Telecom Review June 2019

T HE T E L E CO M S I ND U S T RY ME D I A P L ATFORM

Touch playing a key role in the constantly evolving Lebanese telecom sector AI and the promise of better healthcare

Is data localization good or bad, and has GDPR been a success?

Telcos’ metamorphosis starts with the network

CONTENTS

JUNE 2019

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TH E TE L E CO M S INDUST RY MEDI A P L AT FO R M

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Touch playing a key role in the constantly evolving Lebanese telecom sector

Opening up telco revenue ceilings and enabling smooth migration to 5G

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Reinvention and empowerment fueling MATRIXX Software’s success

The new stakes in e-government 28

AI and the promise of better healthcare

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KRYPTON’s focus on ‘people’ translates into successful InfoSec services

Is data localization good or bad, and has GDPR been a success?

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Nokia providing end-to-end networks for the 5G era

VFS Global executive outlines how SMEs can avoid GDPR pitfalls

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“We focus on making relationships more rewarding and profitable for both brands and customers through personalization and innovation”

Telcos’ metamorphosis starts with the network

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5G and internet of things ‘debunked’ at NetEvents19

EDITORIAL

JUNE 2019

Editor in Chief & Senior ICT Analyst Toni Eid toni.eid@tracemedia.info Senior Journalist Christine Ziadeh christine@tracemedia.info Journalist Tala Issa tala@tracemedia.info Editorial Team Christine Ziadeh (Lebanon), Jeff Seal (USA), Jennifer Saade (Lebanon), Lacinan Ouattara (Ivory Coast), Martha Kassouf (Lebanon), Shelley Beyak (Canada), Tala Issa (UAE), Toni Eid (UAE) Copy Editor Shelley Beyak Advertising Enquiries Mohammed Ershad ershad@tracemedia.info Graphic Designer Tatiana Issa Responsible Manager Joseph Bou Daher News Provided in cooperation with AFP, the global news agency Published by

Trace Media Ltd. Zouk Mikael, Lebanon Kaslik Sea Side Road, Badawi Group Building, 4th Floor, P.O. Box 90-2113, Jdeidet el Metn Tel. +961 9 211741 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 Printing Arab Printing Press © All rights reserved Publication of any of the contents is prohibited - Year 14 - Issue 150 -

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Toni Eid, founder editor in chief Telecom Review International

Access to technology is a human right:

Keep politics away!

For many years, the ITU and GSMA were calling for access to the internet and connectivity to be considered a human right. However, it is access to technology that has to be a human right. All populations around the world should have an equal opportunity to use technology.

We all know that technology adoption has changed societies for the better and has saved lives. Today, political interference with the technology industry does not affect companies, but rather affects consumers – the end users mostly.

The US ban on Chinese technology companies, the ban of VoIP apps in many countries and of social media in others, have made access to technology unequal and unfair.

Of course, many governments have said that the ban is for security reasons, given that many social media platforms can be used for nefarious purposes; no need for examples as they are numerous.

But, why won’t this issue be regulated on a global level? Many countries use alternative platforms. Consumers in China use WeChat instead of WhatsApp and they have their own google platform. In Russia, consumers use their own platform of Facebook. The UAE has its own legal VoIP app, etc.

Why does the deployment of 5G networks in the USA or Australia cost so much more than other countries? Because the market is not open, and this means consumers pay extra. Why can Canadians buy the Huawei P30, but their US neighbors cannot? Why is it that if we’re only looking at security issues (if there are any), we can’t keep politics away?

WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED.

JUNE 2019

Telstra launches first 5G device in Australia Telstra has launched its first 5G device, the HTC 5G Hub, and is preparing to launch Australia’s first 5G compatible smartphone next week.

The Australian-based company began marketing their broadband plans for the new HTC 5G Hub and will soon start selling the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. They also plan to introduce their mobile plans for the new technology by the end of June.

The company said it would offer free 5G access for around 12 months.

“We have already started building our 5G coverage in some areas and, as we did with 3G and 4G, we will progressively rollout the new technology over time,” said Telstra’s chief executive officer Andrew Penn in a statement.

The operator is currently working on rolling out 5G in 10 cities and plans to expand the coverage to around 35 other cities within the next 12 months.

Telstra turned on 5G base stations back in December 2018 in some parts of Sydney and Melbourne all of which amounted to 187 5G-compatible sites in the two cities.

They acquired 3.6GHz spectrum for AUD 386 million. The company claims to have around 60Mhz of contiguous 5G spectrum in Australia’s major capital cities and around between 50 to 80Mhz of continuous spectrum in regional areas.

“Our launch of the HTC 5G Hub is the moment 5G becomes a reality for Australian consumers,” said Penn.

“Since 2016, we have been working with some of the world’s leading technology brands to ensure Australians are among the first in the world to be able to access 5G.”

GLOBAL NEWS

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Nokia and TIM break European record for long-distance data transmission TIM (Telecom Italia), in collaboration with Nokia, has achieved a wavelength speed of 550 Gigabits per second (Gb/s), a new European record for data transmission over a long-distance backbone network.

The trial covered more than 350 kilometres on TIM’s operational network between Rome and Florence using the new Nokia Photonic Service Engine 3 (Nokia PSE-3).

bandwidth of the current network, and with the arrival of 5G, will offer customers the most efficiency and connectivity in support of the ever-increasing ultrabroadband traffic, as well as ensuring reliability and security.

TIM and Nokia also reached a transmission rate of 400 Gigabit/s over 900 kilometers between Rome and Milan, and 300 Gb/s over 1,750 kilometers.

The TIM backbone is a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) network based on the latest generation of Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch. The network is fully automated and currently carries optical signals with a capacity of 100 Gb/s over distances of up to 1,800 kilometers, and 200 Gb/s up to 800 kilometers.

The PSE-3 is the first coherent DSP to implement a sophisticated signal processing algorithm known as Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS), which maximizes data transport capacity over any distance. This speed triples the

The backbone, with a coverage of over 16,000 kilometers of fiber, and connecting to 65 national POPs (Point of Presence), has carried over 9,000 petabytes of data traffic in the last year, equivalent to the content of 2 billion DVDs.

Yahsat and Hughes enter into Joint Venture in Brazil Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), a leading global satellite operator based in the United Arab Emirates and wholly owned

by Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, announced an agreement to enter into a joint venture to provide commercial Kaband satellite broadband services in Brazil. This new venture combines Hughes experience delivering satellite networks and services in Brazil with Yahsat’s strong position and capabilities in the region. Hughes will hold the majority interest in the joint venture.

The new entity will combine Hughes do Brazil with Yahsat’s consumer broadband company in Brazil, creating a strong value proposition to serve the growing market demand for a wide range of broadband services, including consumer internet access, enterprise networks, cellular backhaul

and community WiFi hotspot solutions. The venture will combine the companies’ more than 65 Gbps of Ka-band satellite capacity on Hughes 65 West, Hughes 63 West and Al-Yah 3 high-throughput satellites (HTS), reaching more than 95% of Brazil’s population. It also includes Hughes and Yahsat’s three gateways in Brazil.

In addition to the combined existing capacity, the new entity will also leverage the capacity on Hughes next generation JUPITER™ 3 Ultra High Density Satellite (UHDS), designated EchoStar XXIV, planned for launch in 2021.

In 2018, Yahsat and Hughes launched a joint venture to provide satellite broadband services to the Middle East, Africa and southwest Asia markets.

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, and is expected to occur later this year.

JUNE 2019

Singapore takes initial steps towards nationwide 5G rollout A public consultation has been launched by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to determine the suitable regulatory framework needed for 5G technology in order to start deploying the technology by 2020.

The IMDA is yet to receive feedback from both the public and the telecoms industry regarding the best approach to 5G spectrum allocations and deployment. The baseline requirements for spectrum need to be determined in order to deploy the technology as soon as possible and enable a broader 5G ecosystem within the country.

During the first wave of spectrum allocations for 5G, the regulatory body plans to implement the 3.5G-Hz and 26-GHz onto the 28-GHz frequency bands. They have also stated that this amount will be enough for more than two 5G networks. For the first phase of the allocation plan, mobile operators are expected to submit detailed proposals of their plans for 5G deployment. Following this, the proposals will be assessed with regards to their financial capacity and how they could meet baselines requirements like meeting performance targets.

IMDA chief executive, Tan Kiat How, stated: “This public consultation is an important step in IMDA’s plans to launch 5G mobile networks and develop a vibrant 5G ecosystem in Singapore.”

“I encourage interested parties to share your views with us. These insights will guide our regulatory approach and industry development efforts in ensuring Singapore’s connectivity infrastructure remains globally competitive in support of our digital economy ambitions.”

GLOBAL NEWS

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Indian operators propose year-long 5G trials Two of India’s major operators have submitted proposals to carry out 5G field trials for a year before introducing it to the market.

Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtell, Samsung, Cisco, Ericsson and Nokia have all submitted proposals to India’s Department of Telecom outlining details of how they plan to test this technology. The operators are yet to receive approvals to move forward with the trials. Preparations and clearances are expected to take three months prior to the testing, according to the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).

Previously, the Department of Telecom in India was reluctant to wards

allocating airwaves for 5G trials for more than 90 days. The industry believed that 90 days would have not given them enough time to carry out the trials that were required.

With regards to the proposed allocations, according to COAI, the final agreement between the telecom industry and the Department of Telecommunications is expected to be ready soon.

It has been recommended by the Telecoms regulator of India that a frequency of 3.5-GHz for 5G would be the most ideal and the regulatory body has also expressed that it aims to complete the initial 5G spectrum auction by the beginning of 2020.

ZTE launches first 5G smartphone in China ZTE Corporation, major global provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, announced the first 5G smartphone - the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G. At the launching event held in China, ZTE demonstrated the 5G flagship smartphone on live with the 5G network, providing an exponentially improved mobile connected experience and showcasing the advantages of low latency, high transmission speeds and fast data exchange. The ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G will also be available soon in Finland and Austria.

Based on the new standard of 5G network, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G has been upgraded in terms of network speeding, operating efficiency and game experience.

ZTE engineers addressed a wide variety of technical difficulties inherent to 5G innovations, such as the electromagnetic compatibility, antenna design, power consumption and heat dissipation. The ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G applies a revolutionary slot antenna and the Smart SAR solution.

To solve the problem of high temperature of CPU caused by longterm high-load operation, which will obstruct the performance and hamper the consumers’ user experience, ZTE applies a liquid cooling technology and composite phase-change thermal materials, which allows the CPU to operate at high frequency points for a long time, thus effectively guaranteeing the strong performance of the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G. The ZTE 5G flagship smartphone adopts a large number of small components under an extremely accurate and integrated “sandwich” layout, which leaves additional space big enough to allocate a 4000 mAh battery supported

by USB 3.1 high speed transmission and Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 4+.

In the operating efficiency, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G is the world’s first Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Smartphone with the Snapdragon™ X50 5G modem and the F2FS File System, which efficiently improves storage and memory capabilities including file reading speed, random 4k reading/ writing speed, storage performance, operating speed.

COVER STORY

JUNE 2019

Touch playing a key role in the constantly evolving Lebanese telecom sector

Emre Gurkan has been at the helm of touch since his appointment as CEO in the beginning of April 2017.

Prior to his appointment, he was the chief strategy and business development officer of Zain Group.

In an interview with Telecom Review, he shared his insights into the Lebanese telecom sector and of the achievements of touch, managed by Zain, made over the past 15 years as one of the country’s mobile operators.

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hat is your opinion about the telecom sector in Lebanon in general?

Constant evolution and never-ending challenges are what comes to mind.

Over the past two years, since I assumed this current role, the sector has transformed tremendously from both a technological and services offered point of view, whereby

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today the sector is one of the most advanced in the region. It still has a long way to go, and despite the many socio-economic challenges in the country, I’m confident that Lebanon will be firmly and highly placed in the global telecom map vis-a-vis the technologies and services offered.

Over recent years, Lebanon’s Ministry of Telecom has been very active in supporting the sector to flourish by facilitating the two operators’ installation of 4G services and the latest technologies that have tremendously enhanced the customers’ mobile experience on all levels.

There is no doubt that the human talents in Lebanon are second to none and are super impressive; Lebanese are in every value chain in telecom and the potential of the sector is unlimited.

Accordingly, the telecom sector is vibrant with 4.5 million customers that generate over 1.6 billion USD

JUNE 2019

COVER STORY

per year, making it the third revenue generator for the country after customs and VAT. The Lebanese community is very digitally savvy with very high data usage per customer, and thus it’s critical that both telecom operators continue working closely with the Telecom Ministry to ensure that the quality and availability of voice and data services are of the highest standards.

Why is touch so important to Zain?

Zain has been managing touch for 15 years now, ever since it won the mobile tender in 2004. The KuwaitiLebanese bilateral relations have always been strong and strategic on several levels, and Zain looks forward to the day that the mobile sector is privatized, as it will keenly seek and compete to acquire a longer-term mobile license.

Although touch is the only Zain operation not owned by the Kuwaiti parent company - since Zain has a management agreement with the Lebanese government – nevertheless, it takes a considerable amount of the Group management’s time and resources to support and oversee the operation. Touch is on par with all of Zain’s other operations in terms of the allocation of resources and time spent in ensuring that the services offered to customers are of the highest quality.

What added value does Zain bring to the Lebanese market and to touch in specific?

Zain was one of the first telecom operators in the region and currently owns and runs operations across eight countries (previously 23 when it was in Africa), today serving 50 million customers. Many of the solutions that touch delivers in Lebanon rely on knowledge transfer based on experience and expertise that Zain Group has gathered across its other markets. For example, today Zain already has active subscribers using 5G technologies in some of its markets. These kinds of experiences and know-how are of great benefits to both touch and Lebanon’s

Emre Gurkan during Beirut Telecom Review Summit 2019

The needs of customers will always be put at the center of every business decision

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JUNE 2019

COVER STORY

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TIP second cohort graduation ceremony

telecommunications and ICT industry.

Furthermore, many of the solutions and projects implemented by touch are aligned with Zain’s strategy and vision: building a sustainable and innovative digital communications company serving consumers and enterprises with a rich and simple mobile experience, in addition to providing a differentiated customer experience, maintaining an aggressive operational effectiveness, achieving business growth and developing people.

This year, Lebanon’s telecom sector celebrated its 25th anniversary, with touch managing one of the mobile networks for 15 years. What have been some of the major milestones achieved over the years by touch?

We have achieved so much over the years. Together with our mother company Zain Group, and working closely with the country’s telecom ministry, touch has managed to maintain its market leadership position in Lebanon for 15 years. The operator remains the first choice for the people in Lebanon.

In 2018, we achieved a record high of 54 percent market share. Touch’s competitive advantage lies in our various product and service offerings, and during the year, touch’s self-care app exceeded 1 million downloads and 100 TBs of daily data traffic.

In 2019, we have witnessed a substantial growth in LTE subscribers to over 1 million.

