Volume 10, January, 2019 A SAMENA Telecommunications Council Newsletter www.samenacouncil.org S AMENA TRENDS EXCLUSIVELY FOR SAMENA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL'S MEMBERS BUILDING DIGITAL ECONOMIES CITC – KSA Steering the Market toward Fulfilling Vision 2030 through Highest Spectrum Availability… Featured Eng. Saleh Abdullah Al Abdooli Chief Executive Officer Etisalat Group THIS MONTH eSIMs IN HANDSETS – THE NEXT BIG DISRUPTION MWC19 BARCELONA 25-28 FEBRUARY Building a Fully Connected, Intelligent World VOLUME 10, JANUARY, 2019 Contributing Editors Contributing Members Izhar Ahmad A.T. Kearney Subscriptions SAMENA Javaid Akhtar Malik Bubbletone [email protected] Du TRENDS Etisalat Advertising PCCW Global [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Strategy& Bocar A. BA SAMENA TRENDS Publisher [email protected] SAMENA Telecommunications Tel: +971.4.364.2700 Council CONTENTS 04 EDITORIAL FEATURED 15 REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES Members News Regional News 59 SATELLITE UPDATES Satellite News 72 WHOLESALE UPDATES 05 CITC – KSA Steering the Wholesale News Market toward Fulfilling Vision 2030 through 76 TECHNOLOGY UPDATES Highest Spectrum The SAMENA TRENDS newsletter is wholly Technology News owned and operated by The SAMENA Availability… Telecommunications Council (SAMENA 88 Council). Information in the newsletter is not REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES Regulatory News intended as professional services advice, and SAMENA Council disclaims any liability for use of specific information or results thereof. A Snapshot of Regulatory Activities in the SAMENA Region Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of SAMENA Telecommunications Council, (unless Regulatory Activities otherwise noted, described or stated) and Beyond the SAMENA Region cannot be reproduced, copied or printed in any form without the express written ARTICLES permission of the publisher. 42 eSIMs in Handsets - The Next Big The SAMENA Council does not necessari- Disruption ly endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with the content, comments, 57 Etisalat Launched 5G C-band 08 Eng. Saleh Abdullah Al opinions or statements made in The SAME- Network as the First Regional Abdooli NA TRENDS by any entity or entities. Infor- mation, products and services offered, sold Telecom Operator in May 2018 Chief Executive Officer or placed in the newsletter by other than The Etisalat Group SAMENA Council belong to the respective en- 70 eSIM Technology Brings IoT Connectivity to Everyday Things tity or entities and are not representative of 13 SAMENA Council The SAMENA Council. The SAMENA Council hereby expressly disclaims any and all war- 74 Potential of Bubbletone Activity ranties, expressed and implied, including Blockchain in Telecom for Further SES Networks Enhances but not limited to any warranties of accura- Development of eSIM Technology Satellite Service Providers’ cy, reliability, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose by any entity or entities Presence Within the SAMENA 85 How Telecom Operators Can Make offering information, products and services Council Membership in this newsletter. The user agrees that The More From Their Data SAMENA Council is not responsible, and shall have no liability to such user, with respect to 7592 Winning with 5G: Considerations any information, product or service offered by for Telecom Operators any entity or entities in this newsletter. The SAMENA Council’s only liability in the event of errors shall be the correction or removal of the erroneous information after verification. CONTENTS© 2019 - All rights reserved. SAMENA TRENDS is a trademark of SAMENA Telecommunications Council. EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS eSIMs in Handsets - The Next Big Disruption Embedded Subscriber Identity Modules industry. (eSIMs) hold a great promise on some accounts, especially when convenience of From among SAMENA Council members, switching to a local network comes to mind. besides Apple, AT&T, Etisalat, several other Being a programmable chip, an eSIM cannot technology providers and telecom operators be removed from the phone or needs to be are exploring how eSIMs could add value to replaced, and thus is not prone to being customers’ (whether humans’ or machines’) damaged. Any device with an eSIM will be digital experience and to operator’s business. ready to use once it is turned on and activated The embedded SIMs solve various problems on a network. Only the user profile is managed associated with SIMs, but it is yet to be found and transmitted to any network to gain access out if and how new opportunities for operators to cellular services in both home markets could be created from eSIMs. From operators’ and abroad. However, as more and more point of view, dealing with the logistics of Bocar A. BA smartphones and smartwatches with eSIMs handling millions of SIM cards could be one Chief Executive Officer & Board are coming to the market, network providers area of opportunity, since, with the availability Member in a select few markets where eSIMs are of eSIMs, operators can develop truly digital SAMENA Telecommunications