access resilience and agility more than ever before. This is why and work on the collaborative and by leading the efforts we are entirely devoted to supporting learning-from-home applications. and focusing on businesses and the entire community its primary goal to during this pandemic period. We have made sure that the quality of keepA its valuable customers, employees service has been reliable irrespective and society fully connected now more Telecom has proved it is a mission of where you access it from, fixed than ever before, which is why they critical infrastructure. It offers or mobile, and taken all necessary are completely devoted to supporting resiliency as it supports business steps to make sure that our network, businesses and the entire community critical activities in terms of video services and teams are well-equipped during this pandemic period. conferencing and remote working. In to support our customers. With addition, it allows families to keep in Etisalat managing and hosting critical With its long-term vision and strategy touch during this tough time. service infrastructure in the country, focused on investing in its networks and our technical, field and operational providing the best-in-class customer In UAE, Etisalat has kept in line teams are working 24/7 to monitor experience, these efforts have supported with the government directives and optimize the network for both Etisalat in addressing the requirements to stay at home and made it our consumers and businesses. of this unprecedented global pandemic. priority to employ all our resources Reliable broadband has become a and technologies to allow for both As people disperse to their homes critical commodity, and Etisalat’s teams studying and working from home. to work and study, how has Etisalat are working around the clock to monitor adapted to customers’ needs during and optimise the network for both For the past few years, UAE has been this time? customers and businesses. leading globally in fiber to the home In line with the ‘Stay-at-Home’ (FTTH) penetration which has paid off initiative, Etisalat has put into Telecom Review managed to secure an in today’s scenario. It is the resiliency place smart services that empower interview with Dr Ahmed Bin Ali, SVP, of the fixed and fiber network that has customers’ virtual assistance and Corporate Communications, Etisalat allowed work and study to continue automated self-support through Group, to discuss the relevance of at home. Etisalat business mobile apps and connectivity during today’s times and business portals. While providing how it has put measures in place to Etisalat worked with the concerned telecom services and managing the meet these distinctive challenges and authorities in education to make sure network capacity, Etisalat has also pressures. that every student has access to all made sure to support government’s the necessary services. For instance, stay at home initiatives by spreading How is Etisalat responding to the we have zero-rated a lot of websites awareness on the current situation difficult situation we currently find and platforms for the Ministry of across our subscriber base using ourselves in? Education in order for schooling to our SMS platform and social media JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW 15

channels. We also changed our network name to ‘Stay at home’ supporting the country’s campaign launched to urge residents to stay at home.

With more families working and studying at home, entertainment is also significant. Etisalat had special promotions to enhance TV viewing for everyone at home with the best in movies and higher speeds on the home network.

Furthermore, to support e-learning, teams, in order to cater for internet • Additional mobile sites deployed to free mobile data was made available subscription and upgrade at homes cater for the increase on demand - in coordination with the Ministry of around the clock. and strategic locations in alignment Education and Telecommunications • Allocation of extra working hours with authorities’ requirements. Regulatory Authority - to over 12,000 for technical teams to ensure quick • Expansion of existing sites (new selected students without Internet response to service requests. or expansion) to cope with the at home. Additionally, Etisalat • Dedicated teams were deployed for requirements supporting working has allowed over 10 million of its maintenance across all critical sites from homes and eLearning. subscribers to enjoy free browsing and stations. • Transit network expanded enabling of over 800 websites related to • Arrangement of spare parts and seamless traffic routing in and out education, health, and safety, along distributed to all stations. from UAE towards other operators’ with providing access several • Spare parts ordered for the months networks. applications and platforms for ahead to manage future incidents. distance learning. Will this slow the pace of 5G The pandemic has underlined the deployments or will rollout continue Etisalat is committed to the UAE; we criticality of telecom infrastructure. despite coronavirus? will continue to play a critical role in How is Etisalat managing the surge In our journey with 5G, Etisalat delivering exceptional service and in traffic and extra pressure on has continuously diversified remain dependable to our people network infrastructure? its business, making a bigger who are working tirelessly to keep Etisalat is diligently working to impact with 5G technologies and everyone connected and safe. The fulfill requests for network capacity laying the foundation for the next Dubai Police project is a perfect upgrades and meeting the demand generation of telecom services and example where Etisalat customers surge for cloud collaboration and solutions. Today, we have made in the UAE get free access to their cyber-security solutions to support global achievements in 5G setting website and mobile application our customer’s business continuity. benchmarks for the industry. This without consuming internet data. Our virtual meeting service, CloudTalk was backed by the infrastructure is enabling organizations to accomplishments made in the past The initiative reflects Dubai Police remotely work, by utilizing a secure that have complemented the 5G efforts in maintaining the security collaboration platform ensuring network. and safety during the current the smooth functioning of their circumstances, allowing the public to businesses. Etisalat took the lead in the launch utilize Dubai Police online services. of 5G in the MENA region targeting This collaboration supports Police To meet unprecedented service opportunities to maximize value from Eye, a programme launched recently demands driven by life and work style the delivery of end-to-end 5G enabled by Dubai Police which provides the changes, Etisalat has implemented solutions. We have continuously public with a secure and confidential the following network upgrades and engaged with relevant stakeholders online platform to report crimes and enhancement measures: to deploy and monetize from the suspicious activities in the city. • Local network upgrade and 5G network while at the same time enhancement. testing and exploring new 5G use Etisalat has implemented a number of • Implementing new fixed LTE cases for the government, business technical procedures to maintain the stations inside cities as well as and different industries. highest quality in services provided, rural areas. and to ensure that all subscribers and • Fixed LTE network capacity Etisalat will continue to its customers are connected during this expanded and upgraded to mitigate investments in infrastructure making unprecedented time: the traffic increase and maintain sure that UAE residents enjoy the • Doubling the number of technical customer experience. latest in technology and network. JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW 16

Nexign CEO sheds light on navigating the 5G era amid COVID-19 Nexign has been a key player in Business Supports Systems (BSS) with 28 years of leadership in the BSS market and currently operates in over 15 countries Igor Gorkov, CEO, Nexign worldwide.

elecom Review which will be widely adopted in 5G era. ensuring maintained and uninterrupted managed to secure But even before CSPs introduce full 5G services. an exclusive support, they can leverage their mobile interview with networks to provide reliable service to Nexign’s solutions help CSPs adapt their CEO, Igor those who are experiencing difficulties to fast-changing market demands. Gorkov, to shed working and studying from home at We offer telecom operators partner some light on the this time. integration mechanisms that help the company’sT success in navigating CSPs to provide the subscribers with the current pandemic in the way that There has never been a more critical digital services and generate new it has ensured business continuity time to innovate and approach sources of revenue. and uninterrupted services for its business operations differently than customers. there is now. What are some of the In addition to this, Nexign supports challenges and opportunities that the eSIM technology that provides An immense burden has befallen the have arose from the COVID-19 crisis mechanics for attracting new telecoms sector due to the pandemic- and in what ways has Nexign dealt subscribers without physical shops induced heavy congestion on with them? and helps the operator to fine-tune networks across the world. How has Firstly, Nexign had to guarantee both the policies keeping the subscribers’ Nexign supported its clients and their business continuity for its clients as connections alive if they are paid subscribers? well as the healthcare and safety of its or not. Most of our clients also Nexign helps to manage the new employees. Mobile and digital services provide special tariffs for the medical residential congestion scenarios are more important than ever as they organizations to keep them in touch with the RAN congestion awareness are needed to support interactions with those who need them 24/7. function (RCAF). It is a business between people which is why we support systems (BSS) component consider it our primary duty to ensure How has the present situation that keeps mobile networks elastic and the full and uninterrupted operation of affected Nexign’s product and optimizes the UX for all subscribers. these services. geographical strategy? Our strategy hasn’t been changed in RCAF supports dynamic content Luckily, our infrastructure supports essence. We have a strong customer adjustment and prioritized plans, distance work and due to well- portfolio and I’m sure that our introduces speed limits for heavy established HR and software business will remain stable while the users and application control, enables development processes, it doesn’t smaller and relatively newer players CSPs to set up top priority plans for really matter for us if the team work in the market may encounter some emergency workers, so that they from the office or at home. As of slowdown due to the overall global are guaranteed reliable services now, Nexign’s employees have been market stagnation. for their communications and practicing remote work for nearly smart equipment, even in the most two months and everything is going However, we given the current congested spots and at the busiest smoothly. circumstance, we strive to pay times. greater attention to the products and The main challenges that our clients functions that support contactless Implementing technologies like RCAF face are increased network and consumption models, congestion will help to build customer loyalty and infrastructure load and the need management and 5G support open up new monetization models to avoid direct contact whilst also functions development.

JUNE 2020 OPINIONS 18

dentification: A global challenge Digital inclusion is considered to be based on three components: infrastructure deployment, accessibility to content and Idigital aptitude (people). However, the people component is often reduced to training. It de facto excludes the “invisible”: the citizens of the world who are not recognized as such because their birth has not been registered and they do not have a legal identity. Recent studies have made it possible to measure the scale of the problem and to locate the areas where identification is an inclusion challenge for States.

• According to World Bank estimates (2018 #ID4D-Findex Survey), 1 billion people worldwide are unable to prove their identity. 48% of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa and 33% in South Asia. • UNICEF meanwhile estimates that nearly two-thirds of African children under the age of five do not have a birth certificate.

Neither inclusion nor growth without identity Without a birth certificate, identity card or passport, it is impossible for these world inhabitants to exercise their rights as citizens. They lack the “open sesame” that gives access to health services, welfare, education, labor Digital identification: and entrepreneurship. They are also unable to take advantage of public and private services (banking, telephone, A gateway to digital inclusion energy). Because of this, they do not contribute to their countries’ growth. When 3.5 million of the one 1 billion of the planet’s inhabitants are invisible citizens. billion people living in Sub-Saharan Africa do not contribute to economic Because they do not have a legal identity, they are activity, the scope of a market seen as excluded from civic life and do not contribute to their buoyant shrinks significantly. Seeing this, the major economic players country’s socio-economic development. Though long may significantly slow down their the “forgotten ones” in the digital revolution, they investment plans. Digital identification support programs are beginning to benefit from support fostering the Now recognized as a lever for socio- economic development, identification development, by governments, of digital identification benefits, at the global and African systems. A process complex to implement, but very level, from recent donor initiative: the World Bank the African Development efficient. Bank, and development agencies. JUNE 2020 OPINIONS 19

Their programs finance either studies Development Bank (AfDB) has only 1.5 years before the country or plans to deploy identity systems, developed a holistic vision. It began saving more money than its produce identity cards and biometric recommends, rather than addressing biometric identification system cost. passports. In this regard, identification each register in a silo, building an The country also reduced single is supported by: integrated National Digital Identity and multiple identity fraud. Digital System grouping three registers: Civil identification has also increased the • Point 9 of 16th Sustainable status, national population register banking penetration rate and people’s Development Goal (SDG) adopted and national biometric register. access to public and economic by the United Nations, which plans services, thus creating growth and to “provide legal identity for all, Digital identity, a complex ecosystem wealth. including birth registration” by 2030. The deployment of a digital identity dentification, furthermore, plays a system is a complex process not Conclusion key part in achieving multiple other limited to the subject of digitization. In order to form a real gateway to SDGs. While the existing offer allows States citizen and digital inclusion, the • The ID4D Initiative (Identity for to benefit from robust, secure digital deployment of a digital identification Development) of the World Bank identity systems capable of protecting project requires a certain national which aims to provide support, personal data, technology is only one union: the convergence of efforts advice and funding to countries to aspect of the subject. on the part of civil society, the build digital identification systems. administration, the government and • At the African level, the ID4Africa It is for this reason that Sofrecom is economic players. The latter can initiative. This forum brings together helping governments build a vision contribute to the effort by reinventing all the stakeholders in the identity of their National Digital Identity economic models: for example, by ecosystem - African governments, System in line with that of the AfDB. relying on PPPs. Banks and telecom donors and providers of identity Its consultants and experts work operators are all the more legitimate solutions - to jointly reflect on alongside them during feasibility to contribute to this major project as solutions to reduce the proportion studies covering the analysis of a large they are already established as trusted of the invisible and use digital to number of key issues: third parties required to collect, or speed up the process of bringing even use, their customers’ identity these individuals back into regular • Legal issues: to revise legislative data in the context of their mission. situations. enactments on civil status or personal data protection, taking into By Hicham Saoud, head of BSS The emergence of projects aimed at account the GDPR in particular. Consulting & Digital Government, creating integrated identity systems • Political issues: to include the entire Sofrecom Bolstered by this support, many digital population, regardless of the ethnic identification projects are flourishing, group in power. particularly on the African continent. • Governance issues: Who is These initiatives operate on multiple responsible for identity? Who levels: produces it? How can recipients access this data securely? In this • Registration of civil status events, respect, there are several initiatives in particular birth certificates to create National Identification which form the foundation for Offices for persons in charge of identification. identity and the production of secure • Population registers: reliable socio- ID documents. Sofrecom is helping demographic data enabling States • Organizational issues: How should and donors to devise national the people responsible for feeding governments build development policies for the data into platforms be hired? country. It’s a complex matter. You need a vision of their • The creation of biometric databases, resources. either for electoral purposes or • Financial and environmental issues. to serve sector-specific needs National Digital (facilitate the granting of subsidies Quick ROI to farmers, students, etc.). The deployments to date show a rapid Identity System • The modernization of secure return on investment. A reliable digital identity documents: national identity identification system contributes to cards, biometric passports, driving including people in health, education licenses. and economic life. It steps up the efficiency of the administrative To make this type of project process. It curbs fraud and losses. more understandable, the African India is a well-known example: it took JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 20

Celebrating telecommunication and ICTs “Information technology can be a beacon of hope, allowing billions of people around the world to connect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these connections… are more important than ever,” according to the UN secretary-general, António Guterres. This quote highlights the importance of information technology nowadays; an importance that was amplified in crises as well as in prosperous times. On May 17th, the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is celebrated to remind us about the role ICTs are playing today.