I personally believe that the biggest contribution Zain has provided over the years has been the technological know-how and procurement efficiency with leading solutions providers it has brought to the country, as well as the further development of touch’s human capital. Today, every individual constituting touch’s workforce is very capable in their respective field and many are highly sought after by regional and local entities.

In your opinion, what are the elements that have contributed to touch’s success?

Over the years, we have positively evolved and shaped our success around our talented workforce, culture and by maintaining a defined strategy and vision. We have also strived for operational excellence as part of the Zain family and by implementing the latest technologies to deliver superior customer services.

Our continuous belief in the capabilities of our human capital is a major organizational asset. This is due to our staff’s increasing level of expertise, which contributes positively to touch and to the telecom sector as a whole.

At touch and Zain, we are strong advocates of human empowerment, and this has now grown into an entrenched gender diversity program, which is essential for any balanced organization that strives for excellence.

Another reason for our success is our loyal customer base. Our vision remains to be customer focused in a way that the customer influences and leads the direction of the company through a

COVER STORY

JUNE 2019

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touch team receiving Product Of the Year Awards transformational journey to becoming genuinely customer-centric.

In your recent keynote at the 12th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, you emphasized the importance of gender diversity and inclusion especially in regard to empowering women. Why are you working on expanding women’s role in the workforce?

Our gender diversity and inclusion initiative is based on the premise of creating a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully and with all having equal access to opportunities and resources.

We firmly believe this brings benefits to the business as men and women have different viewpoints, ideas and market insights, which enable better problem solving. Close collaboration and diversity in leadership at the workplace enable us to deliver innovative solutions, drive positive results and strengthen our organization all at the same time.

Gender diversity is vital to any workplace, not just because it’s a

praiseworthy goal; it simply makes bottom-line business sense and can contribute immensely to the organization’s success.

Touch is on a promising path towards diversity and inclusion given the leadership percentage currently stands at 25 percent, but our target is to increase the average to 35 percent, while the total number of female employees has reached approximately 32 percent and is subject to an increase to 50 percent.

Touch has been deploying efforts to develop the digital economy in Lebanon. What are the main initiatives you have launched in this regard?

The digital economy refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is taking place. It is an opportunity for all organizations to leverage technologies to execute daily tasks. In order to achieve a digital economy in Lebanon, touch has been active through key initiatives that include creating a culture of creativity, innovation and

entrepreneurship, connectivity and access to broadband internet, as well as digital financial services.

In line with touch’s digital and innovation strategy, the company launched the touch Innovation Program (TIP) and we are currently running our third cycle. TIP aims to support the local digital economy in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship by collaborating with startups and identifying potential partners. Every six months, the program selects up to seven startups in Lebanon and offers them a wide range of support including access to the touch lab working space, workshops by entrepreneurs, meetups with industry leaders, mentorships by touch employees, and widespread exposure online and offline. TIP has graduated 12 startups so far, and is currently working alongside seven other innovators in cycle 3. TIP selects startups that come from an array of different industries including e-commerce, education, homecare, health and IoT.

COVER STORY

JUNE 2019

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MITEF Pan Arab Startup Competition winners In addition to skills, the digital economy needs an advanced internet infrastructure. Touch has migrated its management systems from network operations center (NOC) to service operations center (SOC), where all technology operational activities are more customer-centric than network oriented. We are also in the process of deploying fiber optics and new technology implementations on radio, core and transmissions.

As for digital finance, touch has introduced smart quality management systems, digital kiosks and interactive touch outdoor screens. All these services allow customers to undertake payments, address issues and concerns, and browse the internet for the latest services.

With respect to digital transactions, figures in 2018 were extremely promising (with approximately 40 percent increase in transactions) and are expected to rise further in 2019.

Touch will continue pushing more traffic toward its digital channels be it the

touch self-care app or website to make transactions more efficient.

As an internal initiative, Zain Group introduced Zainiac in late 2017 to act as an internal e-platform and community for all Zain Group personnel to be able to share ideas and formulate solutions aimed at stimulating creativity within the company. The platform allows Zainers across the Group to suggest innovative ideas on a bi-annual basis, share challenges and collaborate in a bid to achieve common goals.

To date, hundreds of initiatives and project ideas have been submitted with the aim of promoting internal innovation and to motivate Zain personnel to start new businesses, and hopefully become the next unicorns of the region.

To date, I’m proud to say that two of the four Zainiac ideas that Zain Group will nurture and fund for further development have come from touch.

Zainiac reaffirms our conviction that to remain innovative and competitive, we

need to generate ideas from wherever we can find them and seeking them out internally is prudent.

With the aim of accelerating IoT deployment in Lebanon, touch partnered with IoTree, the first organization in Lebanon to deploy NBIoT. What does this partnership entail and why have you decided to invest in IoT? IoT is a fantastic opportunity given the explosive growth in consumer adoption of smartphones, tablets and wearable technology.

Today, connectivity and technological innovation play a pivotal role in developing the agriculture industry among others. That is why touch has partnered up with IoTree for the first NB-IoT collaboration in Lebanon to provide leading-edge connectivity to IoTree’s sensors delivering reliability, low latency and very long battery life using the powerful 3GPP NB-IoT standard. This initiative helps farmers apply the right agricultural practices that can revive the agri-food sector.

JUNE 2019

COVER STORY

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Zain WE Program Workshop in Beirut Touch has also granted IoTree a golden pass to join touch’s innovation program (TIP) cycle 3, which has just kicked off, and as part of the program, touch assigns IoTree mentors and conducts workshops to ensure performance and continuity of this partnership.

What are the future aspirations and plans of touch and the sector overall?

We hope that one day the mobile telecom sector would be privatized; in the meantime, we work closely with the ministry of telecommunications ensuring the sector’s continuous evolution. We aim to continue to launch innovative services and further fortify touch as the market leader, as voted by consumers.

Given the importance of connectivity in driving innovative solutions in just about any private and public sector organization, touch will provide large bundles and end-to-end solutions to corporates and businesses for greater network throughput and experience.

We will implement further coverage improvement on 3G, 4G and 4.5G

networks – with improved throughput in areas of high traffic so that all customers will have access to the connection they desire.

Touch will further monetize voice and data through new customercentric offers, establish a solid B2B organization with new value propositions, and expand into the digital ecosystem through digital and innovation offerings and value propositions.

Last but not least, where do you see the telecoms sector in Lebanon headed, and what message would you convey to consumers?

The telecom sector in Lebanon really needs to have more flexibility, including pricing and value propositions, in order to increase penetration and usage. If such flexibility is permitted, then the sector would soar. Additionally, an opportunity for further growth could be the privatization of the sector. In all cases, the needs of customers will always be put at the center of every business decision. It is imperative

that customers are provided with high-quality data and services across multiple forms of communications technologies.

touch has managed to maintain its market leadership position in Lebanon for 15 years

JUNE 2019

OPINIONS

Opening up telco revenue ceilings and enabling smooth migration to 5G Technological advances in mobile telecommunication networks will have a significant and profound impact on individuals, industries, society and the economy, transforming how we live and work, as well as altering existing business models.

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oon 5G will be a reality.

GCC operators are moving fast to take the technological advantage as it will open up numerous avenues for growth. With 5G as a backbone, they will be able to deliver

on services such as AR/VR, IoT, AI, autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics, 3D printing, wearable tech and many more.

Accelerating 5G monetization Huawei’s 5G technology leadership is reflected in its extensive 3GPP Rel-15 standard contribution, and positions as the top contributor to the TS proposal. Huawei also enables 5G service rollouts through supporting NSA (option3) and SA (2/4/5/7). The following methods can also be used to support diversified 5G services, driving carrier revenue growth:

Enabling ecosystem monetization 5G is going to change the business model, wherein operators will need to collaborate with partners to offer solutions to specific industry needs.

Building a strong ecosystem will be very critical and will require an open platform.

Huawei-designed Digital Revenue Management product provides 200+ Rich Atomic API, TM Forum Open APIs with easy and fast integration. Using cloud mid-end capability that provides flexible API orchestration, continuous integration / development, and design and development tools, it enables carriers’ inhouse teams to efficiently provide various micro-services and develop diversified services based on their capabilities.

According to a successful co-operation with operators in Southeast Asia, such capabilities help operators to open their telco assets, such as customer information and their billing relationship, and share such information with partners using real-time data distribution capabilities to promote partner offerings.

One of the leading Sri Lankan operators managed to generate $40m with 50+ products enabled by 300+ open APIs.

• Support GUI-based offering configuration (or charging rule orchestration) and dynamic charging for different network slicing that requires different scenarios of service profile, such as QoS, latency, bandwidth and more.

• 10 times performance improvement, billion connection, M-level resourace sharing and second-level capability openness.

• Build a centralized analyzer dashboard and intelligent analysis service: KPI fault detection service and SLA log analysis service to improve O&M efficiency by 30%.

To make the most out of the next evolution of technology, operators need to look beyond investing in new radio

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and core – they must adopt a flexible and efficient charging billing system, aka revenue management, in order to monetize the services that 5G will power.

The Huawei-architected, cloud-based digital revenue management product helps carriers open revenue ceilings and enable ecosystem monetization, thereby empowering business agility and smooth migration to 5G, while realizing value monetization through new 5G scenarios based on the current investment.

Find out how this product is designed to deliver key capabilities that represent operators’ future business growth.

By An Jian, president of Carrier Networks Business Group, Huawei Middle East

Empowering business agility Faster product launch time with simplified marketing user interface reduces tariff configuration complexity, and provides online charging verification tools to improve the tariff accuracy.

Template-driven configuration enables operators to take advantage of the global experience (use case library for 5G/4G services) that is the productized into the system.

Intelligent analysis service uses artificial intelligence modeling and training history data. Using financial loans as an example, the product aids in obtaining credit scores based on user profiles, periodically reviews data and optimizes the model. These actions greatly reduce the risk rate of loan breach.

Loan service offering for when a prepaid subscriber’s account balance is insufficient, the subscriber can temporarily apply for a loan from the carrier to continue service use.

JUNE 2019

REGIONAL NEWS

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Evoteq names Jihad Tayara as new CEO

Evoteq, a key subsidiary and digital transformation catalyst under the Bee’ah’s group of companies, has recently announced the appointment of Jihad Tayara as its new chief executive officer.

Evoteq is quickly cementing its position as the region’s premier technology management partner developing impactful and disruptive technology solutions for customers to facilitate operations by increasing efficiency, supporting business growth, utilizing digital innovation and creating better customer experiences.

Commenting on the appointment, H.E Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, stated, “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Jihad Tayara as Evoteq’s CEO and we are confident that his wealth of local and international experience will add

value to the various operations of our technology arm. Tayara’s track record in complex and smart ICT areas such as IoT, AI, blockchain and many others will create synergies with Evoteq’s vision of becoming the leading digital transformation catalyst in the region, while pioneering a sustainable quality of life.”

Commenting on his appointment, Tayara said, “Evoteq is a great company with exceptional people and strong relationships with clients who place a high value on our work.

Few organizations have the focus and clarity of our goals with our powerful combination of creativity and expertise in technology and transformation.”

Al Huraimel added, “The appointment is also a key part of Bee’ah’s new group model which has considerably enhanced organizational performance, productivity and overall efficiencies and Tayara will lead new growth opportunities and the strategic direction of the company.”

“Our mission is to be a digital transformation catalyst in the region and to achieve that we need to foster a culture that attracts the best and brightest: inclusive, respectful, collaborative and diverse. What makes our company special is its people, and I am very proud to have been given the chance to build Evoteq with them.”

As a developer of next generation solutions, Evoteq has undertaken several large-scale projects, such as managing the largest municipal digital transformation project in the GCC; deploying the Sharjah’s first blockchain platform; and establishing a revolutionary track-and-trace application, Smart Track, to fortify and secure global healthcare supply chains.

Tayara will report directly to the board of Evoteq and will be based at the new office in Dubai.

Prior to joining Evoteq, Tayara held several key positions including vice president of ICT Commercial at du, where he led digital transformation and smart city initiatives, IoT, blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud and smart solutions. In addition, Tayara held several key roles at Motorola Networks in Dubai, Orascom in Cairo and Investcom in Beirut.

Egypt’s AI aspirations materialize with new cooperation In light of Egypt’s preparation of the national strategy for AI, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has received Ambassador of Finland to Egypt Laura Kansikas-Debraise, where they discussed enhancing cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI).

At the meeting, Talaat underlined the significance of enhancing cooperation between Egypt and Finland in ICTs, in the framework of the deep and distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as Finland’s remarkable development in ICTs. The ICT Minister showcased the main features of the national strategy for AI, with its two main pillars, including building human capacity

through increasing the efficiency of education and training in various educational stages. This is in addition to consolidating continuing education to meet the rapid development of the nature of jobs required in the future.

The second pillar is the applied scientific research that aims to find innovative technological solutions to Egypt’s challenges in different fields, and create a strong base of startups capable of strongly contributing to promoting the Egyptian economy and competing at the international level.

On her part, Debraise welcomed the cooperation between the two countries in AI, especially in capacity building and AI applications in different areas, as well as opening up new avenues

of cooperation between Egyptian and Finnish companies specializing in this filed.

Moreover, the two sides agreed on the importance of continuous communication to develop mechanisms of joint cooperation. Debraise invited Talaat to visit Finland this year to discuss projects of joint cooperation in ICTs. The meeting was attended by Second Secretary and head of Economic and Development Cooperation at the Finnish Embassy Markus Raty, ICT Minister’s Advisor for AI Golestan Radwan, and Director of International Relations Division at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) Mohamed El Gawsaky.

JUNE 2019

REGIONAL NEWS

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The UAE ranks first globally in internet and telephony level of competition

A recent report published by The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation found that the UAE has progresses from the 104th to the first rank globally in terms of the internet and telephony level of competition.

The UAE progressed from the 61st to the 5th rank globally in the Sector Competitiveness Index for Information and Communications Technology - ICT Inputs, which measures the ICT price basket, internet and telephony level of competition, and laws relating to ICTs.

Commenting on this great global achievement, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA director general, said, “The advanced level of competitiveness of the telecommunications sector in the UAE reflects the success of the oneteam strategy used by government entities in national projects and initiatives management. This accomplishment has been achieved by all us, and we hope to continue in a team spirit to maintain the UAE’s leading position and to enhance our national vision, to make the UAE the first globally in various fields.”

This achievement has added to the previous series of achievements of the UAE in the global competitiveness in the telecommunication sector, as the UAE is ranked first globally in mobilebroadband subscriptions, in addition to achieving first rank in population covered by mobile-cellular networks as well as population covered

by data networks (3G and above services). The country also ranked second globally in mobile-cellular subscriptions, fourth globally in percentage of households equipped with a personal computer, 7th globally in percentage of households with home internet access, and 8th globally in percentage of internet users.

The UAE also advanced 18 ranks in ‘ICT Adoption’ Pillar, from 24th to 6th rank globally, in addition to reaching the second rank globally in the United Nations Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII).