allowed to operator currently, have problems experiences for their subscribers, while Council integrating the devices into the networks. The reducing the burden on their supply chain and problems occur mostly if eSIM and profile are gaining customer loyalty. not from one and the same manufacturer. Moreover, the interoperability issues also Furthermore, as 5G development accelerates, arise due to different interpretations by eSIM with fifth-gen connectivity ready to developers and telecom operator-specific dramatically alter mobile services, embedded use and business cases, which can rarely be SIMs could play an important role in the digital covered by any specifications or standard. experience arena. One thing is clear that devices in the 5G and IoT ages will have very The rise of the eSIM is really linked to the robust processing power, and they will need to machine to machine (M2M) communications rely on embedded SIMs. concept, which has gained pace and increasingly we see all kinds of devices being The case for eSIMs is thus closely linked to connected to telecom networks, ranging from 5G and IoT use-cases much more so than it is wearables to automobiles, from drones to currently for users of SIMs. We have to delve refrigerators. Moreover, the limitations and into this subject further in the SAMENA region the inconvenience in having to change and and assess its various positive features as well procure new traditional SIMs have far too long as policy and privacy issues. been a subject of inner discussions within the 4 JANUARY 2019 FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS Saudi Arabia Takes Lead in 5G Spectrum Availability CITC Steers the Kingdom’s ICT Market in Becoming among the Fewest Markets with Most Spectrum Available to develop human capacity. As a result, the Kingdom has become home to one of the most liberalized telecoms markets within the SAMENA region. Newest developments in the Saudi market with respect to making more spectrum available to telecom operators further, and more vividly, show that the Middle East’s largest economy has also taken lead on making 5G a priority. According to the CITC, in a presentation given at a December ITU Workshop in Riyadh, the amount of spectrum available can indeed make a big difference to data rates on mobile. For example, from September 2017 September 2018, average download speeds in Saudi Arabia increased from 9.3 Mbps to 26.3 Mbps. This almost tripling of the data speeds for consumers appears to have a lot to do with the three spectrum awards that have happened in the Kingdom since June 2017. Saudi Arabia, over the recent years, has demonstrated a strong will to leverage ICTs to facilitate broader sustainable economic growth. Newest developments in the Saudi Substantial evidence shows that the Saudi government, through the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) market with respect to making more and the Communication & Information Technology Commission spectrum available to telecom operators (CITC), along with Saudi Telecom Company at the forefront of further, and more vividly, show that the communications infrastructure development in the Kingdom, have done much to make connectivity ubiquitous; to raise efficiency Middle East’s largest economy has also levels of services’ infrastructure, welcome new competition, and taken lead on making 5G a priority. 5 JANUARY 2019 FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS Without an iota of doubt, massive increase any standards, this is a very quick turn The importance of spectrum availability in the amount of harmonised spectrum around in spectrum allocation practices cannot be overstated anywhere, much less made available by the CITC to the local and is having its effect on the Saudi in Saudi Arabia. While mobile operators operators has become a true game- market. Needless it is to say, this spectrum could try and get around having less changer in the Kingdom as well as in availability sets a benchmark for other spectrum, the law of diminishing returns, its neighbourhood. Before June 2017, markets to follow. especially in the wake of 5G preparations, the amount of spectrum available to the would have come into force: the harder mobile networks was 260 MHz, which By the end of January this year, spectrum scarce spectrum resources are squeezed, placed KSA amongst the tail-end of MENA available in Saudi Arabia stood at 710 the more expensive it becomes to use the markets. But the CITC has carried through MHz, putting the Kingdom in the top three spectrum. Without spectrum operators exceptionally well what the Saudi Vision markets. By the fourth spectrum award need more and more radio sites, which 2030 had called for – that is, supplying a lot expected after the end of Mobile World are expensive to build and commission, more spectrum. Saudi CITC did this with Congress 2019, Saudi Arabia, according adding to an already complex capex spectrum auctions in June 2017, February to analysis, will have made available situation operators have highlighted over 2018, January 2019, with one additional 1,010 MHz of spectrum, which will place the years. Not only that, the closer and auction expected in first quarter2019.