his year marks was instituted by the Plenipotentiary related to the Information Society the 51st World Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in raised by WSIS. The General Assembly Telecommunication 1973. adopted the resolution A/RES/60/252 Day that in March 2006, stipulating that World commemorates In November 2005, the World Summit Information Society Day shall be the founding of on the Information Society called upon celebrated every year on May 17. the International the UN General Assembly to declare TTelecommunication Union (ITU) and May 17 as World Information Society In November 2006, the ITU the signing of the first International Day to focus on the importance of Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Telegraph Convention in 1865. It ICT and the wide range of issues Turkey, decided to combine World JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 21

on the advancements made in the field collaboration and cooperation among of ICTs which help in achieving the countries, the UN family and others transition to smart and sustainable to strengthen the role of ICTs as we development. Discussions will revolve embark on the ‘Decade of Action’ to around specific ICT-enabled solutions deliver the Sustainable Development and emerging trends capable of Goals (SDGs) and to advance the fostering economic, environmental role of ICTs in the global response to and social sustainability, thus COVID-19. contributing to the five strategic goals of the Connect 2030 Agenda: growth, The evolution of the inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation telecommunications and ICT sector and partnership. is visible through the themes that this day has adopted since 1969 and “Every year on May 17, people around what draws attention is the fact that the world join the ITU family to this evolution shows how this sector celebrate World Telecommunication is intertwined with all other industries and Information Society Day. This and fields such as education, transport, year, I call on all of you to join me in meteorology, media, health, culture, advancing ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda, development, environment, sports, a shared global vision to bridge the gender equality and social needs. digital divide and use the power of information and communication Information technology was a technology in support of the 2030 silver lining amid the crisis the Agenda for Sustainable Development,” world is suffering from. It has been said ITU secretary general, Houlin rescuing us from isolation and lack Zhao, in his 2020 WTISD address. of communication throughout these difficult times. We owe our survival to “I invite you to show the world the telecommunication and ICT sector what new technologies like 5G and and we should be aware of the impact intelligent transport, the internet of it’s been having on our lives and reflect things, AI and blockchain can do to on its true value. improve people’s lives and facilitate social and economic development. Almost half the world’s population is still not using the internet, and overall growth in ICT connectivity is slowing. Time is pressing.” Telecommunication Day and World Information Society Day and celebrate “We need to coordinate and redouble them both on May 17. The updated our efforts to connect everyone to the Resolution 68 invites Member States global digital economy, and that for Every year on May 17, and Sector Members to celebrate the those connected, more must be done day annually by organizing appropriate to ensure that connected life is safe people around the world national programs with a view to: and trustworthy,” he added.

• stimulating reflection and exchanges Each year, a main theme is highlighted join the ITU family to of ideas on the theme adopted by to unlock the potential that the Council technologies hold and to emphasize celebrate World • debating the various aspects of the the impact on our society. For theme with all partners in society instance, the themes for the past five Telecommunication and • formulating a report reflecting years were, respectively: bridging the national discussions on the issues standardization gap; enabling the Information Society Day underlying the theme, to be fed positive use of artificial intelligence back to ITU and the rest of its for all; big data for big impact; ICT membership. entrepreneurship for social impact; and telecommunications and ICTs: drivers This year, this day is celebrated under of innovation. the theme “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals This year’s WTISD event will address (SDGs)”. ITU member states will reflect the importance of enhancing JUNE 2020 REGIONAL NEWS 22

Dubai leverages emerging tech to battle pandemic

The initiative was launched at the itself as the financial, commercial and beginning of the health crisis by Sheikh tourism hub. Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Apart from this, Dubai already has Dubai. It includes a team of people a great deal of technology which who coordinate with researchers in could be used to better manage the groups and scientific teams whose pandemic-induced issues. The emirate role is to stay up to date on the latest was quick to put its technology to a The UAE is a world-renowned leader advances in scientific evidence and wide range of uses during the crisis. in adopting smart city technologies, research pertaining to the pandemic. and since the novel coronavirus Dubai Police have been provided struck the entire world, there has According to Sharif, this high-tech with smart helmets which measure been no better time than now to approach to solving the crisis includes the temperature of passers-by and leverage the opportunities that “the complete digitization of the health laboratories have even taken steps emerging technologies brings into system” and has contributed to the towards producing their own protective our lives. prevention of a greater of the virus and masks via 3D printers. has made the lockdown much easier. The Emirate of Dubai set up a The emirate has also imposed a COVID-19 Command and Control According to associate professor of curfew to curb the spread of the virus Center which has played a vital public health and epidemiology at and they have ensured that all the role in the country’s battle against MBRU, Tom Loney, the virus was an city’s residents receive an alert on their the pandemic. This was set up in opportunity for the emirate to put its phones in English, Arabic and other conjunction with Dubai’s doctors and capabilities to the test. languages. epidemiologists, among others. The initiative is backed by Mohammed As of yet, the UAE has carried out “Dubai and the Emirates respect Bin Rashid University of Medicine over 1.6 million coronavirus tests and privacy, whether it is a question of and Health sciences (MBRU). has officially declared over 28,700 patient records or smart applications,” inflections and 244 deaths. said Sharif, and he positively spoke “For several years, Dubai has about the initiatives which were taken endeavored to put in place solid “It’s the ability to react, to make quick by the South Korean government in digital infrastructure, and this has decisions based on data and science,” their fight against COVID-19. contributed to the fight against the said Loney. Indeed, Dubai has one of coronavirus,” said Amer Sharif, who the most diversified economy in the “We must follow the developments… heads the multidisciplinary center. Gulf which has built a reputation for but also add to them,” he stated. ITC launches Microsoft Azure Stack services in KSA

the same capabilities that Azure The CCO of ITC , Mr. Radwan Al- public cloud offers, within ITC’s Mufleh, said, “Microsoft Azure datacenter inside the Kingdom. It is Stack is one of the most essential also the safest way to have security cloud-based services provided by and control over businesses’ critical the company to help its clients data. experience the benefits of Microsoft cloud with the flexibility and control Additionally, with the option of they need. ITC also provides direct Integrated Telecom Company (ITC) scalability, resources can be dedicated links to MS datacenters has launched Microsoft Azure Stack, increased as per businesses’ needs outside KSA.” a hybrid cloud-based computing and demand. ITC provides a full software solution, in Saudi Arabia. spectrum of Deployment Planning ITC works with a number of leading Services for Microsoft Azure Stack specialist technical companies to Azure Stack aims to help companies Cloud Service. provide telecom solutions, managed build their own environment using services, security services, cloud the same tools and solutions as that This service is in addition to the computing services and connectivity of Microsoft Azure public cloud. Microsoft Azure Express Route to government, banking and business service where ITC provides a direct sectors, making it one of the leading With Microsoft Azure Stack platform, international link from KSA to the providers of telecommunications and ITC will help organizations implement Azure datacenters globally. ICT services in the Kingdom. JUNE 2020 REGIONAL NEWS 23

RIPE NCC hosts 2000 people on first virtual meeting

developments since the RIPE NCC reached the end of its IPv4 pool in November 2019 (an average of five/24 allocations are now being made each day via a new waiting list); an update from Europol on COVID-19’s impact on the nature of ransomware, DDoS, phishing and other cyber-crimes; a discussion on some of the challenges affecting IPv6 deployment; and a peek at the redesigned RIPE stat interface that will launch at the next RIPE Meeting (the jury is still out on RIPE is a large and diverse community information and continue working from whether this will be a virtual or physical of network operators and others home. meeting). working on internet coordination and governance. While most of its A lot of quick coordination behind the Hans Petter Holen, managing director work takes place on mailing lists, the scenes meant that the RIPE Meeting of RIPE NCC, is enthusiastic about community comes together twice was able to go ahead, albeit as a how the meeting worked: “RIPE 80 each year for a busy week of plenary slightly shorter meeting (three days attracted an overwhelming response presentations, working group sessions instead of the regular five), with a few from the industry, much more than we and ad hoc discussions… that is, until tweaks to the meeting agenda to suit had anticipated. Efforts like as this are COVID-19 changed everything. the medium, and a rather extreme important to ensure the continuity of interpretation of the term “social the RIPE community’s work on internet RIPE 80 had been scheduled for Berlin distancing”. coordination and policy-setting, in in May, but with the pandemic quickly light of the disruption caused by the escalating around the world, a tough Nevertheless, the RIPE community’s COVID-19 pandemic. We want to thank decision was made to cancel the first fully-virtual meeting was a great everyone who joined for helping to meeting in early March. success – kicking-off with 1,745 make the meeting a success.” attendees on the first day (1,000 But what next? While most people participating via Zoom and several RIPE 80 was part of RIPE NCC’s haven’t heard of RIPE, its coordination hundred more using an alternative wider efforts to support the internet and policy-setting work is important for web stream option). By the end of the community. The RIPE NCC contributes stable internet operations. COVID-19 meeting, there were 2,000 attendees to a stable and resilient internet by has made this more important than registered. providing IP addresses registration, ever, as a stable internet is what has maintaining key infrastructure and allowed many of us to stay in touch Among the topics covered in the contributing to the security of internet with loved ones, access important working group sessions: a look at routing.

Lebanese operators’ management to be handled by the Ministry employees’ status and the services both operators offer to the Lebanese people.

Alfa’s network has been managed by Orascom Telecom, Media and Technology (OTMT) since 2009, and touch has been operating under the management of Zain Group since 2004. Since then, contracts have been repeatedly renewed. After the latest The Lebanese cabinet has approved preserving the legal entities of MIC1 contracts expired, Minister Talal Hawat to transfer the management of Alfa and MIC2 to maintain both state- announced that a tender for new and touch from Orascom TMT and owned companies’ economic and contracts will be launched within three Zain respectively, to the Ministry market value and guarantee business months and the Ministry will run the of Telecommunications while continuity. This decision will not affect networks in the meantime. JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW 24

Fadi Pharaon, president of Ericsson Middle East and Africa

forefront of innovation in this region Ericsson’s Fadi Pharaon and beyond, took immediate measures to contain the spread of the virus within their organization. In fact, they were even the first to withdraw from the talks pandemic-induced world’s largest information technology event, Mobile World Congress, in an effort to prioritize and safeguard the digital transformation health, safety and wellbeing of their employees. Companies across the world have been hit hard by the Telecom Review secured an interview pandemic. The telecoms industry has been absolutely with the president of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, Fadi Pharaon, to relentless in its efforts to ensure that their consumers, discuss the vendor’s experience employees and customers are safe and have the means throughout the pandemic. to stay connected. How has Ericsson been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak? ith the everywhere. Having to cater to such Like many other businesses, we have majority of an immense spike in demand whilst also been affected by the coronavirus the world also maintaining the health and safety pandemic. With the health and safety being values of their employees whilst of our employees as top priority, we confined simultaneously ensuring business are working with our customers to to their continuity has proven to be quite ensure that mobile networks remain a homes, a the challenge. However, companies critical backbone for public services, Whuge burden has befallen telcos like Ericsson, who have been at the businesses and people in the region. JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW 25

During these times, our absolute the travel restrictions guidelines industries and society. In fact, industry highest priority remains the health, since the pandemic outbreak as per digitalization with 5G opens new safety and wellbeing of our employees, the instructions issued by the local opportunities for service providers our customers and our partners. Hence, authorities. to build and extend their businesses we are taking every precautionary beyond connectivity as they can offer measure to minimize the impact on the At the same time, we stay close to our customized applications, integration company’s operations and to prevent customers to understand their needs, services and even manage larger further spread of the coronavirus. and we are doing everything possible campus and IoT networks. to support them in maximizing their Now more than ever, mobile networks network capacity and performance. For Ericsson’s report, ‘The 5G for business are considered a critical infrastructure that, we have created and implemented compass’, indicates that operators and an essential part of any country’s business continuity plans for all our can benefit from up to USD 700 billion communications backbone that customers. We are engaging them market opportunity globally in 2030. enable people and businesses to stay regularly through virtual meetings and According to our report on 5G business connected, sustaining economies with webinars. potential beyond mobile broadband, health workers, public safety officials MEA service providers can benefit up to and critical businesses. We also see Our engineers and field staff, our USD 46 billion by 2030. that working from home will be the new front liners, are part of critical teams normal. deployed during a crisis. Even when a country goes into lockdown, our Has COVID-19 presented gaps in This gives our industry a promising engineers are still active in order to the market that Ericsson plans to potential for growth and together keep the networks up and running capitalize on? If so, what are they/how with our customers, we are working following the local authorities so? together to innovate. One example of guidelines and permits. We will continue to research and such predicted growth, we have re- develop products and services that visited our Mobility Report forecasts With the drastic data growth and traffic support and reach for the accessibility and we expect a higher demand pattern shift due to the lockdown, and affordability of communication when it comes to 5G in light of the mobile network capacity is more infrastructure by offering services that acceleration of digitization. We forecast strained than ever before. We see more drive sustainable economic growth and that by 2025, there will be 2.8 billion 5G market demand for solutions that innovative solutions across areas such subscriptions. cater for capacity management and as education, financial services, health efficient use of network assets either and humanitarian response. What measures or initiatives using software, hardware or spectrum has Ericsson taken to tackle the efficiency solutions. According to a recent study by GSMA, challenges that have come from the Mobile Money is central to the mobile pandemic? (e.g. regarding customers The pandemic seems to have fast- industry’s contribution to 15 of the 17 and own employees) tracked the digital transformation of Sustainable Development Goals. At We have been early on monitoring the most industries. Could you provide us Ericsson, we are incredibly proud to development of the coronavirus and with a comment on this? Do you feel see Ericsson’s Mobile Money services its impact on a daily basis. Since the that this will have a lasting effect on introduced by our customers in the pandemic outbreak, we have created all these industries? region to address challenges faced by task forces on global, market and This situation has demonstrated the unbanked communities. Now with the country levels to ensure we secure the need for digital ways of working. Hence, COVID-19 situation, we saw a rise in health and safety of our employees it has accelerated all companies’ plans the demand for cashless transactions. and support and stay close to our for digital transformation enabling We will continue to reach out to more customers. them to stay ahead of the curve and markets via our customers to expand be better prepared for the future. our highly recognized Mobile Money We have taken multiple precautionary Furthermore, we see more innovation solution. measures to ensure the health and happening to find new and creative safety of our employees. To mention solutions to ensure business continuity. Moreover, we are moving into a a few, we implemented a work from Accelerating and implementing digital new space of connected machines, home policy for our entire workforce transformation has become a critical vehicles and wearables. From within globally and in the region. We quickly priority for any company to safeguard these spaces, entire new enterprise implemented IT policies to upgrade their employees as top priority while and business models will emerge and our internal networks and we allowed they continue to serve their customers. deliver new value opportunities across our employees to bring home their manufacturing, transport, healthcare, office furniture and equipment. Through end-to-end solutions, Ericsson energy and more. Together with our We have also canceled all physical is supporting the Middle East and Africa customers, we plan to continue our events participation until the end service providers as they accelerate lead in capitalizing on these promising of the year. We have also followed their drive to digitalize businesses, opportunities. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 26