These results reflect the significant progress achieved by the UAE in ICT, which was the result of TRA’s efforts, guided by the directives of the wise leadership, and reflects the efficiency of the strategies adopted by the UAE in the fields of ICT, artificial intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

UAE Minister of AI believes EXPO 2020 will inspire change The Minister for AI said, “When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum said he wanted to make Dubai a global tourism hotspot, people laughed at him.

The Minister made the prediction during a fascinating and in-depth one-on-one panel discussion with CNN’s John at the inaugural AI Everything event which was held at the Dubai World Trade Center.

They said you’ve got no architecture, artefacts or greenery here. Why would anyone want to come? But now Dubai is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

The same applies to aviation. Our leadership had a vision to create one of the best airlines in the world, and they achieved that with Emirates, which is recognized as a leader in air travel. So we’ve got a track record of delivering on our goals, however ambitious and unrealistic they may appear to some.”

The Minister backed up his claims that Dubai always delivers on its ambitions by citing its success in tourism and aviation as an example.

The Minister of AI also highlighted how the UAE’s regulatory framework was a key component in the success of its private sector, and believes this

The UAE’s Minister for AI has openly expressed his belief that EXPO 2020 will be the greatest exhibition in its decorated and storied history. EXPO 2020 is expected to have a $30bn ripple effect if it is as successful as being projected.

environment is perfect to drive and grow their AI vision.

When pressed on the job dislocation the implementation of AI is set to have, he countered by saying that the emergence of new technologies had always caused disruption, but insisted that incredible new jobs would be created through AI. He conceded that in relation to job displacement a process had to take place which measures the impact the integration of AI is going to have on industries. “We need to map out what the job loss versus the impact. If we improve efficiency by one percent, is it worth the disappearance of 100,000 jobs? It may have a major economic boost for a particular organization, but we have to leverage it against what is good for society. Technology has to be used to improve people’s lives, and that is what I believe AI will do.”

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OPINIONS

The new stakes in e-government All around the world, 193 UN member states keep developing digital transformation investment programs to optimize the costs of their public sector, reform their administrative processes and improve the quality as well as the efficiency of their service provided to the users.

They develop dematerialized public services mainly in the fields of e-education, e-employment, e-health, e-environment and social e-protection.

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ven in continents like Oceania and Africa where the level of digital maturity remains low, several countries such as Tunisia, Mauritius Island or South Africa significantly

improved their range of digital public services these last two years, thus managing to elevate themselves between the 38th and the 65th places in the world.

Sofrecom has chosen to highlight below some of the new emerging

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issues related to this global progression of e-government strategies: • The key question is the digital identity as it is the cornerstone to develop new digital uses in e-government, as well as in digital economy (e-commerce, e-bank).

More and more governments work on digital identity projects, and more specifically, on biometrics. As an example, the World Bank with its “Identification for Development” program as well as other investors like the African Development Bank and BRED are interested in the subject to encourage a Pan-African solution.

• The development of mobile electronic payment is also critical for governments to cope with the significant growth of their financial transactions with users, particularly in Africa where the mobile remains the most used terminal for payments. The transactions take place in both directions: P2G (People to Government) for the

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OPINIONS

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payment of fines and taxes and G2P (Government to People) for payment of financial aids, subsidies, salaries and scholarships, etc.

Many countries initiate studies on platform projects enabling more specifically an interoperability of payments.

• The implementation of public services platforms still focuses too often on the development of infrastructures rather than on services, especially in Africa.

The time has come to lead both approaches simultaneously without neglecting the quality of the information supplied to the users: the latter shall match the needs of the citizens and simplify their journey to generate more traffic on the governmental portal. It’s also time to think about a more industrial approach of public services platforms which would include other actors than the government (citizens, companies, startups, civil servants, NGOs…) to develop more innovative and creative e-public services more pragmatically. Such an approach involves rethinking the government role in the development of public e-services.

Many great projects of smart cities are rising in various parts of the world, including in Africa (Senegal, Rwanda, Tunisia, Morocco or South Africa). But the absence of a political leadership, the lack of digital maturity and many more obstacles sometimes delay their realization. Even the urbanization progresses in these countries; the village remains a strongly anchored reality. Consequently, a new concept emerges: that of “connected village” which would provide the villagers with real-time practical information about subjects of their everyday life like accesss to education, to the health services, the weather report, the electrification, etc. First reflections are in progress in Niger through the project of the intelligent villages.

Many governments have gained interest in the Open Data Gov already strongly developed in Europe for legal reasons. They wonder about the way of balancing the appeal of

technologies owners and of the free technologies.

Today, the e-government projects are everywhere. They are supported by: • A legal framework which fosters the digital economy’s development thanks to the governments’ support. Main measures include personal data protection, electronic transactions, electronic archiving and cybersecurity.

• The technology is the massive deployment of internet in the territories and is also a cornerstone for the development of e-government.

choices and enforce standards; set up an organization to manage and monitor the many milestones such as launch of consultations, selection of service providers, notification and signature of contracts, implementation monitoring, etc.

• Human capital trained to set-up platforms, to buy, manage, execute, drive, maintain and upgrade the infrastructures to match the services development. In a nutshell, many qualifications and skills that the government fails to have internally most of the times.

The digitization of public services requires: • Strategic vision: express the need, define clear objectives, action plan, budget and funding.

Ultimately, we think it is not countries’ responsibility and job to become technological operators. Should they want to speed up their digital transformation, then, they would benefit from the expertise of private operators through public private partnerships (PPP) in various forms (concession of service, revenue sharing, etc.). The most mature governments have already adopted this model, not only for the management of infrastructure but also for the management of services (VISA, tax payment, payment of car stickers, etc.).

• Governance: essential to appoint a project leader capable of assessing the stakes with a 360° vision, empowered to make technological

By Hicham Saoud, head of e-government practice and Claire Khoury, marketing & communication director at Sofrecom

However, the process that starts with project drafting to full completion often takes long years due to the inner public sector complexity and the fact that governments fail to drive successfully their digital transformation and change management themselves.

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INTERVIEW

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Reinvention and empowerment fueling MATRIXX Software’s success

MATRIXX Software is a company fuelled by innovation and is currently leading the way in the digital commerce revolution within the telecoms industry in light of the latest cloud and 5G technologies.

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Could you give us a little background about MATRIXX and what you provide to operators?

MATRIXX Software is a Silicon Valley based technology company providing next generation, cloud native digital commerce solutions that help companies to reinvent themselves for the on-demand economy.

The MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform has reinvented telco BSS by combining various IT functions into one single platform.

Regionally, MATRIXX Digital Commerce is powering innovative digital offerings brought to market by both ZAIN and Ooredoo. Our modern commerce platform easily scales to support global market places and can power evolutionary, consumption-based services.

loud helps businesses expand and grow exponentially without investing too much time and capital in their IT infrastructure. MATRIXX Software provides cloud native digital commerce solutions which allow companies to grow rapidly and transform themselves into digitally advanced businesses.

Telecom Review conducted an exclusive interview with Ali Harfouche, vice president and head of sales at MATRIXX Software. Ali brings over 25 years of experience in the telecom arena, having worked with both vendors and operators. He was MATRIXX’s first employee in the region and has grown the Dubai office since joining four years ago.

In what was a thoroughly comprehensive interview, we were also afforded the opportunity to speak to the regional sales directors at MATRIXX Software in an effort find out more about the markets they managed and how companies in Africa were adapting to digital transformation.

Ali Harfouche, vice president and head of sales, MATRIXX Software in how products and services are packaged and delivered. Not only does this completely change how our customers can design their plans to enable their customers with breakthrough transparency, flexibility and control, it also makes it possible to quickly and cost-effectively personalize at scale. Combined, they are the essential ingredients of an exceptional, on-demand digital experience that our platform enables.

Across the globe, and especially in the MEA region, operators are embracing the importance of digital experience.

They see how it can impact every aspect of their business, and they want to harness that power to their benefit. Our platform is a key enabler of that effort - making it easier to unlock new revenue opportunities, boost competitiveness and transform operations.

Our platform also consolidates, and in many cases eliminates, dependencies on complex, expensive IT and BSS infrastructure. This is so transformative that in some of the conversations we have, this is as important as digital experience!

Yes, our customers want better experience, but they also recognize that they need to operate more efficiently and more effectively. For them, business agility, the ability to respond more quickly to market events, is a direct benefit they need from digital transformation, which, because of the way our platform is architected, we make possible.

For the customers of our customers, we make it possible to completely transform digital engagement. There are many aspects of our platform that are really unique, but one of the real game-changers is that our software enables massive flexibility

You have experienced tremendous growth in the MEA region. What do you think is driving that?

This whole region has, in fact, been our fastest growing region at the company, which I think speaks to several factors.

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First, consumer expectations are changing – have already changed, really – and regional operators are eager to embrace digital as a competitive lever. Today’s consumers, especially younger ones, expect everything that comes with a great digital experience.

Capturing this change is about two very important things: boosting customer loyalty as a way to reduce churn and unlocking new spending opportunities to boost revenue. Operators across the region recognize the necessity for both and know that the only way to compete for these digitally-savvy customers is to make digital essential to their business strategies.

This brings me to the second factor.

Telecom operators in the Middle East are really leading the pack with forward-thinking strategies embracing a digital first vision.

Historically, these kinds of projects were viewed as IT-led. That is no longer the case. There is a recognition that, in today’s market, digital leadership is a company-wide initiative that needs to be led by the C-Suite. In fact, some of the most forward-looking programs we’ve seen are being sponsored by CEOs themselves, and Ooredoo and ZAIN groups are great examples of this;` proof of just how important these transformation programs are to future success.

The third factor driving our growth is the people we have here in the region.

We have grown 10 times in size in the last two years in the MEA region - which is amazing to me! We have built an amazing team and I truly believe that they reflect everything that MATRIXX stands for in the market.

Our team truly represents the best in the industry, and we carry hundreds of years of telecom experience collectively. They are passionate, eager to help empower their customers to win with digital.

They are committed, constantly helping our customers to create new possibilities with their businesses.

They really want our customers to succeed, working in close partnership with them to build the right solutions that they need, which, to me, is a reflection of the integrity of our people.

Reinvention and empowerment are ideas that our founders, Dave and Jennifer, feel very strongly about, and it is absolutely an essential element of our success in the region.

Can you tell us more about the major announcements you made with both Ooredoo Group and ZAIN? We’ve had projects go live with Ooredoo in Kuwait and Oman.

Ooredoo Kuwait went live with the first digital telecom product in the history of Kuwait, ANA. Ooredoo Oman also went live last month with new digital products after the successful launch last year, and are heading towards a fully transformed digital operator. Just a few weeks ago, we had a go-live with our partner ZAIN Saudi. Every go-live is exciting for us, but these are special for us because of how these operators came to market.

It has been well documented that a large percentage of large-scale digital transformation projects fail. Vendors

know it, and customers do as well, which is why something had to change in how companies transform.

That change has been operators taking a page out of the world of digital-first business and embracing agile development and Minimum Viable Products (MVP) as a better way to get to market quickly.

This trend towards agile product development and MVP’s is, in many ways, a perfect fit for us and our platform. We come from the startup and technology world, so agile product development is natural to us.

In fact, much of our investment has been to build a platform that could power this approach by making it possible for our customers to standup new digital stacks alongside existing infrastructure faster than any other company. This has the effect of eliminating one of the biggest impediments to success – trying to build integrations into technology that was never designed for digital, in the first place.

Which, to reiterate, is why being selected as the digital commerce platform at the heart of the IT infrastructure of digital leaders like these is so exciting. It is just a

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example, it’s the latency, or delay in responsiveness, that will be the dividing line between success and failure.

The third is tuneability of the network itself. What’s particularly interesting about 5G is that it offers operators tremendous flexibility not just in how they manage their networks, but also how they monetize it and this can extend downstream to the customer, with highly configurable and personalized offers. And it can also extend upstream, with the ability to monetize any kind of traffic running across the networks!

When considered together, what all of these necessitate is a monetization platform built for high volume, low latency, highly configurable transactions, which is exactly what our platform already does. tremendous vote of confidence in us and the vision of digital experience that is the foundation of our platform.

doesn’t just happen with technology.

It happens in the hearts and minds of those who bring it to life.

As you’ve grown, how do you see your relationship with your customers evolving?

One of the things that I’ve really loved to see is how much our customers have come to depend upon the advice and experience of the team here. Of course, some of that change is due to our track record – we have earned tremendous credibility in the market for being able to deliver what we say we can, when we say we can.

How is the launch of 5G driving change in the market?

I think it’s already accepted as fact that 5G is an industry game-changer, and it certainly has been great for us as it is playing an increasingly critical role in decision-making. In many respects, the MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform was made for 5G. If you look broadly at everything that 5G will enable, and there are too many to list here, I think they really come down to three big ideas.

The fact that we consistently deliver is not lost on the market. The other reason our relationships have evolved, I think, is the institutional knowledge that we’ve built up. Every one of our customers going live just builds the expertise and knowledge and competence of the team here on the ground that’s delivering.

The result is that our customers, and I do hear this directly from them, have really come to consider us as a partner they can rely on for advice and guidance and expertise. This speaks to our company’s commitment, overall, to helping businesses reinvent themselves because the reinvention

The first is scale and diversity. Over the coming decade, the number and type of devices connecting over 5G is expected to explode. Obviously, this puts a tremendous load on IT architectures as they must cope with an exponential volume and type of transactions that need to be handled and processed.

The second is the potential for extremely low latency. While many people today tend to focus on the raw throughput capabilities of 5G, we believe that the potential for extremely low latency is the real game-changer.

Why? Because with AR and VR, for

Which I think is yet another reason why we’ve been seeing such tremendous interest in the region.

When we go into talk to operators, as they share their plans for 5G and the cloud and lay out for us what they need for the future, we are able to show them how what we are doing right now can easily extend.

Do you see cloud adoption accelerating amongst operators?

For many operators in our region, we absolutely do, and it’s why we have completely embraced cloud native architecture for our platform. As I mentioned above, 5G is going to bring massive scale and diversity, ever lower latency and tremendous tuneability.

The end result is that the network itself is going to be more diverse and, in many ways more complex, then ever before if it’s going to accommodate all of that change. If that is the case, then existing IT architectures simply are not aligned with those needs. As a result, web-scale and cloud native design principles are going to be a must, regardless of how an operator chooses to deploy.

With a cloud native approach, operators will gain unprecedented elasticity. This is particularly

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important because they’ll need to be able to quickly spin-up and tear-down resources, whether it’s to support very large numbers of devices on the one hand, or hyper-targeted offers on the other.

The other thing that comes with a cloud native approach is webscale resiliency. As the scale and complexity of transactions and volume increase, operators will need ever-increasing stability, not to mention transformative automation.

For our customers who have 5G on their near-term roadmap, and for us at MATRIXX, cloud native architecture is seen as essential to success with 5G. Whether it’s to be able to compete better, serve better or operate better, we think – and our customers seem to agree – that deploying in the cloud (or in a virtual environment or even on bare metal) with a cloud native architecture is really the only viable path forward.

