Volume 10, September, 2019 A SAMENA Telecommunications Council Publication www.samenacouncil.org S AMENA TRENDS FOR SAMENA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL'S MEMBERS BUILDING DIGITAL ECONOMIES World Childhood Foundation: For the Sake of Children and Business ... 10 Mobily: Regulatory Frameworks for IoT: Opportunities and Challenges ... 72 Featured Bob De Haven General Manager of Microsoft’s Worldwide Media & Communications Industry THIS MONTH REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR IoT: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES VOLUME 10, SEPTEMBER, 2019 Contributing Editors Knowledge Contributions Subscriptions Izhar Ahmad Comviva [email protected] SAMENA Javaid Akhtar Malik Huawei inMobiles S.A.L Advertising TRENDS Mobily [email protected] OECD Editor-in-Chief World Childhood Foundation USA SAMENA TRENDS Bocar A. BA [email protected] Publisher Tel: +971.4.364.2700 SAMENA Telecommunications Council CONTENTS FEATURED 04 EDITORIAL 19 REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES Members News Regional News 92 SATELLITE UPDATES Satellite News 106 WHOLESALE UPDATES 06 Bob De Haven Wholesale News General Manager of Microsoft’s Worldwide Media 115 TECHNOLOGY UPDATES & Communications Industry Technology News The SAMENA TRENDS newsletter is wholly FULFILLING NATIONAL ICT 127 REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES owned and operated by The SAMENA VISIONS BY BUILDING TRUST Telecommunications Council (SAMENA Regulatory News IN THE INTERNET AND Council). Information in the newsletter is not intended as professional services advice, and A Snapshot of Regulatory PROTECTING THE CONNECTED Activities in the SAMENA Region SAMENA Council disclaims any liability for use of specific information or results thereof. 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The with Industry Stakeholders SAMENA Council’s only liability in the event Online Protection 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 Regulatory Frameworks for IoT: Opportunities and Challenges In this data-driven digital environment, where setting IoT security. This is primarily linked doing business isn’t just more challenging but to the need for protecting the integrity and more rewarding as well, many transitions are privacy of the data created from and via these underway. Such transitions reflect how the devices. digital communications industry is redefining itself and how all market players conduct Because among the policy-makers’ and business in it. Indeed, all of these requirements regulators’ great challenges is the challenge and challenges— and many more— are just a to foster innovation and remove barriers, few among a multitude that demand attention. this requires balanced and well-coordinated In part this is so, because our world has only regulatory frameworks. Moreover, regulation just started to embrace the onslaught of many should be driven by light-touch approaches dozens of billions of devices that are on their and evidence-based restrictions, while the way to adding a whole new meaning to the term regulators adopt the approach of acting as Bocar A. BA complexity. Internet of Things (IoT) has only partners with the private sector, to help develop Chief Executive Officer & started to enter the business scene, and what the new ecosystem. Board Member technology providers and telecom operators SAMENA Telecommunications will do with it, more or less, will be determined Whatever we want to achieve from IoT first Council by various strategic priorities, visions and requires us to ensure we address spectrum readiness for future, real-life applications, and requirements and needs, accelerate investment regulatory frameworks that can enable rather in 5G and new digital infrastructure, promote active IoT deployments are than hinder greater innovation in the expansion the adoption of IPv6, encourage development directly contributing to or have of the IoT ecosystem. of international standards, promote the the potential to advance the security of IoT systems, address data privacy globally agreed UN’s Sustainable IoT will make the vision for smart cities, issues, promote right to information by Development Goals (SDGs). connected cars, supply chain and logistics, making public sector data freely accessible, connected healthcare, smart manufacturing, address free data flow across borders, drive Thus given the impact that IoT smart homes, smart agriculture, etc. — all demand in IoT through public sector adoption could generate positively toward of which promise to save money and time, first, increase the effective and IoT-specific achieving numerous socio- improve lives, assist in smart governance, and utilization of national ICT funds (where they economic and transformational allocate resources efficiently, to name a few do exist) as well as encourage investment in benefits, we need to align benefits — a reality. Billions of IoT devices, innovation, education, and training. ourselves to promptly address predicted a long ago, to emerge by 2020 and challenges that demand make an impact on digital systems and the To be able to achieve the above, we must foster immediate attention, and define pace of digitization clearly point to the fact international co-ordination, collaboration, and roadmaps for tackling those that this vision is on its way to fulfillment. engagement, ensure inter-agency and inter- challenges that require a more sector co-ordination, and promote public- combined global-level effort in However, IoT does face several social, private partnerships. the long run. Each market and legal, policy challenges, technical (including Administration needs first to spectrum availability and interoperability), IoT has risen quickly on the agenda of fine-tune its focus on what it and security challenges. A recent report by policymakers across Europe and MEA, desires from IoT and what aspect Gemalto indicates that a very high number of especially given the positive role it can of IoT — for example, social IoT, consumers currently lack confidence in the play in addressing pressing societal and industrial IoT, global IoT, etc — is security of Internet of Things devices, and thus economical challenges; so much so that an of most immediate interest. both consumers and business organizations analysis by the World Economic Forum has support governments getting involved in found that more than 80 percent of currently 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS Microsoft Speaks to SAMENA Council The Middle East & Africa has entered a period of significant digitization across all industries. We see that governments and organizations are now embracing the cloud and tapping into its rich potential to achieve more. As such, Microsoft’s role here is to empower our customers in this journey. We’re doing this by focusing on core areas such as making critical infrastructure investments and addressing the skills gap. Q. What are Microsoft’s views on the pace and scope of digital transformation taking place globally that telecom operators in MEA should consider? A. The goal of digital transformation is to help organizations find new ways of generating value, and this is exactly what we are focused on in the telecommunications industry. Microsoft is working closely on a global level with telecom operators to embrace Microsoft cloud solutions to accelerate their digital transformation journeys. The cloud can play a significant role in helping Bob De Haven telcos deliver personalized experiences, support agile operations and drive growth and innovation. General Manager of Microsoft’s Worldwide Media & Communications Industry One such recent example is AT&T Communications, which has embarked on a multiyear alliance with Microsoft to shift many