enable group calls and exceed the The immersive future of current limit of four users per call. However, Zoom had quite a major security breach earlier this year which video conferencing caused some corporate customers to rely on other options. In order to As we have all been confined to our homes over the past maintain its position in the market, Zoom will have to consistently three months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, innovate its offerings and solutions. video conferencing has become the ultimate new As for other key market players, Google Meet has surpassed 100 million daily alternative to face-to-face interactions. active users and is experiencing an ver the past few ever-evolving yet fragmented one. As average of three million new users months, we have more and more people were confined every day. In May 2020, Microsoft seen conferences to their homes, Zoom’s popularity Teams and Google Meet surpassed 50 and concerts rose exponentially. The platform is million downloads. take place online very simple to use and can host calls and we have with up to 100 participants. Apple’s Facebook also very recently launched relied upon video Facetime can support a maximum ‘Messenger Rooms’ which hosts up conferencingO platforms, namely of 32 people in a group call while to 50 users, even those without a Google Hangouts and Zoom, to Facebook Messenger can support Facebook account. The tech giant ensure business continuity and social around 50 people; hence, placing Zoom reported that over 3 million people distancing. at a unique competitive advantage. signed up on the first week. Rumors were also being circulated that The market WhatsApp was planning to introduce Remote working as the new norm The video conferencing market is an a new feature which would essentially However, people are beginning to JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 27

realize that video conferencing can be will be able to replicate some of those and remote working, Magnus Willner, quite a poor substitute for face-to-face elements. founder and CEO at ARcall, said, meetings and that it is not a long-term “People often get bored when they solution. This could also be applied to business are on video calls, especially with the meetings and even social gatherings volume of video calls which take place Many companies are beginning to which have been happening via VoIP per day, it can become quite tedious. realize that the post-pandemic world platforms. However, AR improves and enhances will be a very different place. Twitter the feeling of remote presence.” has already announced that its Companies across the world have employees will be working from home now opened themselves up to explore Using AR could ensure that the person forever whereas Google and Facebook new options and see the potential that you are chatting with will appear in a said that their employees will be technology holds, so what better time Hologram in your very own physical working from home until 2021. This is to incorporate immersive tech into space. a tremendous change as many other these environments than now? companies are expected to follow suit. Wilner added, “When you put on the With the advent of 5G, it is very likely AR glasses and connect them to Apart from emails, other modes and that we will begin to see AR and VR your phone, you will see your room platforms for communication in a technology seep their way into the through the glass and when your professional context have already been industry. Adding more value and friend connects. They will show up in introduced such as Slack and Discord. consistently innovating the virtual your very room and it is a completely These apps have been deemed meeting space have never been more different experience. It is essentially collaboration enablers, however, it crucial. Venturing into 3D experiences a scanned and animated version of seems that these are just varying may well be the next best choice. yourself and your movements which is means of communication as opposed sent over the cloud.” to collaboration. Many startups have capitalized on this possibility and have begun to create Indeed, the awkwardness of video When it comes to collaboration, their own AR/VR platforms to further conferences in 2D, with people employees actually need the presence communication. talking over one another while others and agency that you would normally experiencing microphone, camera or have in a real-life conference room. Sweden-based startup ARcall has connectivity issues, it is simply not Face-to-face communication is a key placed itself at the forefront of ideal. driver for collaboration and innovation innovation in this field by creating a to work; humans are stimulated new mode of communication which In a recent Twitter conversation, author by human contact and, therefore, uses Holograms in augmented reality, of The Creative Curve, Allen Gannett, people need and want that type of via your smartphone or AR glasses. said, “Virtual conferences are sort of engagement. When asked about how AR would fit exhibit A. It’s like watching YouTube at into the space of video conferencing a pre-scheduled time. Virtual concerts AR and VR: A new era of communication It could be argued that conferences as we know them will be forever changed, for the conferences we are used to were actually built for a world that will no longer exist when the effects of the pandemic begin to subside. Conferences are a $62 billion industry and they fuel other industries such as hotels, airlines and catering, among others.

Their economic importance aside, they are simply optional when you consider the technology we have available to us today. Albeit the industry has been completely and absolutely disrupted by technology, it still continued to grow because many vital qualities of these events were difficult to replicate in the online space. However, with the prospect of AR and VR, conferences JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 28

same thing. There’s a lot of things that in VR. The latest in VR can track hand The time is indeed ripe to venture into could/should/will be done that utilize and head movements via inertial this space as we have never been and interactivity and other features of digital sensors in the headset and handheld never needed to be more connected imo [in my opinion].” controllers as well as cameras. than we are right now as a collective society. In fact, since the pandemic hit, quite Spatial, a startup which has developed a few conferences were held in AR a holographic collaboration platform, and VR, one of which was the IEEE raised $14 million in investment. The Conference on Virtual Reality and platform turns virtual video meetings 3D User Interfaces last month. This into an interactive VR 3D experience. conference was held on Hubs, Mozilla’s The VR/AR platform for collaboration VR platform. launched free and unlimited access to its premium services last month Blair MacIntyre, professor and director due to a 1000% increase in demand, of the Augmented Environments Lab according to Spatial CEO, Anand at Georgia Institute of Technology and Agarawala. The conferences Principal Research Scientist at Mozilla, has said that the response of that “Now is a time when feeling connected we are used to were conference was indeed overwhelmingly is needed more than ever, and while positive. He, however, stated that VR is video chat is great, it just doesn’t more compelling for smaller meetings. replace people collaborating in the actually built for a same room,” he said. “The video calling stuff breaks down world that will no beyond a few people because you have Adding that, “Over the last few weeks this big grid of tiny faces. The full range we’ve seen a surge in interest for longer exist of social cues, from posture to eye Spatial’s services, ranging from gaze to facial expressions, things like Fortune 1000s, to schools and head nodding and hand gesturing; they hospitals, to SMBs. We really wanted all convey crucial information,” said to respond to the global need and MacIntyre. make Spatial Enterprise freely available to serve as many people as possible as Such information on social cues is we all navigate new territory with home undoubtedly much easier to get cross and work life.”

JUNE 2020 OPINIONS 30

How telcos respond to unprecedented demand The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting millions of people. We are living in times of global uncertainty with exceptional levels of disruption to daily routine, travel, social interaction and business due to the coronavirus. In the wake of the social restrictions in place to help manage the threat significant drop in roaming revenues from national and international of COVID-19, mobile broadband and fixed wireless roaming. In countries that rely on connections have become the main tools for billions tourists, this a major hit to revenue. of people to stay in contact with family, friends and As in other crises, there are reports of a rise in cyberattacks. Companies are colleagues. moving quickly to maintain effective operations while they shift work to hanging user According to WEF, and other reports different locations. But such moves demands due to from multiple communication increase exposure to cyber threats. this extraordinary companies, internet traffic has There is increased complexity in situation have led increased by about 30%. Nokia security, authentication, access and to surges across also reports exponential growth monitoring. Remote workers are also mobile voice, text in worldwide internet traffic. More vulnerable because they’re more likely and data services. specifically, there has been a 300% to use less-secure home networks CAcross the developed world, millions growth in teleconferencing apps and that are also connected to IoT/ of us are now connecting to the 400% growth in online gaming within personal devices. internet from our kitchens, living the US. Within the UAE, Du reported rooms and home offices every day 200% surge in use of video services Solutions and opportunities – causing internet service providers and 40% increase in residential Telcos are also under enormous (ISPs) to see demand skyrocket. broadband usage. pressure to continue delivering infrastructure and services critical to Surge in demand There has also been a 36% everyone, especially during a crisis A surge of the kind we are witnessing increase in wireless internet service of this magnitude. Some solutions, now is unprecedented. According providers (WISPs) traffic in rural and potential side opportunities, from to GSMA, there is huge demand US communities. Survey data from near term to long term recovery and for additional spectrum due to the Wireless Internet Service Providers resilience actions include: significant surge in broadband Association shows around 83% and mobile network usage, with of WISPs have connected more • VoIP and Restricted Access: With governments and telecom regulators subscribers since the beginning of the the call from Human Rights Watch around the world releasing additional public health emergency in the US. and other organizations to remove/ spectrum. The economic value of relax restrictions on VoIP apps and allowing unlicensed use in the 5.9 Challenges for telcos platforms, there is an opportunity to GHz and 6 GHz bands will amount to A PwC report sheds light on monetize from the shifts in revenue over US $180 billion between 2020 challenges for telecom operators. It streams of traditional operator and 2025. highlights the interruption in business revenue. development as major networking • Mobile Revenue: Opportunities to Due to the lockdown restrictions events that have sponsorship have cope with critical demand where all over the world, billions of people been cancelled. there is lack of broadband access worldwide are relying on the internet for education governments are through broadband and mobile In addition, while cancelled domestic looking at mobile networks to access for work, study, entertainment and global business travel has provide internet access to students. and social interactions requiring resulted in an increase of domestic • Low Touch/No Touch: affordable and reliable networks. communications, there has been a Opportunities from no touch/low JUNE 2020 OPINIONS 31

touch services and connected hosting and access restrictions the X (curb/home/office, etc.) for devices, remote/connected from governments on solution handling surge in call centers, tele hardware and VoIP solutions for providers provides additional health/medicine, work, learning collaboration at work, education solution opportunities. and entertainment that require and entertainment. • Business Continuity from dedicated 24/7 open lines, longer • Privacy and clean path led Industrial IoT: Opportunities from call holds and distribution of solutions: With contact and IIoT adoption for stability and voice and data loads shifting to quarantine tracing apps and reliance across secure supply homes from traditional centralized traditional data intensive apps chain, inventory management, commercial locations. becoming increasingly popular procurement, production, across enterprise and public sector maintenance and repair to improve By Hazam Galal, partner, Global clients, protecting privacy and data operational flexibility and stability. Leader for Cities & Local Government, at the device and network levels, • FTTx Considerations: Fiber to PwC Middle East How STL helps telecom operators in effectively and efficiently manage telecom networks STL is a leader and a cutting-edge innovator in data networks and works with leading telcos. STL recommends two primary approaches to managing networks efficiently: WiFi & smart WiFi offloading and programmable networks.

iFi and • Location Insights - Learn what your smart WiFi customers want and offer tailored offloading - choices. Get complete transparency STL’s dWifi in interconnect agreements and platform settlements. Rahul Puri, is proven • WiFi Roaming & Calling - Take regional sales head, MEA, STL across advantage of the seamlessness of theW globe in decongesting network WiFi networks to offer voice and traffic and effortlessly managing text messaging. long periods of vendor lock-in, multiple connections even in the most • Location Aware - Identify user programmable networks are a break- congested locations. dWiFi is vendor- location by mapping network through disruption. STL is one of very agnostic with a web-scale platform parameters with WiFi, providing an few companies in the world to have with an open, architecture. It improves ideal platform for location-based a software defined network (SDN) spectral efficiency, offers bundled advertisement for operators. solution for access connectivity. plans, explores umpteen monetization Programmable networks - Network Built on ONF’s open reference design opportunities and delivers high quality utilization is also impacted by called SEBA (software-defined user experience. dWifi offers several hardware constraints. The reality networks enabled broadband access), cutting edge features including: is that the easiest way to ensure STL has developed the pFTTx optimal response times and minimal solution in partnership with ONF, • dSmart Mobility – Effortlessly latency was by overprovisioning other open communities, and open offload traffic from cellular networks the network; in other words, adding network hardware partner, Edgecore to WiFi networks, with flexibility to more network hardware to the Networks. increase bandwidth and capacity, network. This is not practical and it is while saving costs. imperative to make the most efficient By enabling programmability at the • Guest WiFi - Make customer use of networking bandwidth. core of the network and decoupling engagement quick and easy with white-box hardware from software, web-based authentication captive This is where programmable fiber to programmability and SDNs, STL’s portal for subscriber self-service the x (pFTTx) comes in. In an industry pFFTx solutions bring more flexibility, for personalized and customized weighed by legacy monolithic cost-efficiency and service excellence services. systems and infrastructure, and to data networks. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 32

Cloud computing and remote working: A match made in heaven From the infinite scale of modern business to the rapid response to COVID-19 enabling millions of people to work remotely, it’s hard to imagine a world without cloud technology. At no other point in time has there been such a need for the availability of IT resources enabled by the cloud than during this coronavirus pandemic. he coronavirus has and dependent on technology for the from home model. Thus, there is ignited the world’s most basic tasks. While technology an increased demand for cloud largest work-from- has played a critical role in helping communication and collaboration home experiment; companies navigate through all the services across the globe. For companies suddenly uncertainty that 2020 has brought, it example, digital productivity and have to enable a is natural to wonder how businesses collaboration tool providers such as mobile workforce. will emerge from this pandemic and Microsoft and Zoom are witnessing TRife with technical ramifications and how technology will be used moving massive upticks in usage across the considerations, the notion of remote forward. world. work has emerged a necessity, requiring businesses to consider how The cloud continues to transform Cloud-based tools can drastically they will continue operations. connectivity between people and improve a team’s efficiency while businesses on a global scale. removing many of the headaches you Many of us have become digital Coronavirus has pushed the majority might have become accustomed to nomads, working from remote locations of IT enterprises to adopt a work with on-premises systems. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 33