To close on this, our customers can choose the deployment model that suits their business best, whether it is on-premise or cloud, MATRIXX platform can operate with equal efficiencies.

You mentioned customers investing heavily in 5G. What about the others?

One of the things which makes the Middle East and Africa so exciting for myself and my team is the incredible diversity of types of operators.

Of course the desire for digital experience and the urgency to lead with digital are relevant to many of our customers, but not to all of them.

In fact, particularly in the emerging markets in our region, there are still a large number of great carriers that will definitely not be moving to 5G for a while and it’s our job to be of value to them as well. When our team is out talking to operators, we hear a couple of big themes.

First, many operators we speak with are very focused on operational efficiency. Yes, new revenue is important. Yes, they want the ability to grow their digital businesses. Yes,

Chadi El Samad, sales director, MENA, MATRIXX Software they want something that’s futureproof for 5G. But first and foremost, they need to reduce operational overhead. They need to modernize the systems they’re keeping, even as they reduce the total number of systems overall. This is really a big deal driving so many of my team’s conversations.

Second, and this is completely related, we hear from operators a recognition that they need to be able to move faster in the market. In fact, we see this as the market-facing side of the need for operational efficiency.

Competition is fierce and operators know they need to be able to develop, launch and refine offers faster than they’ve ever done before. That means fewer systems, of course, but it also means modernizing in order to eliminate customization requirements which have been accepted as the norm for so many years.

The two combined represent very real business challenges that are every bit as urgent as those of operators focused on digital experience, which is another reason I think that our company and this team have been so successful. Yes, our platform enables digital, but it does so because of how it streamlines and optimizes and simplifies how the IT infrastructure

is built and operated. As a result, we can deliver results for operators at the foundational level which can then ripple out through their entire operation.

In the same context, Telecom Review spoke to MENA sales directors Chadi El Samad and Nagib Abboud about trends their witnessing amongst operators in relation to BSS transformations, and how MATRIXX is helping telecom operators address developed markets with high mobile penetration rates.

We also spoke to Danny Rahal, sales director for Sub-Saharan Africa, and Anisse Errguita, sales director, West Africa, about how Africa which is obviously less mature than the Middle East market in embracing digital transformation and how IT strategies have evolved over the years as the continent becomes more technologically competent.

Chadi El Samad, sales director, MENA Originally trained as an engineer, Chadi is a seasoned sales director with experience spanning a 20 years career in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining MATRIXX, he worked for Oracle, eServ-Global and Nortel.

INTERVIEW

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The reason, of course, is quite simple.

Getting to success with a new business model means that BSS transformation alone isn’t enough. Instead, operators need to rethink the entirety of their IT architecture and build systems and processes that are optimized for digital, as opposed to just being accommodating of it.

One of the things I’m most proud of about being at MATRIXX is that we aren’t just helping executives inside telecom operators to reimagine their established business models; we’re able to provide shortcuts to digitization using our next generation technology.

Nagib Abboud, sales director, MENA region, MATRIXX Software

For our customers who have 5G on their near-term roadmap, and for us at MATRIXX, cloud native architecture is seen as essential to success with 5G

Which main trend are you noticing among MENA telecom operators in terms of BSS transformations?

The entire business model for the region’s operators is in transformation right now, from a legacy analog and retail-centric to next generation digital.

The challenge for many operators that think in terms of legacy architectures and BSS is that, as much as they want a fully digitalized business, large scale IT transformations based on traditional thinking either fail outright or struggle to reach their defined KPIs.

Nagib Abboud, sales director, MENA region Nagib Abboud is an accomplished telecom senior level executive with over 20 years of international experience leading complex, multi-million-dollar enterprise projects across Europe, Middle East and emerging markets.

Nagib holds a Masters in telecoms engineering specializing in network design and architecture from ParisTech in France.

Does Matrixx address only the telcos in developed markets with high smartphone penetration?

Communication service providers in emerging markets face a very interesting challenge because they have low smartphone penetration today, but they know this will not be the case indefinitely.

This means they need to think about their infrastructure investments with three very different purposes. They need to protect and grow their existing revenues from traditional prepaid voice and messaging services, which is where today’s revenue comes from.

Then they need to make themselves attractive to their small but growing market of smartphone users in order to better monetize data usage. And lastly, they need to future-proof for the eventual transition to next generation 5G networks. MATRIXX is the only single platform and technology that helps equally the communication service providers in the emerging markets to achieve all of these goals.

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Dany Rahal, sales director, SubSaharan Africa Throughout his 17 years in sales, hi-tech and non-traditional sales marketing activities in newly emerged businesses, Dany has excelled in challenging, multilingual and multicultural environments by driving revenues through innovative and focused strategies. He has led numerous business development programs, with over 12 year’s expertise in the African market.

Are the imperatives for digital transformation different in SubSaharan Africa than in other regions?

Digital transformation is a worldwide phenomenon, and Africa is no exception. Consumers in the SubSaharan region are just as dependent on OTT services, social media and other data-heavy apps as everyone else.

Dany Rahal, Sales Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, MATRIXX Software

We’re also seeing a high-level interest in IoT and other related, nontraditional use cases, which is related to the significant increase of number of data consumers and social players. As a result, we are seeing a growing trend in Africa toward digital transformation because the African executive teams recognize that the status quo no longer works.

To win with digital experience, the leaders we speak to are looking for business agility paired with seamless scalability so that they can meet these diverse demands. And, of course, they need to do both of these will lowering costs to serve. The MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform is the only product in the market capable of empowering the region’s carriers to compete and win now and in the future.

Anisse Errguita, sales director, West Africa region Leading MATRIXX Software’s newly opened Morocco office, Anisse drives sales for the West Africa region. With more than 20 years of experience working in the region, Anisse was head of sales with Ericsson West Africa sub region.

How much has IT investment strategies evolved in the region?

Operators across the region are excited to transform themselves and we hear that IT simplification is a major factor in those decisions. Yes, they are interested in offering digital journeys for their customers. However, we hear repeatedly that a bigger concern is their heavy dependence on costly and complex systems.

Simplification across the entire IT landscape is very important in order to reduce costs, move more quickly in market, and naturally, provide a better digital experience. The MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform is currently the only option in the market capable of meeting the specific challenges like the ones of the West Africa markets.

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ICT FEATURE

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AI and the promise of better healthcare Artificial intelligence, the ubiquitous buzzword that keeps seeping into our everyday conversations and across several industries, carries with it the promise for a better life. It brings about a promise for bettering our lives as individuals, citizens, customers, students and most interestingly of all, as patients.

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ealthcare systems are under immense pressure due to the expectation of delivering high quality care in an efficient manner to patients within populations that are constantly growing with relatively low finances and skilled workers to deliver this kind of care. As a result, for many years, this industry has become increasingly stretched. Patients in need are left with inadequate access to proper healthcare, long waiting room

times, and less time for doctors to interact with them and give them the full medical attention they need.

The head of Accenture’s global health practice, Kaveh Safavi, said that he expects AI applications to help solve the issue of the ‘iron triangle’ in healthcare which is essentially made up of three intertwined key factors within the industry: access, affordability and effectiveness. According to Safavi, these factors often result in negative tradeoffs; meaning that the improvement of one factor is at the cost of the other.

However, with AI, there is a chance that the consequences posed by the iron triangle could be subsided as it would reduce costs, make treatments more efficient and make way for better accessibility.

“What we see now is a path to unlocking that triangle so you can improve one side without breaking the other,” said Safavi.

The three major zones of investment for AI in healthcare according to US health services leader at PwC, Gurpeet

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Singh, are: digitization, engagement and diagnostics. He believes that using AI could lead to more costeffective operational processes, improved interactions between patients and healthcare professionals, and the creation of new products using AI that could diagnose and give health advice to patients.

PwC carried out a study titled ‘No Longer Science Fiction, AI and Robotics are Transforming Healthcare’ where it outlined the key benefits that this kind of advanced technology would bring to the healthcare industry.

It found that the use of AI and IoMT (internet of medical things) could potentially contribute to healthier lifestyles, as applications could encourage healthy behavior and could proactively manage lifestyles which could potentially diminish the need for consumers to visit doctors so often. Not only that, but it could provide healthcare professionals with a better understanding of the day to day patterns of their patients which would lead to better and more accurate guidance, support and feedback.

One of the key benefits posed by not just PwC, but many others who have done research on the matter, is the early detection of diseases. According to the American Cancer Society, a large number of mammograms provide false results. However, with AI, mammograms are expected to be 30 times faster and around 99 percent accurate. AI could also be used for administrative and repetitive tasks which would play a crucial role in helping decrease costs.

What is more is that this technology would also make great strides in decision-making and treatment. PwC found that pattern recognition could pinpoint a patient’s risk to developing a specific condition and could also better manage long-term treatment programs for patients.

End of life care could be revolutionized with AI and robotics as it would allow for people to be

ICT FEATURE independent for a longer period of time, and could help the elderly in one of the loneliest times of their lives through having conversations with them and keeping their minds sharp.

While there are many more factors and aspects of our lives that could be improved by this technology, there are some issues and challenges that come with it. In fact, through a survey, Accenture found that one-fourth of consumers said that they were concerned about the technology’s ability to reason, stating that they do not know enough about the technicality of how AI works and therefore they would not use AIpowered health services.

Indeed, one of the biggest challenges facing AI is trust. At a panel discussion at ‘AI Everything’ in Dubai earlier this month, MEP Emma McClarkin commented on the concept of digital trust and stated, “There is great fear. If you are ignorant about something and how it works, you fear it. It’s a natural thing. It’s a human reaction. We need to remember the human element of AI and that we can achieve that through education to take that fear factor away.”

She then went on to suggest that AI needs to be used responsibly and that it was up to policymakers and scientists to better understand AI and to educate both AI and the public better in order to start reaping the rewards and benefits that it could bring into our world.

During the same panel discussion, Kai Gait, global director strategy at GSK, also gave his insights on the issue. He said that AI is a “tremendously powerful and transformative” technology for the healthcare industry as it has great potential to bring medicine “out of the dark ages”.

Gait stated that he considers disclosing health information to be the biggest challenge in the industry with regards to AI. “I think people will eventually begin to see the opportunity of how it could improve health in the future as well as disease

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protection and prevention, but for now, there’s still paranoia around how data could be used,” he stated.

A key limitation to AI tech solutions is the cost of the equipment itself which will be particularly difficult for smaller regional and rural healthcare providers to be able to afford.

Daniel Housman, CEO at ConvergeHEALTH by Deloitte, is concerned that consumers may not realize the influence of AI once it is introduced into the industry, as a great deal of it will be happening behind the scenes.

He also outlined the relatively limited number of healthcare professionals available per patient. “We don’t have enough labor to manage everyone’s health all the time with a doctor and a nurse, so we need this boost of artificial brains to be able to support people.”

Indeed, the World Health Organization predicts that there will be a global deficit of 12.9 million skilled healthcare professionals by 2035.

Up-skilling professionals to adapt and understand these new technologies is key and this can be done by training the next generation of medical students.

Philips has been working towards developing ‘adaptive intelligence’ which aims to eliminate inaccuracies that arise as a result of the flaws in human cognition, provide correct information to patients based on specific contexts and to base decisions on human ethics and values (which are absent in AI tech) to ensure the utmost efficiency.

Through its partnership with STC, the largest telecom operator in the Middle East, Phillips also aims to rollout telehealth solutions powered

by AI in the KSA in a move that could transform the ability to diagnose and treat patients in remote and rural areas. The telehealth solutions provided by Philips allow hospitals and clinics anywhere in the country to be connected to command centers,

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through which doctors in other locations can treat patients remotely, providing better access to higher quality and more cost-effective care.

Furthermore, in addition to job creation in the healthcare sector, the Philips and STC partnership will support Vision 2030 in its wider goals of improving the healthcare sector, with the telehealth partnership supporting specific objectives such as the reduction of wait times and infectious diseases, addressing chronic diseases and offering better training for doctors.

“When we are able to reach even more people through mobile and connected technologies, empowered by adaptive intelligence, it will help bring better health and thus inclusive growth, as health makes an important contribution to economic progress to entire populations at lower cost. This is a great step towards delivering on the principles of value-based care: better health outcomes, improved

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patient and staff experiences, and lower cost of care across the region, which is crucial to building a healthier and more sustainable future,” said Özlem Fidanci, CEO of Royal Philips in the Middle East and Turkey.

The rate of people suffering from diabetes, obesity and other cardiovascular disease due to unhealthy lifestyle-related choices is quite high in the Middle East. In fact, cardiovascular diseases were behind 34 percent of deaths in the Middle East in 2015. Also, the diabetes death rate in the MENA region increased by 216 percent between 1990 and 2015.

The UAE has stood out amongst other countries in the region through its willingness the incorporate new technologies into their society. It appointed the world’s first Minister of AI last year and launched its Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031. It has been working towards this strategy by bringing AI into many industries, namely healthcare.

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JUNE 2019

INTERVIEW

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he KRYPTON CEO spoke about the importance of adopting the right security strategy that will immunize companies against any type of security threats. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening cybersecurity in the 5G era.

In the digital era which has brought forward new cyber threats, how does KRYPTON help companies prevent security attacks?

KRYPTON was established in 2013, so it is our sixth year serving our customers. Initially, many of the services associated with “cybersecurity” were limited to penetration testing. However, with the rapid changes in technology, regulations and the sophistication of the threats, this industry has had to mature quickly. Therefore, the way we work today with our customer is to actually combine three different disciplines together, which are: • Technical security expertise • Management consulting • Program management.

KRYPTON’s focus on ‘people’ translates into successful InfoSec services

Cybersecurity is not just about technology; it must also address people, process, management and governance within a company or an enterprise, according to Cyrus Salesse, CEO, KRYPTON. In an interview with Telecom Review, Salesse focused on KRYPTON’s role in helping customers prevent security attacks through an innovative approach.

We have established this innovative approach and combined it with an information security framework which we have developed, making it a unique offering from KRYPTON. The reason for such an approach is that cybersecurity is not just about technology; it must also address people, process, management and governance within a company or an enterprise. The benefit of the above approach for our customers is that we engage with them on a long-term basis to assist them to develop and increase their operational maturity when it comes to “information security” (InfoSec), which for us, is different than “IT security”.

5G is set to introduce more mission-critical services and applications. In your opinion, what security approach is required to prevent cyberattacks?

A fundamentally good approach to InfoSec is not so much, or at least should not be, dependent on the

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technology – faster, better, cheaper, etc. However, in the case of 5G, because it can have an “uberzation” effect on some processes and services, it is critically important to ensure that good security is incorporated at all stages.

In today’s environment, given the older/current generations of technology, security teams within the telecom operators, companies, banks, etc. are always [kind of] running behind to try to catch up to secure the environments and services, often post-implementation.

This would be a monumentally difficult task within an IoT model, running on top of a 5G platform, since the proliferation of such devices and potential lack of ability to update them will make life extremely difficult for all involved.

So, I think we need to think about this at various levels and stages, namely: • Technology developers (i.e. vendors) must design and implement communication protocols and develop equipment with a “security baked-in” approach, for example, by using stronger authentication and encryption mechanisms; • On the other hand, the network operators should identify the “trusted” vs. “untrusted” security zones within as well as outside of their environments in order to address each with appropriate measures; • Finally, the customers should recognize that security threats are real. Therefore, they should use trusted applications and where possible use available security services.

Some experts consider that there are still some gaps in telcos’ security strategies. Do you agree?

I think there is no such a thing as a perfectly secure environment today.

It is a continuous cat and mouse game between the attackers and the targets. Furthermore, and by the nature of services that the telecom operators and telecom companies provide, they are [have been] more focused on operational performance

INTERVIEW rather than security, as such. Of course, this is quite understandable, since if/when there is a service disruption, everyone is impacted and knows about it. So, it is justified to focus on the operational aspects, but security can no longer be ignored since a breach could be the cause for a disruption.

All of this to say that security has had to take a backseat to operational performance and with some telecom operators, we have witnessed that security does not even have a seat at the table! This needs to change; security is a critical part of the operations and it must have the required strategy, which to us means the required allocation of management focus as well as resources.

In addition to providing information security advisory, what other services do you offer to your clients? And what types of companies do you target?

Our target industry segments are primarily telecom operators and financial services in the Middle East region. This is where most of our customers come from, but this does not mean that we are not working with companies in other sectors such as retail, information technology [developers], insurance and even health. However, the lack of regulations or the enforcement of information security and privacy laws in the region make some sectors more ready and willing than others Apart from the approach that I described earlier, KRYPTON is not only a PCI-DSS QSA for the payment card industry (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, etc.), but also a swift security partner for the banking sector. We provide consultancy services for our customers to devise and to implement ISO 27xxx, and more recently GDPR. The latest trends and customer requests are coming from those who require assistance in the [proper] implementation of a SIEM, including the development of use cases.

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Others are asking us for support to build a security operations center (SOC) and more recently, discussions are trending regarding how to become an MSSP. On the more technical side, we continue to provide expertise and services for social engineering, penetration testing of telecom core networks and IT networks, applications, etc. Finally, and when required, we have partnered with a few reputable companies to deliver security-related solutions (e.g. vulnerability management, SIEM, and telecom core network monitoring, among others).

KRYPTON organizes training sessions mostly related to information security. Is there a unified message that you convey to all the teams you train regardless of the theme of the training?

As mentioned earlier, “people” are important and one of the key aspects of InfoSec. As such, training and awareness are an integral part of the programs that we work on with our customers. While we do not provide public training courses, we develop highly customized curricula for our customers and assist them in their delivery to ensure the right material reaches the right target audience.

Furthermore, security awareness is a critical element within InfoSec, which often does not get the required attention or resources. Specifically, one could secure a company from a technology point of view; however, it is sufficient for an employee to click on a link and the door would become wide open. So, we are focused on delivering high-value, effective yet efficient security awareness with a partner using a security awareness platform.

To respond to your question, if there is a common message, it would be that not only that all the teams must collaborate, but also you must tackle all aspects of InfoSec – all at the same time – in order to succeed. That it takes time to build the right level of security and more importantly, the required maturity.

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INTERVIEW

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Nokia providing endto-end networks for the 5G era

Telecommunications behemoth Nokia has positioned itself as one of the major players in the 5G space and is set to play a key role in the global deployment of the next generation networks.

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n addition to 5G, Nokia is also playing a critical role in terms of helping operators embark upon their digital transformation journey, and recognizes that for many communication service providers it is a major challenge.

Telecom Review spoke to Mohamed Samir, head of Services for MEA, Nokia, in an effort to find out exactly how the vendor is helping operators transform their existing business models and operations through digitalization.

We also examined Nokia’s role in global 5G development and deployment, and what 5G use cases he believes will come to the fore as operators attempt to leverage their investments in the next generation technology.

The emergence of disruptive technologies has forced major industries across the world to adapt and evolve in order to survive.

Operators are one of the industries that have been forced to embrace operational reforms. Can you

outline to us how Nokia is helping communication service providers transform their business models through digitalization?

Digital transformation is a real challenge for operators today.

Preparing for Industry 4.0 and the adoption of new technologies such as 5G or IoT means that they have to change in order to prepare for totally new level of efficiency, completely different business models and new ways of generating revenue.

helped them transform their business and operations to evolve from a communications service provider (CSP) to a digital service provider (DSP). Nokia provides solutions from mobile networks (MN), IP and optical networks (ION) and software divisions to enable operators to reap the benefits of digital transformation.

This combination of automation, analytics and AI is a strong enabler for operators to have a smooth digital transformation.

Operators need reliability, 100% uptime, agility and speed to address the increasing demands. In this new era, the traditional ways of designing, building and operating networks will simply not be good enough or sustainable. To address these challenges, Nokia continues to innovate and evolve its service delivery capabilities, underpinned by extreme automation.

Nokia is also currently working on AI projects in Saudi Arabia and South Africa that automate the ordering entry process to improve lead time by 50 percent and at the same time tremendously reduce the operating cost.

Another key element to the transformation journey is the internet of things (IoT), which has the potential to transform every industry, even traditional ones. There are unlimited possibilities for the usage of IoT applications that will define future smart cities and bring huge business opportunities in the MEA, where operators are looking to reduce cost, generate new revenue opportunities and enhance customer experience.

In the MEA, we have several digitization success stories; we’ve

What exactly are the primary objectives and goals of Nokia’s Global Services Business group and what is it exactly that you’re providing?

Global Services is a strategic differentiator and growth engine for Nokia. This business group enhances Nokia’s value proposition through services-led solutions and next generation service delivery models. It effectively combines network deployment, maintenance and professional services offerings to match with customer needs.

Nokia’s services are offering help to operators in terms of how they manage complexity, and evolve and

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modernize their networks for scale, speed and efficiency to ensure network and services quality.

In practice, we help operators throughout their network lifecycle from planning to building and managing networks. Our services range from consultancy to planning and implementation, to maintenance and operations. We also enable new business models by providing connectivity platform as a service and providing services around IoT for enterprises.

Can you illustrate to us how you’ve been able to help operators enhance the services they offer by implementing your solutions?

Our product portfolio provides various advanced platforms and services focusing on improving the end user’s experience. Nokia’s advanced network planning and optimization (NPO) solutions based on innovative solutions and services have helped CSPs maximize the performance of the network infrastructure, so that they can deliver the best quality of experience to their customers with better data throughput, while also keeping CAPEX under tight control.

For example, operators have been able to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership by at least 20 percent through Nokia’s small cell planning, or increase spectral efficiency by more than 15 percent through advanced machine learning algorithms. AI can also help to improve customer experience with operators seeing a 60 percent reduction in Netflix or YouTube buffering and a 25 increase in MOS (mean opinion scores) for voice over LTE services.

Our unique capabilities such as 3-D geolocation and multi-layer optimization allow our customers to make the best of their existing network investments by only adding capacity when and where it is really needed.

5G is going to be a catalyst for a revolution in the ICT sector, and Nokia will be keen to establish and position itself as a leading player in

INTERVIEW this space. How does Nokia plan on achieving this, and what do you think it is about Nokia that differentiates itself from rival vendors like Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei?

Nokia is already working on 5G with customers around the globe. Today, we have more than 35 commercial 5G deals in place and are approaching 100 engagements.

What differentiates us is that the Nokia value proposition provides the simplest upgrade of existing radio access, core and transport resulting in faster time to market, higher reliability and less total cost of ownership for the deployment of 5G. Our 5G Future X end-to-end product and services portfolio covers optical and macro radio, fixed wireless access and cloud core, small cells and IP routing, network agnostic software and more.

As the head of services in the market, I also must highlight how our services capabilities differentiate Nokia. Our 5G acceleration services provide a step-by-step approach to help operators prepare for 5G, including the adoption of the right technology to back up the chosen use cases, the technology evolution involved and other considerations such as developing the required skills, tools and processes.

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geographies, concurrency of multiple workflows and evolution towards cognition and zero-touch vision, which means that automation takes’ care of many things.

What are the biggest challenges for operators in their efforts to commercially deploy 5G networks in the Middle East? The regulatory framework is regarded as being friendly for operators, but is the fact operators are reluctant to make significant investments in 5G until specific use cases are established the biggest obstacle for them?

Middle East and Africa region is currently more of a frontrunner in the launch and adaptation of are already on the path to be among the first globally to launch 5G commercially, starting with 5G fixed-wireless broadband (FWB) services back 2018 and adding 5G mobile services to 5G smartphones by mid-2019.

Our end-to-end Digital Design uses AI to simulate 5G use cases to accelerate real-world network design and ensure 5G networks meet business goals. We are moving away from capacity and coverage-based planning to a use case-based approach considering latency, reliability and throughput requirements.

In fact, 5G initiatives are foreseen to unlock considerable opportunities relating to the national transformation ambitions programs of the UAE and Saudi Arabia as they seek to improve public services and encourage economic diversification, particularly through the expansion of the knowledge- and technologybased sectors. Operators are though still likely to encounter significant challenges when it comes to implementing a network rollout plan that enables them to maximize the returns on their 4G investments.

Other challenges would be around the availability of spectrum, the conceptualization of new use cases and business models, and the integration or migration of IoT technologies.

In addition, with the increasing scale and complexity of networks, our customers are looking for faster deployment, faster rolling out of new services, improved operation and maintenance for better service reliability and experience. We are best positioned to address these pain points since our service delivery is designed for industrialization through reusability of digitized methods of procedures (MOPs) across

As for the regulatory reform policies and institutions needed to help MEA ICT sector to reach its potential, these are still catching up. Most MEA governments have started to set up regulatory authorities to oversee this rapidly growing sector. Rwanda, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa and the Seychelles are among the countries that have adopted ambitious ICT plans with a view to developing their knowledge-based economies.

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We have been helping flagship brands in the region to better utilize customer Loyalty initiatives through a win-win value creation with their business objectives in mind and their customer happiness at heart,” he said.

In a brilliant interview, the founder and managing partner of Related Inc. gave us a comprehensive overview of how customer loyalty has evolved over time and outlined in detail different techniques and methodologies to build powerful customer relationship programs.

How does Related help organizations and enterprises to build loyalty and retention programs?

Related Inc. is a marketing agency specialized in building and managing creative customer elationship programs. It is a one-stop shop that offers customer loyalty programs from strategy and design to implementation and management using cutting-edge technologies and the latest customer engagement techniques.

“We focus on making relationships more rewarding and profitable for both brands and customers through personalization and innovation” Rabih Farhat, founder and managing partner at Related Inc., has said that loyalty and incentive-based programs are key drivers to generate additional revenues for organizations while increasing customer engagement and satisfaction. Telecom Review managed to secure an exclusive interview with Rabih at a recent Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) summit which was held in Dubai.

The company has established itself as a major player in the loyalty industry in the Middle East and has a proven track record of helping organizations and brands transform the way they engage with their customers.

How can brands move away from building relationships with their customers that are based on customer spending, toward relationships based on the actual value that the customer brings to the organization?

The key is to get closer than ever to your customers, so close, that you know what they need before they know it themselves.

Today, enterprises have access to oceans of data; however, they’re still facing challenges in building a proper customer view based on needs and preferences. While segmentation by value remains a quick win for marketers, understanding customer preferences can unlock many untapped opportunities for additional purchases and interactions.

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We follow three guiding principles to build insightful and value-generating loyalty programs: • Understand your customer: 65% of Middle East consumers expect brands to know them personally and treat them individually. In this digital age where massive amounts of valuable customer data are generated every second from countless sources, Related has invested heavily in AI tools and resources to offer our clients useful business intelligence. We collect data from different sources and transform it to actionable insights such as predicting and recommending personalized rewards and communication based on customer behavior and lifestyle interest.

• Build an incentive scheme: Our clients’ loyalty programs are designed to reward customers on every transaction and interaction done with the brand throughout their journey while keeping our clients’ business success in mind. In order to offer customers a unique experience and reach past their wallet and straight for their heart, we have built a worldwide merchant network with more than 2,000 brands offering appealing and personalized deals and experiential treats. These partnerships guarantee a win-win to both client and merchant by attracting new customers, increasing the share of wallet and extending customer lifetime value.

• Keep engaging: 80% of consumers consider instant and fun as a key loyalty driver; we have introduced the first AR loyalty game in the Middle East bridging the virtual world with real benefits and rewards from merchants in their surroundings. With this initiative, we were able to enhance our client’s customer engagement by 7 times and to increase program enrollment by 12%.

What are the challenges that organizations are facing in the region today that prevent them from bringing to market powerful customer loyalty programs?

The strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown. Throughout our experience in the region, there have

INTERVIEW been three main challenges that organizations face when planning for a loyalty program: • The investment: Marketers tend to lose sight of the financial drivers behind loyalty programs initiatives and get distracted by things like “likes” on social media, sharing posts and increase of fan base. Drifting away from PNL will make it very challenging to get buy-in of senior management and stakeholders. We overcome this by offering to our clients the right loyalty topology and an accurate business model that will help them navigate through the uncertainties of building and launching a loyalty program.

• The technology: The biggest challenge is finding the right technology that is customizable, scalable and agile to integrate with internal legacy and external third party systems such as merchants, e-commerce, travel catalogs, etc.

Because data and insight are key to enhance and innovate around the program capabilities, advanced realtime reporting and dashboards are now a key requirement for any chosen technology.

• The resource: Having the right skillset is another challenge to ensure the successful delivery and ongoing management of the program while keeping track of performance and enhancement opportunity. Today, managed services models have shown efficiency in driving value and continuous innovation around customer loyalty programs.

Telecommunication operators have seen their traditional business models decimated by the emergence of OTTs. Can you tell us how Related is helping operators to generate new revenue opportunities outside of their core offering?

Today, telco operators across the region are struggling with market saturation, increased churn rates and declining customer ARPUs. Operators are on an ongoing quest to change this zerosum game and find new measures to better engage with their customers and maximize their lifetime value with the service providers.

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We help mobile operators across the region to transform their loyalty initiatives to revenue generation streams through profitable tie-ups we build within our merchant network.

In addition to the indirect revenue impact from acquisition increase, churn decrease and spend uplift, our smart programs were able to generate up to 5% on topline through monetization of merchant rewards and gamification.

Can you tell me why you’re in attendance at the IMA summit, and what is the value to being a partner in this association?

In the US, loyalty programs are part of the fundamentals of every successful business, and they’ve already moved from traditional to incentive-based loyalty programs. However, here in the Middle East, loyalty is still considered as a nice to have add-on offering.

Our role as a member of the IMA is to create the awareness at a market and executive level around the importance of loyalty programs for businesses to drive more customer insights, increase customer satisfaction, boost customer engagement and drive more revenues.