Here are some practical advantages of systems, tremendously reducing the IT on security and more on your product cloud-based solutions for your remote team workloads. In addition, it greatly or business. workforce: reduces the amount of downtime or IT interruptions that your team may Ultimately, security depends on trust Mobility encounter. and, in many cases, that trust is better One of the greatest overall advantages placed in the hands of your cloud of expanding your business into Cloud is helping to tackle disaster provider. The reality is that cloud the cloud is the powerful mobility recovery situations using distributed providers are likely to have far more and freedom that cloud technology cloud IT systems. Owing to the lack security expertise than your own provides. Implementing a cloud- of on-site IT personnel amidst the organization. based storage system allows you and lockdown, enterprises are leveraging your entire team to access all of the cloud capabilities to check, maintain Furthermore, additional security information you need from anywhere and monitor their server and storage measures can be implemented, such that has internet access. This puts an installations in datacenters. Businesses as single sign-on (SSO) protocols or end to tedious email threads between are using the cloud effectively to create a virtual private network (VPN). These departments trying to track down resilient and disaster-averse systems greatly reduce the risk of important documents as everyone can find what anywhere across the globe to cater to a files being mishandled or stolen. they need within the shared system. remote workforce and protect data and This is extremely important for many business application integrity as well. government agencies and law firms Even in the event of internet outages or that work with sensitive information. lack of connection, information stored Collaboration tools for productive on cloud-based servers can always be teams Scalability downloaded and saved temporarily for The growth of remote teams has gone Scalability in the context of cloud later use offline. hand-in-hand with the explosion of computing can be defined as the ability affordable and easily accessible online to handle growing or diminishing Ease of recovery task sharing and video conferencing resources to meet business demands When an entire team is working platforms. And with the emergence in a capable way. In essence, scalability remotely, Murphy’s Law is put to the of collaborative tools, we are seeing is a planned level of capacity that can test. Laptops crash, coffee spills and exciting new and innovative ways to grow or shrink as needed. important documents can be lost in the communicate, work and learn together blink of an eye. To make matters worse, – regardless of our physical location. Before the arrival of the cloud, adding a separated team doesn’t have the extra server space involved having same level of access to IT experts that In the opening months of 2020, someone install hardware and then can save the day and recover lost files. Zoom has entered the collective paying for its maintenance. With consciousness and is synonymous the cloud, you remove the limit to But if you implement a cloud-based with working from home and staying the physical size of your server filing system, what would otherwise connected. This is reflected in the environment, allowing you to support be a catastrophe is only a minor incredible growth of its market value – the growth or change in your business blunder. Connected computers can an estimated $48 billion. over time without any interruption in automatically backup case files or your business flow. emails to cloud servers for easy In addition to Zoom, there are recovery in the case of a disaster. You numerous reliable and cost-effective Modern organizations have always don’t need to worry if something is alternatives, including Cisco Webex, counted on digital infrastructure physically damaged or lost, which is a Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams to support their businesses. With lifesaver for remote teams. and, of course, Skype. The great thing the onset of restrictions COVID-19 about modern video conferencing has created, more companies are Low maintenance platforms is the ability to not only talk recognizing the unquestionable value As mentioned above, resources in the to fellow participants, but also share that cloud delivers. Perhaps the most cloud can be easily stored, retrieved, presentations, record meetings and beneficial aspect of cloud technologies recovered or processed with just a conduct polls. is the flexible options they provide; even couple of clicks. Users can get access more so now in this time of crisis, when to their works on-the-go, 24/7, via Security companies need solutions they can any devices of their choice, in any Security is a common concern implement and test quickly. corner of the world as long as you stay for many organizations. With a connected to the internet. cloud-based system, your files and Today, more than ever, the cloud is information are kept on an extremely a partner to business, and a vast, On top of that, all the upgrades and safe, isolated server with more never-ending network of cloud-based updates are done automatically, off- technical security than you could ever systems has enabled the world around site by the service providers. This saves invest in on your own. Cloud-based us to stay up and running throughout time and team effort in maintaining the computing enables you to focus less this global pandemic. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 34

Ensuring a digital recovery The best business strategy is the one that can turn a mess into a success story. What businesses have learned so far from the COVID-19 crisis is that digital transformation was key to overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic. With a new normal in the horizon, ICT companies should leverage the current situation to come out of it stronger and more resilient.

he COVID-19 crisis Recovery is the most important part Rupert Wood, research director has accelerated the that businesses should consider today. and co-author of the report, said, shift to digital and According to McKinsey, the first thing “Telecoms should stay healthier than the winners are the that companies should do is rapidly almost any industry in this crisis. businesses who have recover revenues. According to a report Telecoms should show some of the embraced digital by Analysys Mason, the impact of the strongest post-crisis investment, transformation and pandemic is expected to result in the in part because cash flow is more Twere well prepared for such a situation. sharp decline of telecom operator resilient in the telecoms sector than But what matters the most is how revenues by 3.4%, a world away from it is most others, and because some companies will act in the aftermath of its pre-COVID-19 estimated growth of governments will emphasize 5G and the coronavirus period. 0.7% at the dawn of the new year. fiber in stimulus packages.” JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 35

In the post-COVID-19 era, the use Positive/negative impact acquire new digital skills to be better of automation and technology will The coronavirus pandemic has had prepared for the current and future define of the future of businesses. different impacts on companies workplace environment. Everyone was Digital communication has allowed depending on the type of their trying to cope with the new lifestyle employees to perform their jobs businesses. For some, COVID-19 has dependent on remote activities and remotely and a rise in analytics and generated revenue and created growth we all learned new skills, whether technical support has emerged. opportunities. The companies that voluntarily or involuntarily. All the talk have benefited the most are mainly about the digital era and Industry 4.0 In addition McKinsey states that in in the fields of healthcare, streaming has been translated into an actual order to thrive, “organizations must platforms and OTTs. reality we’re currently living. answer important questions about growth and scalability. Three factors On the other hand, given that the The winners today are the ones who will matter most: the ability to embed number of the companies who are have been preparing themselves for data and analytics in decision making; actually benefiting from this crisis is a fully digital future. But it’s never too the creation of learning platforms quite limited, the majority of companies late. This was the turning point that that support both individual and have registered losses and had to lower many companies needed to embrace institutional experimentation and their objectives for the remainder of the digital transformation and believe in learning at scale; and the cultivation year. its potential. It is time to resort to data of an organizational culture that analytics and artificial intelligence fosters value creation with other As part of the recovery phase, the to cater to customers’ needs and partners.” businesses who have been yielding anticipate problems. Remote working profits are faced with the challenge and education are no longer an option One of the most remarkable changes of continuity and sustainability. In and patients have found comfort in that took place due to the COVID-19 the aftermath, they should figure out telemedicine. is customer behavior. Digital solutions ways to maintain the same incomes must be implemented to adapt to in order not to experience a free fall. The digital era is here and even though the new demands and needs and As for the businesses who were technological developments have guarantee a seamless experience. negatively affected, the challenge is to been halted by the COVID, operations find innovative ways for an effective are gradually resuming. Experts will Data is also a key element in the post- rebound. draw lessons from the setbacks to crisis strategy. Companies need to address the gaps that the pandemic incorporate new data and create new Prepare for the future has highlighted at the level of all models to enable real-time decision COVID-19 has amplified the need to industries. making. This will involve rapidly validating models, creating new data sets, and enhancing modeling techniques. Moreover, companies have to accelerate the development of digital solutions to keep up with the new customer behavior.

A digital culture should now be adopted for a successful recovery. A new mindset is required now more than ever which consists of transparency, trust and leadership at a time when everything is done remotely and is likely to continue in the same direction for the few upcoming months.

New digital business models will emerge that prioritize the creation of digital solutions. Companies will increasingly start to build resilience in their businesses by complementing product-focused models with scalable and stable digital alternatives that include data analytics and artificial intelligence. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 36

Overcoming the challenges of

The term IoT (internet of things) is widely recognized, and activity in the market to develop and install IoT solutions has grown exponentially over the last decade. The use of IoT for business operations has already been proven to deliver immense value. In spite of this success, there are increasing instances of IoT project failures. For a variety of reasons, it is estimated that nearly three-quarters of all IoT projects started will not be considered successful by the organizations using them.

oT is at a critical tipping compromise the business benefits if the most return on investment and the point. On one hand, not addressed. technology and services required to advances in technology support the desired outcomes. mean that it’s cheaper and For many organizations, the IoT will be easier than ever to produce a key enabler of digital transformation. A recent survey conducted by “smart” devices, equipment Data collected from connected Beecham Research revealed that 40% and machinery that deliver machines can be used to create of 25,000 enterprise users agreed Isignificant benefits; benefits that the efficiencies, enhance product designs, that their IoT solution was mostly business community cannot afford develop new business models and unsuccessful. Only 12% believe their to ignore. On the other, there are improve customer experiences. Before project was fully successful. While equally significant challenges like any of these opportunities can be it is acknowledged that the IoT has skills shortages, security concerns realized, however, companies must enormous potential in the enterprise, and solution complexity that may determine which use cases will deliver the clear evidence of project failures JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 37

is not very promising. There are IDC defines IoT as a network of volumes that many companies are not extensive underlying issues here that uniquely identifiable endpoints yet well equipped to deal with, so they need to be addressed. (or “things”) that autonomously must evaluate the capabilities of their connect bidirectionally. The IoT existing infrastructure in the areas of The study shows that many IoT ecosystem contains a complex mix of high-scale data ingestion, storage and adopters have unclear business technologies and services, including analytics. objectives, and don’t exactly know devices, connectivity, IoT platforms, what they want from their IoT project. storage, servers, security, analytics, A survey of business and IT decision- According to Robin Duke-Woolley, applications and IT services. The makers in mid-market and enterprise analyst and CEO, Beecham Research, creation of an IoT solution generally companies, conducted by Cisco, found many are wasting their time, energy requires consideration of each of that poor quality of data collected and resources on projects that will these elements. In addition, many is a top reason why IoT projects are ultimately be unsuccessful. organizations will need to determine deemed unsuccessful. The primary if their existing IT architecture can value that IoT creates is a direct result “There is a strong desire to be seen support new IoT use cases. of the data that can be captured from as embracing new technology to keep connected things — and the resulting up with trends but unfortunately the Because of the complex mix of insights that drive business and intent alone is not enough to build a technologies required to build operational transformation. product,” he said. an IoT solution, there are several considerations for various teams within To capitalize on the wide range of The report shows evidence of a company. For example, it’s critical data IoT generates, organizations company organizational issues that the IT department is involved in must overcome three key challenges leading to project failure. IoT projects the process as it will be involved in identified by Cisco’s survey require input from more than one the management and maintenance of respondents: business unit, and it is often the case the solution over the longer term. As that one department has one view, and mentioned previously, research shows • Integrating data from multiple the other department has a conflicting that a lack of integration between sources view. Integrating new working different departments is cited as a • Automating the collection of data practices between various teams can factor inhibiting success, so it is crucial • Analyzing data to effectively identify often be difficult, but the report shows that everyone is on the same page. actionable insights. it is a critical factor of success. Once organizations determine Only by addressing all three can Another clear downfall is the failure the appropriate mix of endpoint organizations turn raw data into to foresee technological problems devices and how they will connect information and actionable insights. On that may appear at later stages of those devices to a network, the next one hand, it is important to determine production. Research shows that the challenge is to manage and secure the and focus on data needed to fulfil complexity of connectivity element deployment at scale. IDC’s Global IoT an objective or realize a strategy. On is not always understood; coverage, Decision Maker Survey overwhelmingly the other, there is a lot to be said for reliability, bandwidth, latency, and pointed to security concerns as the creating repositories (or “data lakes”) scalability are all significant technical biggest challenge holding back IoT of structured or unstructured data for challenges. Speaking on a webinar projects. Many IoT endpoints are future use. recently, Duke-Woolley says that simple computing devices with few those who consider connectivity as a security capabilities built into more According to Beecham, a related commodity, or a last minute element sophisticated devices, so when these challenge is figuring out where data that does not need to be considered devices connect to the network, they will be collected and processed — at in early stages, are setting themselves can represent a point of vulnerability in the edge or in the cloud, or both. Edge up for failure. the network. processing supports reduced latency for time-sensitive applications and can “This is a fatal mistake. Connectivity is David Reinsel, senior vice president, also cut down on data transmission becoming more complex as networks IDC’s GlobalDataSphere, says that and storage costs. Aside from evolve and those who do not consider “with every new connection comes a technology considerations, the most this in their strategy will ultimately responsibility to navigate and manage successful IoT projects will be well fail.” new security vulnerabilities and privacy thought out from people and process concerns. Companies must address perspectives. In fact, bringing the right “I would recommend that connectivity these data hazards as they advance stakeholders from around the company be an area that requires a great deal new levels of efficiency and customer into the discussion is fundamental to of planning at the initial stages of experience.” future proofing technology choices, planning as otherwise you don’t know and demonstrates the importance of if it will withstand technical challenges The next piece of the puzzle concerns thinking the project through from every associated with connectivity.” data. IoT devices generate data at angle. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 38

Connected and autonomous cars: Balancing morality and regulation Autonomous and connected cars have already been trialed on the streets of many countries over the past half-decade. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) have made way for the surge in the trialing and adoption of autonomous vehicles. It has been forecasted that by 2021, over 380 million connected cars will take to the streets. In fact, after the smartphone and the tablet, the connected car has been deemed as one of the most rapid-growing technological device.

lex Khizhniak, systems could substitute for a driver of autonomous or connected cars, director of in case of emergency. Although these there are many advantages that must Technical technologies are still developing - and be considered before delving into the Evangelism at IT some legislations should also be risks. services provider introduced- the future looks promising Altros, stated, for self-driving and intelligent driving One of the many key benefits of “Being connected assistants.” connected cars is that they could Ato other cars on the road will eventually contribute to safer traffic patterns make driving much safer. Combined While many have been vocal about in cities with congestion issues as a with predictive analysis, smart their concerns regarding the regulation consequence of rapid urbanization. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 39