IMA is the right platform for experts to discuss loyalty matters, best practices and the latest innovations and perks.

For more information on Related, contact: info@related.me or visit the website: www.related.me

We have been helping flagships brands in the region to better utilize customer loyalty initiatives

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ICT FEATURE

Is data localization good or bad, and has GDPR been a success?

Data localization is a topic that has become a highly contentious issue in the ICT industry – and it is a political hot potato. There is a growing movement from a number of countries that data localization is a policy worth pursuing as it provides governments with the opportunity to take back control of their data from overseas conglomerates and multinational corporations who have cashed in on the valuable data.

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hose that support data localization claim the laws would give greater protection to individual users and give governments more leverage over tech companies.

However, many experts have predicted that allowing free countries to demand that companies store their data locally legitimizes that practice for authoritarian nations, which can then steal that data for nefarious purposes.

The introduction of the US Cloud Act has reinforced the narrative that data localization is something that countries should adopt now, not only to strengthen the protection it can offer its citizens, but also because it can provide a seismic boost to local economies.

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What is data localization?

Data localization or data residency law requires data about a nations’ citizens or residents be collected, processed and/ or stored inside the country, often before being transferred internationally, and usually transferred only after meeting local privacy or data protection laws, such as giving the user notice of how the information will be used and obtaining consent.

Why is there growing support for data localization?

The number of people advocating and supporting data localization proliferated following the revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden regarding the United States’ counter-terrorism surveillance programs in 2013.

Snowden leaked highly-classified information from the National Security Agency when he was a CIA employee.

Since then, a number of different governments all across Europe and globally have expressed a desire to be able to control the flow of residents’ data through technology.

However, some governments openly admit that they use data localization laws as a way to surveil their own citizens.

This is what major tech players and many thought leaders in the ICT industry have highlighted in their campaign against data localization.

Many governments have claimed that the introduction of data localization can trigger a boost in local economic activity.

Data protection expert at VFS Global, Barry Cook, pointed out that governments are actively pursuing the introduction of data localization laws for one of either two reasons.

Cook said, “In terms of how it all works, it really depends on how governments want to justify the use of data localization, and this is my personal opinion, it’s not the opinion of VFS Global. A lot of countries that do have data localization do it for probably one of two reasons. The first one is on grounds of national security in which they can protect their citizens’ data from being in the hands of other governments.

However, if you were being skeptical, you could make the case that data localization can be used for surveillance

ICT FEATURE by governments looking to keep a track on their own people.”

What is the US Cloud Act? The US Cloud Act is a federal law that was passed in 2018, which relates to the access to data by foreign companies.

Basically the US Cloud Act enables United States federal law enforcement to compel US-based technology companies via warrant to provide requested data on servers regardless of whether the data is stored in the US or on foreign soil.

In simplistic terms this means, for example, if an FBI agent is looking for information on an individual, it can compel Microsoft or Amazon Web Services by law to surrender the data it has on their servers even if the datacenter is located outside of the United States. This law is recognized by many within in the ICT spectrum as problematic, and they believe that it is one of the major reasons so many countries are seeking to impose data localization laws.

Cook added, “If you can’t use, say, Amazon Web Services because the government says you can’t offshore personal data, then you’re going to have to turn to local providers. However, economies of scale may make this more expensive for the SME. This has become more prevalent since the introduction of the US Cloud Act which is a piece of legislation that basically allows the US federal law enforcement agencies to compel American-based companies to surrender data even if those servers are not located in the US and are extraterritorial.”

GDPR, one year on, has it been a success?

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was swept into law last May in Europe and sent shockwaves through multiple industries, particularly those tasked with the responsibility of handling the sensitive data of EU users.

Businesses that rely on data in order for them to operate and function were forced to overhaul and transform the way they conducted their operations in a bid to become compliant with GDPR rules and regulations. Many found this a challenge, and in truth, a lot are still trying to come to terms with the cultural changes they need

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to enforce in order to become compliant.

The primary objective of GDPR was to quite simply give the power back to the individual user. It promised that citizens would be able to regain control of their personal data.

It is now just over a year since GDPR was introduced, so the question remains, has it been a success?

Danny Allan, vice president, Product Strategy, Veeam, acknowledged that there had been a phenomenal amount of fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding GDPR since it was introduced. Now the noise has settled somewhat. Allan is in reflective mood, and believes that two of the key characteristics that stand out on GDPR 12 months on are that it’s both specific and has teeth.

Allan said, “The impact of these characteristics is that data privacy is now recognized globally, similar to the way basic human rights are considered. Not only should any business that processes data want to respect GDPR, but they are now required by the EU to do so. This can be viewed as forward momentum and a success for the technology industry.

Technology is unable to reach its full potential until consumers have the trust required in the security and privacy associated with their data.”

What’s next for GDPR? Allan believes that GDP is working, but stressed that the impact of GDPR has been invisible, but significant. He highlighted a Cisco research which found that 75 percent of customers are realizing broader benefits from their privacy investments, citing better agility and innovation resulting from better data management. But what’s next?

Allan said, “There won’t be a radical shift from a regulatory perspective in the next year. Simply put, GDPR is working. The result is that we can expect more of the same from data privacy regulators: more fines, harsher penalties and further efforts to expose incompliance. I do feel one interesting area to watch is whether the types of conversations GDPR is forcing CIOs to have will lead to repercussions at a global level, particularly when it comes to data privacy practices in countries such as China and the USA.”

OPERATORS’ NEWS

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EITC launches strategic partnership with leading OTT player Following the successful launch of YuppTV in the region, du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has launched a strategic partnership with YuppTV, being one of the leading OTT platforms, to offer its South Asian subscribers unlimited access to 150+ premium TV channels and over 3,000 on demand movies in 10 languages.

This means that du subscribers can now enjoy the best of South Asian content on up to four of their chosen devices upon subscribing to du’s Home plans and packages.

REDEFINING POWER SOLUTIONS

Zahra Zayat, vice president Middle East and North Africa, YuppTV, said: “We are very excited to announce our strategic partnership with du. From now on, YuppTV will be offering du customers unlimited entertainment of over 150 channels and 3000+ popular movies featuring premium South Asian channels such as Colors, Zee, Asianet, Colors, Sun and many more.

This collaboration comes as part of our plan to increase our market share in UAE and the rest of the Gulf where over 55 percent of the population is South Asian. Du and YuppTV share the same commitment to provide customers superior quality and service by giving them more ways to enjoy the

premium content they want, anytime and anywhere at a price that is fit for their pocket.”

Amr Eldesouky, executive vice president of Consumer Services, du, said: “At du, we strive to deliver premium entertainment packages that meet the tastes and trends of our various customer segments. With the launch of this partnership with YuppTV, we are able to enhance our du Home plans even further by adding everyday value and benefits to a wider proportion of our subscriber base.

By offering access to YuppTV’s large catalogue, du customers can now look forward to enjoying unlimited South Asian entertainment with access to premium content such as Colors, Zee, Sun, Asianet and Star, anytime and anywhere.”

Revolutionizing the way TV is viewed across the world; YuppTV has over 25,000 hours of entertainment content catalogues in its library across all genres including movies, series, Cricket Sports, TV shows, Kids and News.

Du’s South Asian subscribers can now watch their favorite content on four devices simultaneously, anytime anywhere, in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali and many more.

STC reinforces its commitment to empowering women with new appointments Hybrid Solutions Guaranteeing OPEX Reduction

www.iptpowertech.com

Saudi telecommunications incumbent STC (Saudi Telecom Company) has officially announced the appointment of Fay Al-Alshaikh as its Product Portfolio Strategy GM in EBU.

empower women in executive positions such as general manager of ICT School in STC Academy Mudhi Al-Jamea, and manager of sustainability program Maha Al-Nuhait in Saudi Arabia.

The company confirmed that appointing Al-Alshaikh reflects and reinforces its commitment to empowering women in executive positions and to recruit Saudi Arabian qualified talents in the field of CIT. This follows several appointments in 2019 to

She also worked in other international brands like Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, and during her career she has held multiple leadership and advisory positions and is considered one of the Saudi experts in the enterprise business.

OPERATORS’ NEWS

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Etisalat gives its subscribers access to 5G in a regional first Etisalat made a landmark announcement giving its subscribers an opportunity to be the first in the MENA region to experience the new super-fast 5G network on 5G smartphones. Etisalat subscribers can now enjoy the blazing speed of the 5G network up to 1Gbps and lower latency around 1 millisecond

vehicles, 3D printing, wearable technology and more.

At around 20 times faster than 4G and with ultra-low latency, 5G service will allow users to stream live 4K resolution video anywhere at any time, with virtually no lag.

Etisalat customers can enjoy 5G access on ZTE Axon 10 Pro, the first available 5G device offered by the UAE operator. This launch is the first in line of 5G devices from leading global smart phone brands expected to be unveiled this year from Etisalat.

Etisalat customers now have the opportunity to experience 5G and purchase ZTE Axon 10 Pro from Marina mall in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Mall.

Additionally, customers may also opt to buy with flexible Smart Pay plans on a 12, 18 or 24 month contract starting from only AED 241.

The breakthrough achievement in 5G will enable subscribers to enjoy and unleash highly connected technologies blending physical and digital realms from AR and VR to IoT, AI, autonomous

5G network will be available for all Etisalat postpaid, prepaid, consumer and business customers using a 5G devices.

All customers will be able to use existing data packs on the 5G network.

Virgin Mobile is 5G ready Virgin Mobile is offering its customers an opportunity to be amongst the first to experience the power of the 5G network in the UAE. Virgin Mobile has announced that it is offering its customers the chance to be amongst the first to get connected on the new 5G network via a dedicated preregistration website.

Customers are now able to sign up to be the first to know when they can get their hands on a cutting-edge 5G-enabled mobile device.

UAE residents were also able to experience a live demonstration of the 5G network at an event which happened over the month of May. It kicked off on the 8th of May in one of the first locations where the 5G network is available, Dubai Design District, and all were welcome to attend.

Karim Benkirane, managing director at Virgin Mobile UAE, commented: “The world is going mobile and people are consuming more data every year, particularly as the popularity of video and

REINVENTING TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE

music streaming increases. Whatever we do now with our smartphones, we’ll be able to do faster and better on the 5G network, and we want Virgin Mobile customers to be ready to experience this.”

“5G is about so much more than just fast download speeds and lower latency,” continued Benkirane. “What’s really exciting is the sheer number of new digital services that will be enabled by the 5G network that we can’t foresee. The internet of things, for example, will make homes smarter, and new possibilities will open for customers through enhanced mobile artificial intelligence and virtual reality. 5G will usher a new chapter in the digital world, and as a brand with digital in our DNA, Virgin Mobile is poised to be an innovator at the forefront of this new era.”

Existing and new customers with a 5G-enabled device will be able to benefit from super-fast download speeds and incredible responsiveness available via 5G on the network. 5G-enabled mobile devices are set to launch in UAE sometime in June 2019.

Building, Renovating & Maintaining Telecom Infrastructure

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OPERATORS’ NEWS

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EITC presents future of 5G to customers Du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), is showcasing the future of 5G to guests and customers who visit the company’s Al Majlis at the Madinat Jumeirah throughout Ramadan.

Demonstrating the differences between the 4G network and 5G connectivity through a live interaction, du is giving people the opportunity to interact with 5G technology and learn about the potential this will deliver for consumers, enterprises and government entities in the UAE. “5G networks will introduce a connected experience like nothing before, while also ushering innovative possibilities and better capabilities for all,” said Saleem AlBooshi, CTO at EITC. “By enabling customers to witness the immense benefits that 5G

"LEADING T-ESCO GLOBALLY"

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Presenting the future of 5G at du’s Al Majlis, du’s senior executive team provided a detailed demonstration to the company’s guests on the importance of 5G and the vast differences it has compared to 4G. Earlier this month, du welcomed new and existing customers across the country to visit its to learn about the benefits and potential that 5G mobile and industrial connectivity will bring.

The telco plans to be one of the first providers in the world to make next generation connectivity available when its rolls out its world-class 5G network later in 2019.

STC partners with Philips to transform healthcare in KSA Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, is partnering with STC, the largest telecom operator in the Middle East, to rollout telehealth solutions powered by artificial intelligence in a move that could transform the ability to diagnose and treat patients in remote and rural areas. The telehealth solutions provided by Philips allow hospitals and clinics anywhere in the country to be connected to command centers, through which doctors in other locations can treat patients remotely, providing better access to higher quality and more cost-effective care.

Combining Power Solutions with Telecom Infrastructure and field Managed Services

will bring first-hand through our live demonstration, we are proud to be opening up a window to the future of network connectivity within the UAE.”

With healthcare in Saudi Arabia free to all Saudi residents and expatriate workers in the public sector, national healthcare financing is under strain from rapid demographic changes, an increase in sedentary lifestyles, rising costs, increasing user expectations and changing disease patterns. The cost-efficiencies brought by telehealth solutions are therefore key, with the command center technology allowing one doctor to treat up to 150 patients a day. Electronic Intensive Care

Units (eICUs) provide an additional layer of critical care service, with centralized co-located caregivers able to view interfaced physiologic data via workstations of six to eight monitors and monitor patients anywhere in a hospital or across multiple hospitals to help detect critical issues and intervene before these advance. The monitoring of respiratory and sleep conditions is also made possible through services such as TeleRespiratory and TeleSleep.

The combination of artificial intelligence and the data processing power of STC’s full range of cloud computing services means high volumes of patient data can be analyzed in order to rapidly and accurately diagnose, treat and predict, remove human error, identify patterns and make real-time decisions. This can include analysis of patients’ vital signs to predict whether their status is set to deteriorate or improve, and whether they can be discharged in the next 24 hours or not, meaning length of hospital stay can potentially be shortened. It can also analyses history of illness to predict future patient outcomes.

JUNE 2019

OPERATORS’ NEWS

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Vodafone Egypt deploys Nokia Subscriber Data Management for faster rollout of LTE services Nokia is deploying a cloud-based Subscriber Data Management (SDM) solution that will enable Vodafone Egypt to offer innovative services to its 4G customers.

The deployment, under the Spring SDM project, will help Egypt’s largest service provider to continue transforming its operations around telco cloud technology.

and implementation services to enable a smooth transition to the SDM solution.

The deployment is a significant step in the complete transformation of Vodafone Egypt’s network to continue providing the best-in-class services to its subscribers.

The adoption of Nokia’s Telco Cloud Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) helps Vodafone Egypt scale its network to meet unprecedented increases in data traffic while simplifying its operational model.

Also, by deploying Nokia Registers, Vodafone Egypt is able to manage its subscriber data and authentication from a centralized location and across all technologies regardless of whether they are fixed or mobile. This leads to better network efficiency and faster, smoother introduction of new services.

The Nokia SDM solution is currently used for other applications, such as Mobile Number Portability (MNP) and Equipment Identity Register (EIR).

Nokia also provides cloud integration

As a result, it will enable Vodafone Egypt to maintain its leadership position while significantly reducing the time-to-market for the launch of new services.

FLEXIBLE OPERATING OFFERINGS

Etisalat offers permanent speed upgrades to eLife customers Etisalat customers will now experience one of the fastest broadband speeds in the region from the comfort of their homes, enhancing their experience while using multiple smart devices at one time.

The entry-level plan, ‘eLife Starter’ will now offer 250 Mbps; The unlimited Sports and Entertainment plans offer 500 Mbps and with Premium plans offer speeds towards 1 Gbps.

Today, Etisalat has raised the benchmark for home entertainment by delivering an incredible 12x greater broadband speed on its advertised entry plan compared to just a year ago. The speeds have now more than doubled for eLife home entertainment packages permanently, at no extra charge.

Existing customers of the older generation of eLife triple play plans called eLife value packs (Family, Sports, Entertainment, Combo and Premium) will also enjoy a speed doubling.

This upgrade is a result of the company’s long-term vision and strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to empower societies’ with Etisalat continually investing in innovation, next generation technologies and services to enhance the network. The UAE is ranked number one for fiber to the home (FTTH) penetration across the world for a third year in a row.

‘eLife Unlimited’ allows subscribers to enjoy all the premium content from major TV broadcasters, media and content companies such as MBC, OSN and StarzPlay on one box to ensure nonstop entertainment is delivered to every household in the country. The speed upgrade is automatically applied to all eligible customers without any changes to their commitments or any need to opt-in, they will simply enjoy the new speeds.

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JUNE 2019

INTERVIEW

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VFS Global executive outlines how SMEs can avoid GDPR pitfalls A data protection expert at VFS Global has outlined some of the key measures that SMEs can implement when attempting to comply with Europe’s reformatory new data privacy legislation GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

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DPR was brought into effect in May of last year by the European Union, in an effort to enable citizens to take back control of their own personal data. The comprehensive regulation has been welcomed by many, but it has proved to be a thorny issue for many companies attempting to align their business in tandem with the policies of GDPR. GDPR is a robust policy and any failure to adhere to its rules can see enterprises being hit with huge fines, and these penalties, particularly for SMEs and startups, can be potentially devastating.

VFS Global is an outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide that is headquartered in Dubai. The company manages visa and

Barry Cook, data protection officer, VFS Global passport issuance-related administrative and non-discretionary tasks for its client governments.

Telecom Review managed to secure an exclusive with Barry Cook, data protection officer at VFS Global, who was tasked with the responsibility of overseeing and managing the GDPR project for VFS Global. The experienced ICT expert has enjoyed a decorated career, working mostly with financial services companies in Switzerland, which is where he is also based for VFS Global.

In a brilliantly in-depth and informative interview, Cook delivered forensic insight into the many challenges companies are facing in terms of getting to grips with the requirements of GDPR. He highlighted some key steps they can take to avoid any draconian fines and also offered his views on the controversial topics of data localization and the US Cloud Act.

VFS Global Cook was appointed by VFS Global around 15 months ago in order to align the company with the requirements of GDPR. According to Cook, they had already conducted a gap analysis, and knew roughly where they needed to go.

He said, “My position is primarily a compliance role, and my objective is to make sure the company complies with data protection regulations, not just the GDPR, but any other laws that are applicable in the 147 countries that we operate in. In terms of the framework we designed, I took the GDPR as the baseline for the company, so our corporate policy is based on the main components of GDPR. What I do is take the tenants of the GDPR and flow that down into how we implement it at the grassroots level. In some cases, it’s not even a requirement because many countries don’t have data protection laws, but regardless, what we’ll do is make sure that this sort of gold

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standard if you like is flowed down to wherever we do operations.”

Legacy Cook acknowledged that the foundations at VFS Global were strong and that the company had been engaging in good practices and had a good standard already established.

Cook added, “VFS Global has always had a good standard in place. It was primarily driven by IT security prior to when I came along. There are a lot of similarities between data privacy and IT security, and when you’ve got a good framework in place, which we have, then you can slot out the drivers and slot in new ones relatively easily.”

Data liability GDPR has been welcomed globally by many ICT commentators and thoughtleaders, but it also has presented a huge challenge for many companies and SMEs trying to become compliant. However, Cook has offered some expert advice which can help them navigate their way around GDPR, which is perceived by many as being a complex legislation.

Cook said, “Companies and SMEs need to examine the data they’ve got, and minimize the data they have, because whilst data is undeniably an asset, it is also a liability. If you’re not using it properly and you don’t need it, then it becomes a real liability. So, what I would recommend to SMEs is for them to examine the data they’ve got, find out where it exists, know what data they’ve got in all their processes and then document the processes.”

Cook also pointed out that when you’ve got all your processes properly documented then decision-making is simpler and faster, and also it reduces the time required to respond to enquiries about privacy.

Need, want and drop The data protection officer at VFS Global revealed that he uses a ‘need, want and drop’ approach when harvesting his own data. He stressed that companies should adopt this approach in order to identify what data they actually need and what data they can disregard if they don’t actually need it.

INTERVIEW Cook said, “What I do is use a need, want and drop filter. So basically, what that means is if you need that data for your core business then you’ve obviously got to keep it - and you have to look for a lawful basis for processing it under GDPR. You should use a lawful basis other than consent. If you want that data because it’s nice to have, typically that’s marketing data, then you can use consent as your lawful basis. However, if you can’t find any reason to lawfully have that data then you’ve got to drop it.”

Defining consent According to Cook, one of the biggest challenges under GDPR is defining the lawful basis to process personal data.

Cook claimed that most companies will ask people for their consent. However, Cook believes this is the wrong approach especially if the data you’re asking consent for is essential to your core business operations.

Cook continued, “For a commercial organization, consent is probably one of the most difficult to handle because if you need that data to do your core business and you’re relying on consent, then what happens if someone withdraws that consent? If they withdraw the consent then you’ve got big, big problems because you can’t fundamentally do your core business.

If a company needs the personal data then they should look for a different lawful basis other than consent.

What we use a lot is “performance of contract”; that’s my lawful basis as a company - to process your personal data because I’m in a contract with you, the data provider. And to fulfill that contract that you willingly entered in to with me, I will have to process your data.”

Cook said that if the data falls into that ‘need’ column, then do anything else other than consent.

He said, “If it falls in the want column ‘it’s nice to have’, then you can use consent. It’s quite a simple acid test for companies to do. And if you can’t find any other lawful basis to process the data then get rid of it because you shouldn’t have it anyway.”

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Data localization Cook said the topic of data localization has become a political hot potato and has become a central issue in political negotiations.

Cook said, “Data protection and data privacy laws are becoming the new trade embargoes around the world. As we well know, data is an asset. So as a government, you can flex your muscle by having some control, certainly if it’s extra territorial, over your citizens’ data.

It is rapidly becoming the weapon of choice for governments in geo-political disputes.”

How does it work?

Cook expressed his opinions on data localization, but stressed that they were his beliefs and that they didn’t represent the views of VFS Global.

He said, “In terms of how it all works, it really depends on how governments want to justify the use of data localization - and this is my personal opinion, it’s not the opinion of VFS Global. A lot of countries that do have data localization, do it for probably one of two reasons.

The first one is on grounds of national security in which they can protect their citizens’ data from being in the hands of other governments. However, if you were being skeptical, you could make the case that data localization can be used for surveillance by governments looking to keep a track on their own people.”

According to Cook, the other justification that governments use for its introduction is to boost local economies. He added, “If you can’t use, say, Amazon Web Services because the government says you can’t offshore personal data, then you’re going to have to turn to local providers.

However, economies of scale may make this more expensive for the SME. This has become more prevalent since the introduction of the US Cloud Act, which is a piece of legislation that allows the US federal law enforcement agencies to compel American-based companies to surrender data even if those servers are not located in the United States. What it means is the FBI, if they’re interested in an individual, can compel Microsoft or Amazon Web Services, or any other USbased company to surrender that data even if it is extra-territorial.”

JUNE 2019

ICT FEATURE

Telcos’ metamorphosis starts with the network Telcos are increasingly adopting a customer-centric approach as the world prepares for the 4th industrial revolution. A seamless customer service is now their ultimate goal, and in order to achieve that, improved network quality is, of course, their first recourse. For the network to enable such a great experience, a complete makeover is required.

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he network is considered the telcos’ largest asset and the greatest source of data. That is why it should be reinvented in order to fully leverage it to serves customers’ needs. Companies often link the network with cost-cutting while the real change is led by commercial units or the IT team. However, the approach to networks has now changed given that it can be more digital and customizable.

Artificial intelligence and data analytics will allow the network to become

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the key enabler of any telcos’ digital journey. According to McKinsey, telcos can fully realize the potential of the network of the future by ensuring that it is defined by five key characteristics: modular, agile, automated, personalized and insight-generating.

The network of the future will be software-based and modular, or network as a service (NaaS). It will be able to adapt to customers’ needs quickly and more efficiently.

Modularity, however, requires end-to-end process changes and simplification, notably with the deployment of new technologies such as NFV and software defined networking (SDN).

The network and business teams should collaborate to establish the use cases and roadmap that will facilitate the deployment of technology solutions. Furthermore, adopting the NaaS model requires focusing more on service management development and software development rather than on engineering and operations.

Network teams’ organization is essential for telcos to leverage the new network model. Nowadays, the major functions include planning, engineering and operations; however, in the digital era, a team’s organization should be overhauled. The new structure should be agile to be able to respond to customer demands immediately.

An article by McKinsey highlights two potential models presented to telcos to choose the scope of agile transformation within the network team. The first model is based on the nature of activities. Functions that have shorter lead times and are closer to the customer, such as provisioning and configuration changes, move to an agile model, while infrastructure changes that require longer lead times remain traditionally managed. In the second model, all functions are moved into agile tribes.

Several choices exist for the agile organizational design such as flow to work, self-managing teams, end-toend cross-functional teams and agile overlay.

ICT FEATURE Automation is also one of the key characteristics of the network of the future. The adoption of analytics and automation is increasing which is why network teams have to embark of their automation journey. In order to succeed, ensuring end-to-end digitization across the network lifecycle, as opposed to tactical automation of a single process, is essential. In addition, a great attention should be given to the digital architecture that supports network deployment.

Network teams should consider how they can build a modern, futureproof digital architecture that allows them to reduce their technical debt, adapt rapidly to new technologies, and capture and build on a wealth of data about the network, according to McKinsey.

NaaS will be accompanied by high demand on customized bandwidth for different types of services. This is where network slicing plays a key role.

In fact, it gives operators the ability to offer personalization at different levels. At the B2B level, they can provide different services such as IoT; whereas, at the B2C level, operators can differentiate among the bandwidths being offered to various customer segments. Therefore, operators will be able to adopt new business models based on hyper-personalization that requires close coordination with business teams.

Valuable information on customers is stored in the network which includes mobility patterns, call-usage records and credit information, among others.

Advanced analytics solutions are providing operators with insights on consumers’ behaviors. In order to benefit from these insights, a crossteam collaboration is needed between the network teams and other teams such as the marketing and finance teams.

When it comes to data architecture and strategy, and in an environment dominated by budget constraints, network teams should optimize value from existing investments which can be only achieved through the evaluation of data strategies.

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Network transformation should happen in parallel with the enhancement of the CTO’s role which should revolve around driving digital transformation.

Concrete actions should be undertaken by network teams now to achieve this long-term vision; otherwise, network teams might face an increasingly uphill task, and offering the best network to subscribers might come at a heavy price.

According to McKinsey, “Network teams should define a holistic endstate idea for networks based on the five elements of the network of the future, their own guiding principles and the operating models required to achieve them. Network teams should also consider conducting proofs of concept in selected areas (for example, agile B2B provisioning or analyticsdriven field dispatch) to start making the vision a reality.”

Changing mindsets is the first step towards this long-term transformation.

The whole future of a company can rely on the reinvention of the network which can only be done with the commitment and dedication of CTOs and network teams. The whole future of a company depends on customer satisfaction and the network is a key.

Network teams should consider how they can build a modern, future-proof digital architecture

JUNE 2019

VENDORS’ NEWS

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Huawei Intelligent Computing ranks top 3 in Q4 2018 by revenue increase of 8.5%. Server shipments grew by 13.1% in 2018 and contributed to a 30.1% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

A press release by IT research company Gartner revealed that Huawei servers were ranked third globally by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018 with a 45.9% year on year growth rate, the highest for servers in the world.

Gartner, a company known for being a global leader in IT research and advisory, issued a press release with the title Gartner says worldwide server revenue grew 17.8 % in the fourth quarter of 2018, while shipments increased 8.5 %.

In Q4 2018, the global server revenue was $21.862 billion with a 17.8% rate of year on year increase.

According to the press release, 3,472,886 severs were shipped globally which amounted to a year on year

Different industries are trying to achieve digital transformation through the use of new, disruptive technologies to maximize their full potential. As the digital transformation unfolds globally, it is expected that the IT infrastructure scale of enterprises will increase over the next few years.

Traditional datacenters are currently facing many challenges such as operating expenditure stress from power consumption, equipment footprint and O&M manpower and costs. The digital transformation is expected to solve, if not ease, such issues.

Huawei has invested a great deal in this trend so it has great insight into how datacenters can confront such challenges and achieve digital transformation. Huawei Intelligent Computing has developed several research and development initiatives to look into three general areas: intelligent acceleration engine, innovative

datacenter solution and intelligent management engine.

The tech giant has upgraded its traditional servers and is now using intelligent servers. They also provide tiered solutions which cover the single-node, large-scale and ultralarge-scale deployment scenarios to address the requirements of the digital transformation in datacenters.

Huawei recently launched its Ascend 310/910 AI chipsets earlier this year and the Kunpeng 920 ARM-based CPU last year. The chipsets have improved the company’s intelligent computing offerings such as the Atlas AI computing platform and TaiShan series servers. The products also cover the cloud-edge-device scenarios.

Huawei is in a favorable position regarding its efforts to transform datacenters for customers, facilitate great success and enable industry transformation.

Gartner’s report found that Huawei has been No.1 for several consecutive quarters in the Chinese market due to shipments of blade servers and foursocket servers.

ZTE signs agreement for 4G network expansion in Indonesia

Chinese telecommunications behemoth ZTE Corporation has signed an agreement with Indonesia’s Smartfren for 4G network expansion and 5G network trials.

The agreement was signed by Merza Fachys, president director of Smartfren, Gandi Sulistyanto, chairman of Smartfren, Liang Weiqi, president director of ZTE Indonesia, and Mei Zhonghua, senior vice president of ZTE at Indonesia - China Business Forum.

“The agreement this time will definitely bring the partnerships between ZTE and Smartfren to a new level,” said Mei Zhonghua, senior vice president at ZTE. “We are pleased to be chosen for the development of Indonesia’s telecommunications infrastructure, so as to improve Indonesia’s national broadband network quality.”