In theory, connected cars ensure safety of their data being extracted from their undoubtedly increase. An anticipated by providing the driver with the ability to cars could act as collection points issue which will stem from this is the reach their destination in the quickest for car manufacturers and internet assessment of whether the software and most cost-effective way possible. providers to improve their marketing or the hardware of the vehicle caused This is achieved by communicating with strategies. the accident which many companies traffic signals and road infrastructure will find particularly difficult as they will to, for instance, ensure the drivers and Another risk in this situation would have to refer back to the entire supply passengers of the respective vehicle be product liability. Manufacturers of chain involved, many components of slow down before the signal turns red. these vehicles need to pay a great deal which will lack access to proprietary It has actually been forecasted that the of attention to the potential product source code. amount of car accidents is expected liability risk involved in the event of to subside once connected and individuals or properties being damaged In the case of semi-autonomous autonomous vehicles are more widely by or in circumstances surrounding vehicles, the key to understanding the adopted. connected or autonomous cars. legal complexities lies in the notion of handover/takeover transitions which Drivers would be alerted with regular Many are of the belief that if this refers to the point at which the control reports on potentially dangerous roads ever happens to be the case, the is passed onto the vehicle itself by the and weather conditions based on liability would fall into the hands of driver and vice versa. Liability regimes big data analytics, another emerging the technology itself as opposed to in this scenario are a great deal more technology with boundless potential the driver, weather conditions of road fluid. which has reshaped every industry. infrastructure, hence limiting defenses. In such a situation, if a plaintiff were The question of ethics is key when Many major players in the automotive to pursue a company, they would try it comes to matters of consent and industry have gone so far as to to gauge an understanding of the autonomy in the face of an accident, speculate that self-driving cars will company’s AI capabilities such as what as it essentially underpins the very eventually be an even safer option than guides the AI and how the vehicle has foundation of the legal measures which the connected car despite not having a been programmed to reach in certain lead up to the transition phase. driver behind the wheel. This statement, situations. albeit debatable, holds some truth. It is a fact that relatively new Driverless cars create a more aware As more autonomous vehicles take technologies could bring about driving environment as they have the to the streets, the responsibility of unprecedented challenges. The purpose ability to recognize risks, respond to accidents will shift away from the driver of advanced driving aid systems is them accordingly and to also recognize and onto the vehicle itself in terms of to diminish the risks associated with other driverless cars on the road. design and manufacturing. This will driving such as human error, among probably cause more companies to others. These systems use intelligent Risks and ethico-legal issues be liable for accidents that take place sensors to mitigate the risks by either Indeed, connected cars offer a wide and the complexity of these cases will providing the human driver with array of advantages but they also come with their disadvantages and risks. Understanding these risks and creating a regulatory framework to ensure greater safety are key.

While connected vehicles collect a sheer amount of data which could be used to improve designs and give urban planners and traffic managers greater insight into how to better utilize their resources and plan more effective driving experiences for the city’s residents, tremendous risks are imposed.

Data in this situation can be seen as a double-edged sword in the way that it can provide incredible insight and make way for greater improvements, it could in some ways undermine the right to an individual’s privacy. Many users would not particularly agree with the prospect JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 40

additional information or by taking temporary control of a specific aspect of the vehicle’s operation. These offer a wide range of safety benefits but it brings with it some challenges. A study found that some elements of advanced driving aid systems technology which could come to play in the event of a collision or potential one, would bring about some ethical challenges. The researchers, Maurer et al. stated in their paper, “In the event of the car sensing a threat and being able to determine a strategy to avoid it, it is ethically obliged to intervene.”

“The most important characteristic of dynamic systems is that the system be contextual. That is, it needs context and contextual information in order to be safe and accurate in its behaviors and responses to dynamically changing conditions. An enormously important source of that contextual information all real life scenarios and they represent different countries are at different for vehicles on the road is from other decisions that the autonomous car stages of the regulatory process. vehicles, specifically from connected would have to take. However, it is instrumental that all vehicles and connected sensors. Those governments involved in devising a connections deliver early warnings and Perhaps designing emotionally regulatory framework for this take the other critical data for safe maneuvering intelligent AI or an ‘artificial conscience’ time to address as many issues as in a dynamic environment. Therefore, which could be altered to adapt to any possible from the get-go. the connected car not only provides given society’s moral belief system infotainment to its passengers, but it could be the answer. UK also provides actionable information, The UK has been regarded as one safety recommendations, and Regulation of the countries that has been at the contextual insights for the benefit of This brings to question: Who decides forefront of introducing and assessing all drivers on the road,” Kirk Borne, the moral dilemma of what algorithms regulation in this area. The country’s Principal Data Scientist at Booz Allen. decide? government has set up a new department, the Center for Connected It is of the essence to consider that, Many governments across the world and Autonomous Vehicles, and has for the public to accept and adopt have already started discourse around begun testing schemes in several self-driving cars into their lives, they the legislation for this technology. cities, some of which include Coventry must trust the technology and the and London and have recently revised moral framework that underpins their Eric Tanenblatt, global chair of public and updated the Code of Practice for functionality. But this can be quite tricky policy and regulation at global law firm, Automated Vehicle Trialing which will as not all morals are created equal and Dentons, commented on the matter essentially provide some much needed moral implications can be very different and stated, “Government regulation is clarity regarding the expectations of depending on culture. definitely needed… We’re talking about organizations which are planning to a paradigm shift in the automotive trial these vehicles. Some weighty hypothetical moral industry. And there are so many areas questions or scenarios which can be that are touched by autonomous The UK’s Automated and Electric considered in the case of connected or vehicles.” Vehicles (AEV) Act 2018 states that the autonomous cars would be: Should the owners of these vehicles would only be lives of pets be preserved over humans? “There’s the whole angle of safety; liable in special circumstances, one of Women over men? Pedestrians over there’s the whole angle of insurance which is when the driverless car itself passengers? Young people over the and data privacy. There’s a number of is not insured. However, depending on elderly? Should those of higher social ethical issues and it’s something that is the situation, the insurer may pursue status be saved such as doctors or new,” he added. some claims against the manufacturer business men? What about individuals itself if, for instance, the insurer thinks who are more physically fit? While these Indeed, because connected and that a manufacturing fault was behind questions may be hypothetical, they are autonomous vehicles are so new, the incident. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 41

However, the current AEV Act in the UK The National Transport Commission These are just a few examples of actually does not contain any specific (NTC) launched the Australian Road countries which have been at the provisions pertaining to user liability. Rules (ARRs) in an effort to unify these forefront of adopting this technology The Law Commission has previously laws on a national level. The NTC has widely. According to a KPMG study suggested that the legislation could be also disclosed that they plan to assess on autonomous vehicle readiness, the developed further in order to properly concerns related to autonomous Netherlands and Norway also hold high clarify the role of the ‘user-in-charge’. vehicle integration, address them positions in the index. and change driving laws in general to US support technology. Risks and concerns are present in While self-driving cars have already most technologies, especially new been trialed in the US, regulation Singapore ones, because there is still so much differs from one state to another and For over two years now, the streets of we are not aware of. Therefore, areas some states do not have any laws or the city-state have been home to self- of concern need further development regulations for autonomous vehicles. driving vehicles. The government plans and should be considered more California, for instance, has come up to even launch autonomous buses often. In this case, members of the with a framework via a comprehensive as it would be in line with Singapore’s supply chain should synergize their approach. The state previously required sustainability aims. efforts to proactively engage in policy back-up drivers to be present in all development initiatives to ensure that self-driving test vehicles but has now There really is no established the regulatory framework will have removed this requirement. international standard when it comes been developed with most potential to the regulation of autonomous concerns in mind. In this case, a In Colorado, the Department of vehicles. Since Singapore established regulatory framework should aim to Transportation has partnered with the Center of Excellence for Testing & balance the risks against the potential Ford, Panasonic and Qualcomm with research of Autonomous Vehicles in benefits of connected and autonomous the aim of deploying Cellular Vehicle- 2017, it is safe to say that the city- vehicles. This is particularly important to-Everything (C-V2X) technology state has spearheaded the testing, as we are shifting into a new era which they believe with be particularly development and deployment of of transportation and the optimal helpful in managing the heavily traveled autonomous transport. regulation must be in place to ensure a Interstate 70 corridor. safer and more efficient future. In 2017, the Ministry of transport Additionally, Florida passed a Bill in introduced some Autonomous Vehicle June 2019 which relaxed the state’s Rules to be followed during trials. The autonomous vehicle regulations. Under Road Traffic Amendment recognized this new law, any autonomous vehicle that motor vehicles did not need would be permitted to operate within human drivers; this made Singapore the state so long as it complies with the the first country in the world to adopt existing federal and state laws and has autonomous driving on a wide scale. $1 million of liability insurance. At the time of the amendment Ng Chee In reference to this, Tanenblatt stated, Meng, the (then) Second Minister for The amount of car “The federal government’s going to Transport, spoke about the regulatory have to step in and put some broad frameworks for autonomous vehicles accidents is expected regulations in place, because you can’t and stated that “at the end of five years, have this patchwork of regulations the Ministry [of Transport] will consider to subside once when you’re dealing with something enacting more permanent legislation or that crosses state lines.” return to Parliament to further extend the period of the sandbox.” connected and Echoing Tanenblatt’s statement, this is absolutely problematic. Many states “The Land Transport Authority (LTA) autonomous vehicles and governors have passed and signed introduced a regulatory framework off laws and executive orders which, if it that minimizes the occurrence of are more widely persists, will cause federal government accidents. Operators are required to to eventually interfere and impose have a qualified safety driver who will adopted “broad parameters”. be able to take control of the vehicle in an emergency, hold third-party Australia liability insurance and share data from In Australia, each territory and state the trials with the LTA,” said Satya have their own road safety laws which, Ramamurthy, Partner and Head of like the US, was bound to cause some Government and Infrastructure at major inconsistencies. KPMG Singapore. JUNE 2020 WHOLESALE AND CAPACITY NEWS 42

CenturyLink expands fiber network to 400,000 homes this year

It’s also connecting more businesses a net loss of 11,000 total broadband to the fiber network. CenturyLink subscribers. For speeds of 100 said it recently expanded its network Mbps and above, it added 60,000 infrastructure in eight cities across subscribers. the US, connecting large technology corporations, startups and datacenters Thanks to its fiber first strategy, in Hillsboro, Oregon; Midland, Texas; CenturyLink has transformed itself Milpitas and Palo Alto, California; Troy, from a traditional, legacy telco into Michigan and other places. a company that is more focused on US operator CenturyLink announced fiber-based enterprise services and that it connected around 300,000 In 2019 CenturyLink connected an applications. CenturyLink can tap homes and small businesses to its fiber estimated 18,000 additional buildings into the fiber conduit that previously network last year. It has plans to add to its global network. belonged to firms such as Level 3, another 400,000 to the network across Qwest, Broadwing and WilTel, but the several cities in the US. CenturyLink said it plans to expand its Level 3 deal in particular increased its network infrastructure in 20 additional fiber reach outside of its traditional CenturyLink delivered gigabit speeds cities this year to help national and US footprint. Last year, CenturyLink in parts of Boulder, Colorado; Spokane, regional enterprise businesses meet connected an estimated 18,000 Washington; and Tucson, Arizona last the growing demand for high-speed additional buildings to its global fiber year. The next areas for rollout include connectivity. network. All told, CenturyLink has Denver, Idaho Falls, Omaha, Phoenix, about 450,000 global route miles of Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle and In its first quarter earnings report fiber across its network and it plans to Springfield, Missouri. earlier this month, CenturyLink saw add more this year.

SES to clear C-band spectrum in line with FCC plans From the outset of this proceeding, SES has supported accelerated clearing of a portion of the C-band spectrum, as well as the Commission’s objective of quickly driving 5G leadership with the use of this spectrum while also protecting the spectrum’s current users.

Under the Order, the accelerated clearing is contingent on elections to clear having been made by eligible Satellite operator SES said it plans to new satellites and other equipment satellite operators representing at meet the FCC’s accelerated timeline and services expenses that are least 80% of accelerated relocation to clear part of the C-band spectrum reimbursable through the program payments. SES’s decision to elect is a in the US. The FCC wants to clear the Clearinghouse. SES intends to place critical component in achieving this. band so that it can hold an auction the vast majority of this investment for the spectrum, which will then be with US suppliers. While SES is firmly supportive of used for 5G. The move means SES accelerated clearing per the FCC Order, will be entitled to receive up to USD In line with SES’s firm commitment to the company opposes the potential 3.97 billion in accelerated relocation maintaining investment-grade status, sunsetting of its 300 MHz C-band payments. the company has secured deferred rights by December 2025 in the payment terms with the vendors unlikely event that accelerated clearing Accelerated clearing, including the taking part in the satellite programs does not proceed as outlined in the migration of existing customers, associated with the accelerated Order. is an important and resource- clearing, ahead of reimbursement by intensive process for the current the clearinghouse. SES intends to meet As a strictly precautionary measure, C-band users. The SES Board of the deadlines envisaged in the FCC SES intends to file a petition for review Directors has approved an investment Order, which entitles SES to receive up with the reviewing court to preserve its envelope of $1.6bn which includes to $3.97bn in accelerated relocation rights should the accelerated clearing the procurement and launch of payments. option no longer be available. JUNE 2020 WHOLESALE AND CAPACITY NEWS 43

Leading telcos announce a transformative subsea cable

access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis. This will support healthy internet ecosystem development by facilitating greatly improved accessibility for businesses and consumers alike.

The 2Africa cable has been designed to improve resilience and maximize performance, including the option of a seamless optical crossing between East Africa and Europe. The 2Africa parties and Airtel have signed an agreement with Telecom Egypt to provide a completely new crossing linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, the first in over a decade. This includes new cable landing stations and deployment of next generation fiber on two new, diverse terrestrial routes parallel to the Suez Canal from Ras Ghareb to Port Said, and a new subsea link that China Mobile International, Facebook, 21 landings in 16 countries in Africa. will provide a third path between Ras MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, The system is expected to go live Ghareb and Suez. Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC in 2023/4, delivering more than the announced that they will partner to total combined capacity of all subsea The 2Africa cable will implement a build 2Africa, which will be the most cables serving Africa today, with a new technology, SDM1 from ASN, comprehensive subsea cable to serve design capacity of up to 180Tbps on allowing deployment of up to 16 fiber the African continent and Middle East key parts of the system. 2Africa will pairs instead of the eight fiber pairs region. The parties have appointed deliver much needed internet capacity supported by older technologies, Alcatel Submarine Networks (“ASN”) and reliability across large parts of bringing much greater and more to build the cable in a fully funded Africa, supplement the fast-growing cost-effective capacity. The cable project which will greatly enhance capacity demand in the Middle East will incorporate optical switching connectivity across Africa and the and underpin the further growth of technology to enable flexible Middle East. 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access management of bandwidth. Cable for hundreds of millions of people. burial depth has also been increased At 37,000km long, 2Africa will be by 50% compared to older systems, one of the world’s largest subsea In countries where the 2Africa and cable routing will avoid locations cable projects and will interconnect cable will land, service providers of known subsea disturbance, all Europe (eastward via Egypt), the will obtain capacity in carrier- helping to ensure the highest levels of Middle East (via Saudi Arabia) and neutral datacenters or open- availability. DEA announces auction for 450MHz spectrum in June

June 23 this year. The regulator stated that the frequencies will has disclosed that it will offer one be suitable for IoT services and license up from sales which will be M2M communication and wireless accompanied by specific terms and broadband, among others. However, conditions in an effort to ensure the it will offer slightly restricted capacity effective use of the spectrum within in terms of speeds because of the the country. limited frequencies available.

Danish Energy Agency (DEA), The permit, once allocated, is The DEA has announced that any Energistyrelsen, has announced that expected to come into force on interested parties who would like to it plans to hold a spectrum auction January 24, 2022, and expire take part in the auction would be able in the 450MHz frequency band on December 2037. They have also to register on June 9, 2020. JUNE 2020 OPERATORS’ NEWS 44

Etisalat and Dubai Police launch new initiative to enhance safety and security

and safety during the current violation and report to the police circumstances, allowing the public to without consuming their own internet utilize Dubai Police’s online services. packages.”

This collaboration supports Police Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, Eye, a programme launched recently director of the General Department by Dubai Police which provides the of Artificial Intelligence at Dubai public with a secure and confidential Police, welcomed this partnership Etisalat and Dubai Police have online platform to report crimes and with Etisalat. He stated, “This initiative announced a collaboration to suspicious activities in the city. clearly indicates the collaboration launch an initiative which provides of various government and private Etisalat customers with free access Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jalaf, entities to fulfill consumers’ needs to the police’s website and mobile director of the General Department of and ensure their safety especially applications without consuming Criminal Investigation (CID) at Dubai under the current circumstances. internet data. Police, said that maintaining safety Police Eye is among the many and security is a mutual commitment services offered to the public through In addition to Dubai Police’s and a national obligation that all smart application and website, such website and mobile app, Etisalat parties must participate. as emergency response service, customers can access other online reporting of e-crimes, reporting services available for individuals, “Police Eye also allows reporting bounced cheques and applying establishments and visitors, upload violations related to precautionary for a police clearance certificate. or download data, without consuming measures taken to combat Covid-19 We encourage the public to take their internet data. The three-month such as failure to wear face masks advantage of this initiative and initiative began on 15th April 2020. and not keeping a safe distance, etc. conduct their transactions using the In view of this partnership, Etisalat smart services from the comfort of The initiative reflects Dubai Police subscribers can upload pictures their houses to maintain their safety efforts in maintaining the security and videos of any misbehavior or and the welfare of the community.” stc and MBC GROUP announce strategic partnership

Under this new agreement, stc this Ramadan, in addition to Shahid customers will receive a two-month Originals and Shahid Premieres Shahid VIP package free of charge by offering exclusive content shown for signing up to the platform using their the first-time; and the best family packages. All stc customers have to do entertainment content suitable for is send “1” via SMS to 808885 to start children, from Disney – in both Arabic Stc and MBC GROUP, the leading their content viewing journey. Following and English languages – plus Marvel telecom and media groups, announced the promotion, stc customers who and Pixar, in addition to families having the signing of a joint partnership to would like to convert and continue their peace of mind with Shahid’s parental offer Shahid VIP, MBC’s premium viewing journey uninterrupted can do controls. Meanwhile, content on Shahid subscription video on demand (SVOD) so for SAR 19.99 per month, which can VIP can be downloaded for offline service, to stc customers for no be directly added to a customer’s stc viewing, and is streamed ad-free for no additional cost for the duration of post-paid monthly bill for convenience. interruptions. two months. This is in line with both Payment is also available via deduction companies’ continued mission to offer from a prepaid offering via the “sawa” It is worth noting that this joint customers and audiences the best SIM. In parallel, work is currently partnership reflects the ongoing content from the region and beyond. underway to launch joint packages and commitment of stc to enrich its valued Stc users now have the opportunity to offers between Jawwy TV and Shahid customers lives, by providing them watch a variety of exclusive and original VIP, in addition to offering a wide range with value-added services in terms of Arabic TV shows and movies. Users will of vouchers to customers. audio-visual (TV and streaming), audio, also gain access to MBC’s live channels print, online, digital apps and other anytime anywhere – thanks to the This partnership comes in conjunction types of content/platforms… All this Shahid app available on smartphones with MBC GROUP launching an in an effort from stc to offer the best and a number of Smart TVs – directly exclusive and diverse set of Arabic- products and services that would meet via their stc account. language series and other programmes the needs and desires of its customers. JUNE 2020 OPERATORS’ NEWS 45

Etisalat launches ‘Easy Prepaid’ feature for business mobile lines

Etisalat has announced the launch reaches the maximum allowance customers’ needs amidst the current of ‘Easy Prepaid,’ enabling business given by the company. global phenomenon. For the first customers to enjoy a prepaid feature time in the UAE, our valued business on their existing postpaid mobile The unique feature also caters to postpaid customers can now enjoy plan. customers who have company a unique offering that empowers restrictions to make international them with additional freedom and With this new hybrid capability, calls using their existing business convenience to use the same line customers can now switch between mobile plans. The new hybrid for their personal communication prepaid and postpaid features capability empowers all employees needs.” without the need to change their who are on postpaid plans not existing number. They can also only tomake personal local and Customers can easily recharge their recharge their credit, make out- international calls, but also to pay credit using any existing Wasel of-bundle calls and subscribe to for m-parking and other value added recharge option, Etisalat Business add-ons using standard prepaid tariff services using their prepaid credit. Mobile app or through online banking rates. apps. Esam Mahmoud, senior vice Easy Prepaid allows employees to president, small and medium Once the account gets recharged make personal calls at their own business, Etisalat, said, “The customer can switch from postpaid expense. For instance, an employee launch of Easy Prepaid reinforces to Easy Prepaid by dialing *124# and can use a prepaid account – with our commitment to deliver flexible start making calls, send SMS, use the same number – when he or she value propositions that address our data and subscribe to other add-ons. Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr consolidate their partnership with new agreement

market by diversifying and improving the quality of services provided. Telecom Egypt has heavily invested in its infrastructure to accommodate the significant and ongoing increase in data usage in Egypt. Such investments have especially borne fruit during these times that the world in its entirety is living.”

In light of their ongoing strategic value of EGP 2bn. Additionally, the Hazem Metwally, chief executive partnership, Telecom Egypt and two companies have signed a mobile- officer of Etisalat Misr, said: “We are Etisalat Misr signed two first of to-fixed termination agreement pleased with the development of our their kind agreements relating to representing the first commercial strategic partnership with Telecom transmission and mobile-to-fixed arrangement on mobile-to-fixed Egypt, a company that we consider to interconnection. The first agreement between Telecom Egypt and Etisalat be our success partner in the Egyptian entails a development of Telecom Misr and the second for Telecom Egypt market. We always strive through such Egypt’s transmission and infrastructure in the Egyptian market. agreements to provide the latest and services’ commercial model with highest quality integrated services Etisalat Misr, where Etisalat Misr for the Adel Hamed, managing director and to our customers using the most first time signs a long-term agreement chief executive officer, commented: advanced technological solutions including an annual commitment for “We are very happy to have signed prevalent in global markets. The Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure and these agreements. The transmission development of events across the transmission services. agreement is evidence that Telecom world makes telecommunications Egypt’s long-term commercial model is companies eager to cope with the The agreement will enable Etisalat indeed valued by all mobile operators required changes and during the next Misr to continue delivering premium in the market. The agreement also stage, agreements like the ones we offers and mobile telecommunications allows us to further monetize our have signed today will be reflected in services to its customers in the infrastructure investments that the products and services that we will Egyptian market and extends for serve all local telecommunications offer our customers for the first time in three and a half years with a total companies and enrich the Egyptian the Egyptian market.” JUNE 2020 OPERATORS’ NEWS 46

Etisalat Group CEO resigns

Etisalat Group announced in a currently the CEO International statement that Eng. Saleh Al Abdooli of Etisalat. His Excellency Obaid has submitted his resignation as Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Etisalat the chief executive officer of Etisalat Group, and the members of the Group, for personal reasons. board directors thanked Al Abdooli for the efforts he made and the The board of directors accepted his accomplishments achieved for Etisalat resignation and appointed Eng. Hatem Group during his tenure as Group Dowidar as acting chief executive CEO and his 28 years of service to the officer for the Group. Dowidar is company. stc launches digital initiatives to support healthcare in KSA deal with field, security or emergency operations to communicate safely through PPT (push-to-talk) method.

Eng. Riyadh highlighted that these services are also a part of a package of services provided by stc as a digital enabler in order to offer digital, smart, and innovative solutions across the government and private sectors to ensure continuity of work and access to all customers and clients.

The Virtual Clinic service, which is provided through cloud computing solutions in stc, offers a medical bag to measure the patient’s vital signs at their place of residence. Through this service, doctors would be able to view and interpret a patient’s results and provide medical advice to the patient seamlessly and accurately through a video call.

Tari” service improves sending notifications and enhances reliability. The service operates through a range of notification channels that Stc has launched four digital stc, explained that the four digital can be customized and activates. initiatives to assist the Kingdom’s initiatives that were launched by stc These include the e-application, healthcare providers in preventing the include the “Virtual Clinic” service SMS messages, e-mails, machine spread of COVID-19. The initiatives which provides communication communications and Tera SDS. All of effectively contribute in facilitating between patients and doctors, and these channels save time, increase the work of medical staff in hospitals the EMI service for managing, storing, effectiveness and assist medical and health facilities and ensuring and displaying medical images easily facilities accelerate the time needed the continuity of work remotely. and remotely to achieve the highest to provide healthcare for emergency These efforts come in line with the quality in health facilities. The two cases. precautionary measures taken to remaining initiatives are “Tari’” and reduce the spread of the virus to “Fawran”. The first allows doctors Lastly, Fawran service has several protect the lives of the Kingdom’s and medical healthcare staff to special and intelligent features such citizens and residents. activate notifications in a manner as private or group conversations that surpasses any other traditional and excellent service coverage that Eng. Riyadh Saeed Muawad, senior system, and the second allows ensures connection quality regardless VP of enterprise business unit at customers who are in businesses that of network traffic. JUNE 2020 OPERATORS’ NEWS 47 stc Group and Nokia sign strategic five-year MFA

with Nokia, supports Saudi Vision 2030 focused on leveraging advanced technologies for digital transformation and growth of the country, aligning with stc Rawafed Programme that aims to enhance local content.”

“We strive to introduce advanced Stc Group and Nokia signed a five- For the first time in the region, the technologies and services faster year Master Frame Agreement (MFA) agreement was remotely signed as a true pioneer and enrich our to further strengthen their strategic due to COVID-19 pandemic, purely subscribers’ lives,” he added. partnership. relying on software innovations and demonstrating the power of AR and Amr K. El Leithy, SVP of the Middle The agreement aims to expedite buying AI. East and Africa market at Nokia, process of Nokia’s latest equipment, said, “We are committed to bringing software and services for stc Group These technologies enabled Virtual our technology innovations to stc to introduce innovative services faster Signing Ceremony in a digital in an agile manner, and supporting to its subscribers as a pioneer. This environment. The agreement was the stc vision to be a world-class will allow stc Group companies to signed by the signatories Nasser digital leader, empowering innovative seamlessly buy advanced technologies Suliman Al-Nasser, stc GCEO; and services and platforms for digital such as 5G, internet of things (IoT), IP by Rajeev Suri, president and CEO of transformation. This agreement and optical network technologies, and Nokia. is a major milestone in the stc customer experience management -Nokia strategic ties and is a strong from Nokia’s end-to-end portfolio for Nasser Suliman Al-Nasser, stc Group testimony of the solid relationship we mobile and fixed networks. CEO, said, “This strategic partnership have built with STC over the years.”

Batelco and Huawei donate smart home products to INJAZ to accelerate e-learning the dependence of the internet, and make a difference in the community,” accordingly, it’s important to apply the he added. use of smart internet management. The Smart Home WiFi product enhances Hana Sarwani, executive director of network coverage around the home. INJAZ Bahrain, said, “We appreciate Batelco and Huawei’s combined efforts Batelco CEO Mikkel Vinter said, “As and contributions to support INJAZ part of Batelco’s responsibility to Bahrain remote education by providing Batelco has announced its partnership support the community, Batelco the Smart Home WiFi products. We with Huawei to donate 500 sets of seeks to build strong relationships believe that this will greatly improve our Smart Home WiFi products to INJAZ with its partners and explore areas for remote education experience and we Bahrain, addressing the requirements of shared initiatives that add value and will always strive to improve the overall distance learning. have a positive impact. The current education quality.” situation has created a major need for The partnership was announced during distance learning and we are pleased Spacelee, vice president of Public a virtual ceremony attended by Batelco to collaborate with Huawei and INJAZ Affairs and Communications at Bahrain CEO Mikkel Vinter, Huawei Bahrain to provide solutions that Huawei Middle East, said, “Driven Bahrain CEO Cao Hongyu (Jason), support this need. Smart Home WiFi by a responsibility towards the INJAZ Bahrain Executive Director devices have proven to make the most communities in which we operate, Hana Sarwani and Huawei Middle East of the internet, improving the distance Huawei is committed to supporting Vice President of Public Affairs and learning experience.” digital inclusion in Bahrain, and strongly Communications Li Xiangyu (Spacelee). believes in supporting education in “We are delighted to be working particular. We believe that everyone During the current circumstances, the together with Huawei and INJAZ everywhere has the right to education increase in the percentage of distance Bahrain to ensure the successful and the equality of opportunity it learning has led to an increase on implementation of this project and to brings.” JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 48

which is characterized by aggressive competition and rapid innovation, the customer paradigm has changed immensely. Meeting the requirements of a new customer paradigm can be quite challenging, as customers no longer expect their mobile phone to just be a means through which they could communicate with others. Connectivity has become a basic human need in today’s world, all thanks to the efforts of telcos over the years which have provided almost every individual (in developed countries at least) with the accessibility and reliability on their services. This has dramatically impacted customer expectations.

The industry’s over-the-top players (OTTs) such as Facebook, WhatsApp and WeChat, have completely transformed the customer experience and the communication landscape. The transformational power Over the past decade, we stopped relying on some of the more traditional of telecommunications offerings such as SMS. Customers now expect on-demand accessibility and they no longer The telecommunications sector has always been at perceive network outages as a minor inconvenience because of the the forefront of innovation in the way that it has been high expectations they have had on connecting people and driving digital transformation telecoms. Indeed, they can make their dissatisfaction public knowledge due in other industries for decades. Telcos have helped to the numerous outlets provided by the internet and could subsequently businesses all over the world to comprehend and change their supplier or service unlock their full potential through digitalization. It has provider due to high competition. a proven track-record of being the ultimate key enabler National security The field of national security has in advancing the commercial world into the fourth the telecoms industry to thank for industrial revolution. unlocking its true potential. Telcos have ensured that the security he availability of industries transform and reach heights sector is continuously disrupted transformative beyond our imagination. and operating with the utmost technologies efficiency. Having paved the way such as artificial Telcos have made great strides in towards today’s on-demand society, intelligence, machine bridging the ever-present gap between telecommunications have essentially learning, cloud, big value proposition and operational changed the entire landscape of data and analytics excellence. Indeed, telecom companies security and surveillance, ensuring that Thave played a crucial role in shaping have noticed the growing importance things from natural disaster warnings today’s business ecosystem. Telecom of leveraging data analytics to help to intelligence continue to play an operators and vendors have been businesses turn their data into instrumental role in ensuring resident relentless in their efforts to bring a actionable insights and in turn, reap the safety across the world. certain convenience and large scale rewards of positive business outcomes. efficiency and connectivity to public From traditional retail to e-commerce and private enterprises across the Customer engagement Because telecoms essentially impact world. Due to this, we have seen entire In our current business environment every single industry, it is safe to say JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 49

that it also has the ability to create new business environments as it has providers took the initiative to build ones. been widely speculated that this next on fiber Ethernet cabling and private generation technology will be more wireless networks; hence, offering Telecoms have changed the entire transformational for enterprises rather manufacturers cheaper solutions. landscape of the retail industry over than regular consumer mobile data Some other examples of how telcos the past decade. Online shopping usage. have transformed this sector would has gained greater traction and trust be through spectrum sub-licensing as retailers seized the opportunities 5G boasts speeds of up to 1Gbps, (provided the national regulations presented to them by creating greater network capacity and ultra- of that specific project allow it), e-commerce platforms. This could low latency. It is set to enrich AI reducing upfront networking costs by not have been achieved without and IoT use cases which, if utilized targeting new factory builds or factory advancements in broadband appropriately, could transform a refurbishments, ensuring that legacy infrastructure over the years. country’s entire socioeconomic future. IT is eradicated to make way for next generation network technologies. Greater broadband penetration With 5G infrastructure in place, it is has been and will continue to be no doubt that the SME landscape Entertainment instrumental to the growth of will change for good. Operations in The entertainment industry has e-commerce. It has been speculated various sectors have already become experienced a major structural shift that broadband penetration could be digitalized, but with 5G becoming over the past half-decade. In fact, it responsible for around $100 billion in more of a reality, it seems that this has been forecasted that by 2023, the value migration from offline retailers to will develop into becoming the norm digital revenues of the entertainment online ones. in which business will be expected to and media industry will account for operate. more than 60% of the industry’s total We have seen e-commerce giants such revenues. as Amazon gain greater traction over Telecom operators have made this the past decade, placing themselves possible and this will continue to be In recent years, OTT video (especially as an essential part of our lives. This, the case once 5G is adopted on a Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video) has combined with redefined customer wider scale. seen exponential growth. Telecoms expectations, has caused consumers gave way for the growth of the internet to expect a certain standard from However, in light of the recent to become the central part of how we retailers. Retailers, in the more pandemic which has wreaked havoc consume entertainment. traditional sense of the word, are on the global economy and forced expected to have a strong online entire cities into lockdown, many Streaming sites such as Netflix have presence if they plan to succeed in businesses have had to change the gained tremendous traction as the today’s business environment. ways in which they work and a clear industry experiences a rapid and ever- shift in the academic field took place. changing shift from televised to online Smart mobility This sudden and complete shift to the entertainment. Entertainment is not Emerging technologies such as online space has been made possible only consumed via the internet, it is also the internet of things (IoT) have through network providers. consumed through our mobile phones. changed many aspects of our lives Mobile data packages are constantly as consumers, namely when it comes Remote working and e-learning have being altered to suit the changing to mobility. IoT ensures that devices become the norm. Whilst this has consumer demands. Packages with are all connected to a network (that become a reality, it could be argued high amounts of GBs are becoming of which is provided by telecom that without the advanced telecom cheaper than ever before hence operators). The landscape of mobility infrastructure which we have today, contributing to consumer’s usage of has changed and will continue to this would not be the case. online entertainment which could range evolve, as tech and automotive firms from streaming services for music, TV edge closer to deploying autonomous Manufacturing shows and videos to social media. vehicles on a much wider scale. We can The manufacturing sector has expect this to be the norm with regards experienced a great deal of change The telecommunications industry to transport within the next few years. as more factory operations become has been responsible for all of these automated and remotely managed. changes and many more. Digital The telecommunications industry is The use of connected systems has transformation is no longer an option, responsible for providing this network allowed manufacturers to gain greater but an expectation for all industries and connectivity to make what was critical insights into their operations to follow. Without today’s advanced once seen as science fiction into an which have proven to improve telecom infrastructure, we may everyday reality. business operational efficiency. not have all the services that add a layer of convenience to our lives An ever-evolving SME landscape This has been made possible by or next-generation state-of-the-art The prospect of 5G is set to transform telcos as wireless vendors and service entertainment at our disposal. JUNE 2020 VENDORS’ NEWS 50

Huawei enriches digital economy with new services and solutions

ecosystem value-based operations, to and Service Experience Monetization maximize investment benefits, achieve Consulting. sustainable development and positive business cycles. On this basis, Huawei To address typical challenges faced will now offer consulting services for the by carriers in different stages of carrier market and its customers. 5G development, such as a lack of confidence in 5G investment, difficulties Huawei recently announced the launch Based on Huawei’s rich experience in bridging the gap between massive of its Carrier Consulting Services and and global practices in the carrier sites, and the slow innovation of 5G Consulting portfolio and practice. field, Huawei Carrier Consulting has new products and offerings, Huawei Huawei Carrier Consulting Services’ aim developed the V-ID3EA® methodology, a 5G Business-Network Synergetic is to help carriers to proactively cope consulting operation platform and more Consulting provides consulting services with the opportunities and challenges than 150 methods, models and tools in the areas of 5G industry and service- brought by new technologies, new to efficiently support global consulting network synergetic planning, 5G product business and new models, to create and project delivery. Huawei will provide and offering innovation, and large-scale obtain value for customers. carriers with 12 consulting portfolios in 5G service development for carriers. the four domains of strategy, business, With changes to the ICT industry and operations and networks. It does this by offering close linkage with the emergence of new technologies business design and network planning, such as 5G, cloud, and AI and the rise of These portfolios include: 5G Business- Huawei’s profound professional B2B market demand, carriers are facing Network Synergetic Consulting, knowledge, its DTPC innovation and more and more uncertainties and refined Value-based Management Consulting, Cloud Open Labs platform. This ensures operational challenges. Enterprise Know-how Consulting, network deployment is driven by service Operation Optimization and development, on-demand network To solve these difficulties, carriers Reconstruction Consulting, a DTPC® construction and precise network require comprehensive professional (Digital Transformation Practice Center), construction, to achieve a positive consulting services and solutions, Operation Assistance Consulting, business cycle during 5G development. covering strategic predictions, top-level Video Consulting, Home/Fixed Network Huawei has already provided 5G design, product and offering designs, Consulting, Consumer/ Mobile Network consulting services to carriers in China, end-to-end network planning, operation Consulting, Intelligent Operation Europe, the Middle East, Africa and optimization, and reconstruction and Consulting, Digital Service Consulting across the Asia Pacific region. CommScope introduces new WiFi 6 certified access points

for highly dense environments such learning and artificial intelligence. as educational campuses, hotels and Technologies found in RUCKUS APs other venues such as airports and like BeamFlex and the Ultra-High- stadiums. Density Technology Suite enable customers like Dongguk Gyeongju Wireless networks today have University and Huntington ISD to meet expanded beyond WiFi to include the needs of their users. BeamFlex is a CommScope introduced additions different IoT wireless technologies for patented technology that automatically to its portfolio of access points multiple use cases from asset tracking adjusts antenna patterns in real-time supporting WiFi 6 technology, bringing to connected door locks. This has led to minimize interference obstacles the benefits of higher data rates, to unmanageable, expensive, siloed while delivering the best performance increased capacity, improved power wireless networks. to every device. efficiency and better performance in environments with multiple connected These new APs spearhead an end-to- The RUCKUS Ultra-High-Density devices. end converged architecture, eliminating Technology Suite is a collection of overlay networks, and allowing cost features and technologies designed In addition to the RUCKUS R750, savings and easy management using to improve network performance introduced last year as the world’s first a variety of management options and end user experience in ultra- WiFi CERTIFIED 6 access point (AP), – SmartZone Network Controller, high dense environments. These CommScope added the R850, R650 ZoneDirector, RUCKUS Cloud and unique technologies, as well as our and R550 indoor APs and T750 and RUCKUS Unleashed. These new APs relationship with partners and vendors, T750SE outdoor APs. The APs will be also deliver comprehensive network set the RUCKUS portfolio apart from WiFi CERTIFIED 6 and are optimized intelligence powered by machine other solutions. JUNE 2020 VENDORS’ NEWS 51

Nokia, KDDI announce joint venture to boost 5G network solutions

network. KDDI launched commercial 5G services in March 2020 and is pursuing a policy of collaborating with global companies to incorporate new ideas and technologies into its 5G network. KDDI has been working closely with Nokia on this PoC as well as 5G core standalone network trials.

Nokia’s Cloud RAN is already running commercial traffic in the world’s first Nokia announced that it is working with both the real-time and non-real-time cloud-based 5G network in North Japanese mobile operator, KDDI, in a baseband in the cloud. The virtualized America, with 5G AirScale Cloud joint initiative aimed at delivering a fully real-time baseband processing takes BTS which virtualizes the non-real- cloudified RAN solution. The planned place at the far edge of the network to time functions. Nokia is working lab-based Proof of Concept (PoC) will meet extreme latency requirements on an increasing number of Cloud use Nokia’s AirScale All-in-Cloud BTS and provide the ability to scale to RAN PoCs and trials with its global solution and enable KDDI to research meet demand. It is part of Nokia’s customer base. The AirScale All-in- how flexible, virtualized radio network broader Nokia AirScale Cloud RAN Cloud BTS solution supports ultra- technology can support the diversifying solution, which offers a flexible mix of low latency 5G services, meets IoT network performance requirements in local and cloud-based processing. requirements and enables flexible the 5G era. KDDI joins an expanding end-to-end network slicing. It also portfolio of global customers using AirScale All-in-Cloud BTS will be offers the additional coverage and Nokia’s Cloud RAN solutions. used in the planned PoC to provide capacity of 5G and reduces a mobile a flexible network configuration operator’s total cost of ownership Nokia’s AirScale All-in-Cloud BTS of a basestation virtualization and through simplification, automation is a fully cloudified 5G BTS, placing enable the provision of an optimal 5G and operational efficiency. ERNW finds source code for Huawei 5G core network UDG of good quality

is a good indicator that Huawei has review showed that the complexity established a mature and appropriate of the source code is below their software engineering process for threshold, duplicate code is rarely UDG. This is a convincing proof that present only where appropriate, Huawei 5G core networks are secure and unsafe functions seemed to and reliable. be avoided wherever possible. The build process review indicated that The UDG is a converged network all binaries are compiled with secure element that can process both 5G compilation options and are also and traditional network services. On built with an acceptable level of a 5G core network, it can function binary equivalence. The review of as a user plane function (UPF). On a the lifecycle management of open- ERNW, an independent IT security traditional network, it can function source components showed that the service provider in Germany, recently as a serving gateway for the user separation of open-source code, code conducted a technical review of the plane and a packet data network handling, as well as documentation source code for Huawei’s unified gateway for the user plane. ERNW and patch management are all distributed gateway (UDG) on 5G reviewed the source code for UDG reasonable and meet modern core networks. ERNW senior auditors components in the Huawei Cyber standards. Considering all the results reviewed the source code by using Security Transparency Center in of the technical review, the source leading tools and methods as well Brussels, Belgium. The review covered code quality is a good indicator that as the industry’s best practices, and source code quality, build processes, Huawei has established a mature released a review report. The report and open-source component lifecycle and appropriate software engineering showed that the source code quality management. The source code quality process. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 52

The rise of the hybrid cloud

The changes wrought in business by the impact of prevent that data from residing in public clouds. According to Gartner the pandemic make business agility and flexibility data, 80 percent of active virtual machine workloads still run on private the leading necessities in your digital transformation infrastructure. process. Cloud computing continues to drive incredible As a result, companies often pursue transformation by offering the required flexibility to a hybrid cloud architecture, where some data and applications reside adapt to rapidly changing business conditions. in companies’ own datacenters and some data and apps reside in public f they were not already premises or dedicated private clouds, clouds. headed that way, many multiple public clouds and legacy companies are now finding platforms to meet their infrastructure The hybrid cloud has already been it necessary to accelerate needs. developed as one of the leading their migration to multicloud infrastructure for prompting a digital platforms because of the At the same time, companies transformation. COVID-19 has simply novel coronavirus. have many datacenter assets shifted that transformation into I that they can’t move to the cloud. overdrive. The pandemic has exposed In fact, IDC says that by 2022, more Some applications can’t be easily vulnerabilities in business technology than 90 percent of enterprises migrated. Other data may be subject and processes that have laid dormant worldwide will rely on a mix of on- to regulatory requirements that for too long. JUNE 2020 ICT FEATURE 53

Hybrid cloud is an IT structure operations and maintenance savings. Security that is a mix of private and public With fewer on-premises servers, your There is a common saying that clouds, and sometimes on-premises energy consumption and energy bills security is compromised within the data systems. It serves a variety will be lower. public clouds; this is relatively true, of functions, including computing, as data is not kept in a private space storage and services. Though its Less on-premises management can across private systems. definition is flexible, its backbone is also lead to cost savings in terms of this: the ability to adapt and expand employee time, allowing those hours In the public cloud, everything is quickly as a business evolves or in to be spent on tasks that generate accessed via the internet. In a hybrid current times, as it changes entirely. more revenue. cloud, there is much more flexibility within the architecture, along with a Scalability Data management higher level of security than the public The scalability of public cloud However, developing an optimal cloud systems. services has come to the fore amid hybrid cloud strategy is not as easy the COVID-19 pandemic as more as one might think. It requires a Protecting valuable data is always a organizations operate with a remote massive commitment from your challenge, but this is especially true of workforce while facing a surge in entire organization and many factors public clouds. While cloud providers demand for digital services. must be taken into consideration, go to great lengths to ensure that including data management. customer data is protected, the The crisis has been a lesson in staying fact remains that public clouds are ahead of the curve when it comes to In short, as data is increasingly fundamentally much more open cloud deployment. Having the option spread across on-premises environments than a private network. to ramp up capacity has been the infrastructure and multiple cloud difference in being able to run your environments, it will become This makes them more vulnerable business or not. increasingly difficult for enterprises to to cyberattacks and various forms understand what data they have and of data leakage. For organizations According to 451 Research, the most where it resides. that can’t afford to take risks with popular reason for using multiple customer data or with their own infrastructure environments is to If enterprises don’t know what data proprietary data and assets, a public improve performance and scalability. they have or where to find it, they cloud simply presents too many risks. While enterprises are not necessarily cannot use it to affect business moving workloads between cloud outcomes – not to mention the With a hybrid cloud model, however, providers on a regular basis, they do potential for increased risk to the companies can leverage the security like the safety net of being able to business from ungoverned and of a private cloud with the power do so, while also selecting specific unsecured data. and services of a public cloud. While services from different providers in data stored in a private environment order to maximize performance. This is an extremely hot topic and will likely still have to be transmitted a contributing factor as to why to the public cloud for analytics, Cost cloud-based providers offer multiple applications and other processes, The second most popular reason is for geographical locations. Depending extensive encryption methods can optimizing costs. Adopting a hybrid on where the business is located in be implemented to ensure this data cloud environment can unlock new the world, there are differing laws and remains as secure as possible. opportunities for cost savings almost complexities around what data can be immediately. With a hybrid strategy, stored in-region and out-of-region. You can keep sensitive data you get the best of both worlds. You’re on-premises on a dedicated still getting the scalability, the agility The recent introduction of GDPR infrastructure. This gives you and the flexibility of the cloud, but also has focused attention on data more control and can increase the control of your own environment. privacy requirements, and the risks your network security with a direct enterprises face if they are unable connection instead of a public It may mean that you don’t have to to demonstrate compliance, while connection. Having a more varied pay for a single solution that you don’t enterprises also need to be aware of cloud environment helps you avoid expressly need and you get to enjoy legal requirements to store data in vendor lock-in, so it’s easier to benefits like fixed, predictable costs specific geographic locations. migrate to another provider if and as well. For this reason alone, it’s easy when you need to. to see why so many businesses are Similarly, the application headed in the direction of a hybrid infrastructure should be located as For this very reason, the multiple cloud model. close as possible to the application benefits offered by a hybrid cloud help consumers. This is good practice fit into all the possibilities, making it There are other cost advantages a because it helps the application an excellent resource for businesses hybrid cloud can provide, such as performance for the end user. and large organizations alike. JUNE 2020 GLOBAL NEWS 54

Microsoft’s new China’s vision to advance blockchain acquisition will fuel technology becomes a reality 5G innovation and China’s interest in blockchain just one that will operate in China. It technology is about to take its has been proven to be effective and market growth next step as the Blockchain-Based viable, as well as scalable in China, Service Network (BSN) comes into and has been taken globally. Hong Technology juggernaut Microsoft commercial effect. The aim of this Kong and Singapore are more than has recently acquired international network is to allow companies and 84 cities where the network is already software network provider software developers to be able to plug being tested. Metaswitch with the aim driving more into the BSN and build blockchain- 5G opportunities and supporting based applications quickly and According to a document shared operators globally within a more affordably. with the public at the BSN connected and developed ecosystem. Commercialization Press Conference The Chinese government has on April 25, BSN has signed up 128 John Byrne, service director of envisioned a variety of use cases for public city nodes via its telecom telecom technology and software blockchain infrastructure network members and is hoping to deploy up at GlobalData, said, “Microsoft has which include smart city applications, to 200 more by the end of this year. made it clear, through a host of identity registration and data storage acquisitions and alliances, that the solutions. As part of bringing this Huobi China has completed one of long-term goal is to solidify Azure as network to life, Huobi China has the frameworks that will be integrated the underlying platform for a host of been nominated as one of the four into BSN by July 2020. The public will network and IT functions as part of underlying framework providers of soon be able to access the blockchain an expansive telco cloud strategy. BSN. This BSN network is more than framework supported by Huobi China. The Metaswitch purchase is a clear sign that they intend to be a platform for telecoms innovation for network Cloud spending reaches $29 billion in first operators.” quarter He added, “For the past several years, Microsoft has embarked Spending on cloud infrastructure quarter revenue (about $4 billion) to on a campaign of ‘making friends services grew 37% year on year to keep its customers and employees with’ both traditional and disruptive $29 billion during the first quarter safe. Amazon Web Services’ revenue network software vendors through a of 2020, according to a report by climbed 32% to $10.2 billion. combination of expanding alliances Synergy Research Group. The and acquiring innovators. As we go revenue jump was at the size In Alphabet’s financial results, Google into an increasingly public cloud- expected despite the COVID-19 Cloud, which includes Google Cloud centric world for a multitude of outbreak. Project (GCP) and G-Suite, generated network functions, the longer-term $2.78 billion in revenue in the first vision is to establish Azure as the In fact, there is what is called quarter, which marked a 52% increase network supporting a growing “anecdotal evidence” that the need over the same quarter a year ago. number of those functions.” to support employees working from home may have improved Microsoft said on its Q1 earnings “In the medium-term, this will impact the quarter’s performance as more call that its intelligent cloud sector, traditional telecom vendors as enterprises pushed their workloads which includes Microsoft Azure, saw Microsoft continues to solidify its into the cloud. its revenue increase by 27% over the ‘ecosystem’ approach to telco cloud, same quarter a year ago to $12.8 which is reflected in its recently- With most of the major cloud billion. expanded focus on Azure Edge Zones providers having now released to help solve the edge computing their earnings data for Q1, Synergy Amazon still holds a hefty lead in the dilemma the industry has been in estimates that quarterly cloud cloud space, according to the report, neutral about the past three years. infrastructure service revenues were with a worldwide market share of GlobalData believes the next likely $29 billion, with trailing 12-month 32% while Microsoft was second with focus for Microsoft’s telco focus will revenues reaching $104 billion. 18%. Growth at Microsoft outpaced be in embracing Open RAN solutions the overall market by more than 20 that would significantly fill out The coronavirus pandemic delivered a percentage points and its market Microsoft’s expanding focus on the blow to Amazon’s overall Q1 earnings, share has increased by almost 3 telco ecosystem.” which led to its announcement that percentage points in the last four it would spend all of its second quarters. JUNE 2020 GLOBAL NEWS 55

SES undertakes transformational step Tunisia launches As part of its ongoing Simplify & In addition to consolidating SES’s Amplify transformation program, global footprint and streamlining virus-tracking app SES announced that it plans to operating functions, other Tunisia launched a contact-tracing restructure its operations worldwide, restructuring and delayering is mobile phone app that identifies including the consolidation of part of underway including the removal of and alerts users who may have its European regional operations into numerous open positions. SES has had contact with others infected the company’s global headquarters in launched a compelling voluntary with the new coronavirus. The Betzdorf, Luxembourg. phased retirement program and is E7mi application, available on retraining and realigning resources Android and awaiting validation SES aims to improve operational internally towards high-value future for Apple’s iOS, was developed by efficiency, collaboration and overall market opportunities and to bolster its a Tunisian start-up specialized in effectiveness by consolidating position in cloud, mobility and other digital marketing tools for foreign functions in fewer locations while emerging verticals. In aggregate, companies, the health ministry enhancing sales and customer- these changes will impact between said. facing activities in the markets 10% and 15% of its global employee served. As a result, SES plans to base. Given that a number of these Like the French StopCovid close its offices in Brussels, Central changes will impact employees in application, E7mi - Arabic for London, the Isle of Man, Warsaw Luxembourg, SES has engaged its “protect” – is not based on and Zurich, redistributing activities personnel representatives to discuss contact-tracing technology in these locations to other offices the implementation of a social plan. developed by Apple or Google. in Kiev, Stockholm, Stockley Park in London and The Hague as well as its “In this rapidly evolving market, If a user tests positive for headquarters in Luxembourg. it is important that SES remains COVID-19, Tunisia’s Observatory an agile business partner for our of Emerging Diseases (ONME) In March 2020, SES announced customers,” said Steve Collar, CEO contacts other users whose Simplify & Amplify as a of SES. “Simplify & Amplify is a telephones have been detected comprehensive program to position transformational undertaking that close to the infected user’s device. the company for future growth and will streamline our business, drive deliver maximum value to current and collaboration and improve efficiency. “We started in March when we future customers and stakeholders. We are making these changes heard about the TraceTogether app The program comprises a series thoughtfully, ensuring that, wherever in Singapore, but we wanted to do of strategic actions to enable SES possible, we redeploy our talent something suitable for Tunisia,” to best deliver against its declared within the company and minimize the said Akil Agati, head of the Wizz purpose of doing the extraordinary in impact to our global workforce while Labs startup behind the app. Users space to deliver amazing experiences enhancing our ability to support and “will not report themselves infected, everywhere on Earth. serve our global customer base.” to avoid false alarms, and users who have been notified of being in contact with a sick person will also receive a phone call from the Angola picks fourth telecoms operator ONME so there can be follow-up,” he said. Angola awarded the license for its is currently dominated by two privately fourth telecoms network to Lebanese held companies: Unitel and Movicel. A “We have been faster than many group Africell, as sub-Saharan Africa’s third operator, Angola Telecom, offers other countries” in launching such second-biggest oil producer opens fixed and internet access but no mobile an app, he added. other economic sectors to foreign services. Isabel dos Santos, daughter competition. Africell is already present of former president Jose Eduardo dos Tunisia’s health ministry approved in four African countries - Gambia, Santos, owns half of Unitel’s share E7mi after three weeks of testing. Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra capital. She was recently indicted for a An awareness campaign will Leone and Uganda. host of high-level financial crimes. encourage people to install the application, but “if download rates Angola had awarded the license last Angola is ranked 146 out of remain low, we may change our year to a domestic startup called 180 countries on Transparency strategy,” health ministry official Telstar but President Joao Lourenco International’s corruption perceptions Bassem Kchaou said. This could annulled the decision, saying the index. Most of the country’s 30 million include making downloading the company failed to meet the bidding people live in poverty, failing to benefit application compulsory for people requirements. Angola’s mobile phone from the flood of dollars from crude oil to enter large public spaces. market, with almost 14 million users, and diamonds. JUNE 2020 EVENTS’ CALENDAR 56

GISEC

GISEC is not just one of the most impactful cyber security shows in the region, it is also the largest, overshadowing other events in 01 terms of aspiration, diversity and scope. In its 7th edition, GISEC - welcomed over 8,300+ cyber-specific visitors, and is co-located with Future Blockchain Summit, which collectively deliver over 03 12,000 visitors.

SEPTEMBER Place: Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE

Submarine Networks World 2020

As the world’s leading annual submarine communications gathering, Submarine Networks World brings together over 900 industry leaders from more than 300 organizations worldwide in 23 Singapore – a global hub of international connectivity. With new - players, new bandwidth-hungry consumers and new challenges on the horizon, the stage is set for the next phase of the industry’s 24 evolution. Get ready for debate, networking and inspiration. Register with “TR15” to enjoy 15% off conference passes! SEPTEMBER Place: Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore

Cabsat

eSports, 5G streaming, 8K cameras, satellite innovations and many more of the biggest 26 breakthroughs in broadcast, media, satellite - and film. Join the full content journey, from ideation to production to distribution at 28 CABSAT. OCTOBER Place: Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE

Telecoms World Asia

For over 20 years, Telecoms World Asia has been an annual platform for leading international carriers, operators, authorities and suppliers to meet, learn and create fruitful business 28 partnerships for the betterment of wholesale revenue and growth. - This year, the conference will discuss: networks virtualization, intelligent connectivity, 5G, carriers world and telco 4.0. 29 OCTOBER Place: Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre, Bangkok, Thailand

Latest updates on: www.telecomreview.com