Merza Fachys said, “We are pleased to collaborate with ZTE for developing

5G technology at Smartfren. We’re preparing to conduct 5G trial very soon in Indonesia. Collaboration with ZTE is not just for the development of 5G; ZTE is still working with Smartfren to expand 4G networks in Indonesia.

Hopefully with this collaboration, we will have better quality of telecommunications services in Indonesia.”

Devoted to the telecommunications industry in Indonesia for more than 20 years, ZTE has established solid partnerships with major Indonesian operators and companies, providing them with the training platforms.

ZTE is committed to providing integrated end-to-end innovations, delivering excellent products and services to the local consumers in Indonesia.

JUNE 2019

VENDORS’ NEWS

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Huawei launches AI-Native database

Following the announcement of its AI strategy and full-stack, all-scenario AI solutions in 2018, Huawei launched the AI-Native database GaussDB and the highest-performance distributed storage FusionStorage 8.0 in Beijing.

The aim of this launch is to redefine data infrastructure through a data + intelligence strategy.

Committed to building a fully connected, intelligent world, Huawei is a major contributor to ICT infrastructure and smart devices. The leading ICT product and solutions provider continues to invest and innovate in AI computing power, algorithms and labeled data with many breakthroughs.

GaussDB represents two major breakthroughs:

First, GaussDB pioneers the embedding of AI capabilities into the full lifecycle of distributed databases, making their self-O&M, self-tuning, selfdiagnosis and self-healing possible.

In online analytical processing (OLAP), online transaction processing (OLTP) and hybrid transaction/analytical processing (HTAP) scenarios, GaussDB uses the optimality theory to create the industry’s first reinforcement learning self-tuning algorithm, improving tuning performance by over 60%.

Secondly, thanks to its innovative heterogeneous computing framework, GaussDB harnesses the power of diversified computing, including x86, ARM, GPU and NPU computing. In the TPC-DS benchmark test, GaussDB ranked No.1 in terms of performance, 50% higher than the industry average.

GaussDB supports multiple deployment scenarios, including local deployment and deployment on private or public clouds. On HUAWEI CLOUD, GaussDB provides a full spectrum of high performance data warehouse services for customers in financial,

internet, logistics, education and automotive industries.

The intelligent world will raise standards even higher for the performance, scale and manageability of storage systems.

In response, FusionStorage 8.0 offers three innovative features: First, FusionStorage 8.0 boasts the industry’s highest distributed storage performance. In the SPC-1 test, FusionStorage 8.0’s read-write performance per node reached 168,000 IOPS in 1ms, powering distributed storage for the first time to support critical enterprise applications.

Secondly, FusionStorage 8.0 simultaneously supports block, file, object and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) protocols, allowing a single storage system to manage an entire datacenter.

Thirdly, FusionStorage 8.0 integrates AI into full-lifecycle storage management, from resource planning and service provisioning, to system optimization, risk prediction and fault location.

Qualcomm and Lenovo launch the world’s first 5G PC Project Limitless is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8cx 5G compute.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), announced in conjunction with Lenovo™ the world’s first1 5G PC2 today at its COMPUTEX Press Conference.

Project Limitless encompasses a strong technology collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. a leader in 5G connectivity, and Lenovo, the leader in PCs, to bring innovation to the always on, always connected PC ecosystem.

The Snapdragon 8cx 5G compute platform is the most extreme Snapdragon platform ever designed, with extreme performance, extreme battery life and extreme connectivity.

It supports immersive user experiences, multi-gigabit LTE, multi-day battery life*, and enterprise applications and security. The platform features the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X55 5G modem, a single-chip multi-mode solution which along with Qualcomm Technologies’ RF Front-End, allows OEMs to bring 5G connectivity to new and innovative PC form factors.

The Snapdragon 8cx 5G platform includes the Snapdragon X55 5G

modem, which integrates Category 22 LTE, achieving peak download speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps, for the fastest 4G connectivity available today.

The platform is compatible with virtually any band used by global operators in any region, so users can rely on their always on, always connected PC to stay connected almost anywhere in the world.

The 5G-enabled Project Limitless collaboration with Lenovo is the latest example of how Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world connects, computes and communicates.

Consumers can expect more to come from Lenovo and Qualcomm in early 2020.

JUNE 2019

VENDORS’ NEWS

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Nokia to help Ooredoo Qatar take 5G lead with cloud native core network Nokia AirFrame, CloudBand, voice and Cloud Packet Core VNFs, and Nuage Networks software defined network (SDN) are being deployed in the core network.

Ooredoo Qatar has selected Nokia to build a 5G cloud native core network to support delivery of enhanced mobile broadband services. Nokia’s solution will be deployed in Ooredoo’s state-of-the-art datacenters in Qatar’s capital city Doha.

The cloud-based architecture for core network is scalable, agile and flexible, making it reliable and suitable for extreme mobile broadband and massive/critical machine communication services.

Ooredoo Qatar has emerged as a leader in the global 5G ecosystem and has already tested a number of exciting 5G use cases, including 5G aerial taxis and drones. The company is waiting for the availability of 5G devices to rollout commercial 5G services in the near future. This initiative with Nokia takes Ooredoo Qatar closer to bringing innovative 5G use cases to its customers.

Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi, chief operating officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “The modernization of our core network will enhance our capabilities to innovate with new services. It will also help us to meet additional demands for high speed

data services in general as well as bursts in demand, particularly in upcoming mega sporting events. Our 5G network will open the flood-gates for machine learning, automation and micro-services use cases for consumer and business customers in the country.”

Bernard Najm, head of the Middle East Market Unit at Nokia, said: “We are excited to partner with Ooredoo Qatar to set up a 5G core network that is truly ‘cloud native’ from the ground up, not just an evolution of current core solutions. Our solution supports all flavors of mobile access network technologies and enables our customers to bring new 5G services to market rapidly. The solution provides the low latency, high throughput and content-rich services that will support Ooredoo Qatar’s business goals immediately and well into the future.”

Huawei overtakes Apple in global smartphone sales 2019, which interestingly represents a decline of 6.6% from the same period in 2018.

Chinese ICT behemoth Huawei has overtaken Apple in smartphone sales following the opening quarter of 2019, in what is becoming an increasingly more competitive and volatile market.

Huawei now jumps into 2nd place ahead of the US iPhone manufacturer in a market dominated by South Korean juggernaut Samsung.

According to data from Chinese-owned International Data Corporation a total of 310.8 million smartphone were shipped globally during the first three months of

What will be most concerning for smartphone manufacturers is that for the sixth consecutive quarter global smartphone shipments have been in decline. IDC is projecting that the early results indicate that 2019 will be another down year overall for smartphone shipments, apart from strong growth enjoyed by Huawei.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Huawei is laser focused on growing its stature in the world of mobile devices, with smartphones being its lead horse,” said IDC mobile device program director Ryan Reith.

“The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50%.”

South Korean consumer electronics behemoth Samsung saw smartphone

shipments drop 8.1% to 71.9 million in the first quarter.

In contrast, Huawei weighed in with 50.3 percent growth to ship 59.1 million smartphones and put it within “striking distance” of Samsung, according to IDC. Apple has endured a fraught first quarter and has encountered a number of obstacles, most alarming is iPhone shipments have dropped by a staggering 30.2% from a year earlier to 36.4 million units, IDC reported.

“Consumers continue to hold on to their phones longer than before as newer higher priced models offer little incentive to shell out top dollar to upgrade,” said IDC research manager Anthony Scarsella.

“Moreover, the pending arrival of 5G handsets could have consumers waiting until both the networks and devices are ready for prime time in 2020.”

JUNE 2019

VENDORS’ NEWS

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ZTE partners with China Unicom on 5G networking equipment precision synchronization equipment and high precision positioning equipment.

ZTE, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, announced that it has showcased a carrier-grade 5G high precision positioning network equipment in partnership with China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute at Xiong’an 5G Innovation Development Cooperation Conference.

ZTE’s high precision positioning network equipment includes high

The high precision synchronization equipment can construct a nanosecond-level synchronous network. The high precision positioning equipment can realize the meter-level positioning accuracy in complex scenarios.

Based on the wide-area high precision positioning solution of 5G in-band high precision ground positioning network, ZTE can realize the kilometer coverage of indoor and outdoor seamless high precision positioning at the meter level, and improve the positioning accuracy of traditional basestations by about two magnitudes.

The high precision synchronization

network and positioning network provided by ZTE and China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute offer a carrier-grade solution, effectively addressing the service challenges in urban and indoor scenarios.

At Xiong’an 5G Innovation Development Cooperation Conference, China Unicom also inaugurated China Unicom Smart City Research Institute and announced 5G+ Beidou High Precision Positioning Open Laboratory. ZTE is one of the first members of the laboratory.

As long-term strategic partners, ZTE and China Unicom will have in-depth cooperation in the fields of smart city and smart transportation, and carry out emerging intelligent services based on the high precision positioning technology.

Huawei proceeds with plan B and announces its own soon-to-be launched OS transfer of American technology to the firm.

“Today, Huawei, we are still committed to Microsoft Windows and Google Android,” Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s consumer business, told CNBC. “But if we cannot use that, Huawei will prepare the plan B to use our own OS.” The Global Times, a Chinese state-run daily, reported that the platform - named “HongMeng” - was undergoing trials and will gradually replace the Android system.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei says it could roll out its own operating system for smartphones and laptops in China by the autumn after the United States blacklisted the company. The international version of the system could be ready in the first or second quarter of 2020, said

Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business.

The company is going through a difficult period with Google’s recent decision to partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android OS following a US order banning the sale or

“We don’t want to do this but we will forced to do that because of the US government. I think the US, this kind of thing, will also not only be bad news for us, but also bad news for the US companies because we support US businesses,” Yu told CNBC. “We don’t want to do this but we have no other solution, no other choice.”

The US Commerce Department, which added Huawei and 68 of its affiliates to an “entity list”, announced a 90-day reprieve, allowing some services to continue.

JUNE 2019

COVERAGE

5G and internet of things ‘debunked’ at NetEvents19

A number of leading analysts from the ICT industry have expressed their opinion that 5G is overhyped, and that the current internet of things security landscape is a ‘mess’. The barbed comments were made at the latest installment of NetEvents19 EMEA IT Spotlight which was held in the stunning Spanish city of Barcelona on May 9-10.

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nder the leadership and tutelage of Mark Fox, the symposium has firmly established itself as one of the most important forums in the IT security calendar and has a decorated history of putting on informative and highly engaging conferences.

NetEvents19 was no different, and once again attracted some of the ICT industry’s most prominent thoughtleaders and experts.

Under the spotlight were a number of hot industry topics such as cloud, datacenter technologies, cybersecurity, internet of things, artificial intelligence and 5G.

JUNE 2019

5G has been the recurring buzzword at every global ICT event for the last number of years, but there is growing skepticism, not so much on its capabilities, but when we can really expect it to experience the benefits of the technology that has been described as ‘revolutionary’.

Ian Keene, research vice president at Gartner, delivered a keynote presentation on 5G, and subsequently moderated a panel discussion entitled ‘5G: Forget the hype – It’s time to explore what’s happening today!’

The panelists were Kevin Restivo, research manager, European enterprise mobility at IDC; Joel Stradling, research director of global managed and hosted IT services at research firm GlobalData; and Atchison Frazer, worldwide head of marketing at security firm Versa Networks.

Keene was rather scathing in his overall assessment of 5G and said that some of the use cases around the next generation technologies are ‘utopian’ to say the least.

Keene said, “With the advent of 5G technology, we’ve been told about how it will be the trigger for autonomous driving and shared mobility programs that will address major issues such as urban traffic congestion in major cities.

It all sounds fantastic. But who actually is going to pay for it?”

In addition to this, Keene also pointed out that whilst smart street lighting and sensors in global cities sound fantastic, the question remains as to who is actually going to pay for it.

While 5G will eventually enable applications that hold the potential to transform everyday life, open new business opportunities and enable new business models, the full range of planned 5G capabilities will not be available during the initial 5G launches and will be implemented in a phased approach over the next few years, they noted.

Keene put the following question to the panelists, “We talk about great opportunities and great technologies

COVERAGE expected from 5G, but the question is: are organizations really able to deliver these technologies to clients in the promised speed and level of agility?”

Joel Stradling from GlobalData responded by saying, “While 5G offers exciting possibilities in the applications it will present, the hype is that some of these applications will come now, but in reality, they’re not coming yet.

There is a phased approach between the future promise of what 5G will eventually enable and what is actually ready to be realized today. Another issue is the development of a full set of communication standards for 5G, which demands a much higher data rate, ultra-low latency, high reliability and security.”

One other key industry hot topic that was subjected to considerable criticism was the topic of internet of things, with Keene describing it as a ‘mess’. He was speaking in response to an earlier panel discussion that was examining the complex challenge of managing the explosion of connected IoT devices.

The Gartner analyst said, “The internet of things market is a mess, it’s honestly just an absolute mess. Nobody knows where all the devices are. Nobody knows if the data is being used effectively, and most crucially of all, if the networks are secure.”

The internet of things market has been stalked by security concerns and continues to be the single biggest challenge facing the technology. The proliferation of connected IoT devices will continue to grow into the millions as more and more enterprises adopt them, but the security vulnerabilities surrounding the devices remain, particularly when discussing the integration of IoT devices in the healthcare industry.

A cyberattack in this environment can obviously have a devastating impact in which lives could be loss. Phillip Griffiths, head of EMEA Partnerships at NetFoundry, reminded attendees of this by highlighting how prone to attacks the healthcare industry is.

Griffiths said, “I’d have a lot of issues regarding the integration

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and application of IoT devices in the healthcare when so many security fears remain unanswered. A comprehensive recent study has also pointed out that the healthcare industry is subjected to the most attacks, primarily due to the value of the medical data they’re trying to retrieve.”

While some of the panelists said the IT industry was certainly moving in the right direction in terms of improving gender balance in the global IT workforce, the general consensus was there was still a glaring gap and more needed to be done in order to address the disparity in the sector.

Rik Turner, principal analyst at OVUM, outlined some damning statistics regarding gender equality in the IT and summarized it perfectly with a brilliant quip.

Turner said, “There is a concerted effort to address the glaring gender inequalities in STEM jobs, but the fact remains that 15 percent of the IT workforce globally is comprised of women. Unfortunately, the IT industry undoubtedly remains white, pale and stale.”

The global edition of NetEvents19 will be held in October and is expected to be held in the United States.

Are organizations really able to deliver these technologies to clients in the promised speed and level of agility?

JUNE 2019

GLOSSARY-I-

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In-database analytics

In-database analytics refers to a model of analysis where data processingis performed within a database to eliminate the overhead of moving large data sets to analytic applications. In such a model, the analytic logic is built into a database instead of in a separate application. Advantages of in-database analytics include parallel processing, scalability, analytic optimization and partitioning.

Impression

The word “impression” in IT can be used to refer to how many times a piece of social media content is seen by a user. This type of metric can be used for the purposes of marketing or affiliate marketing, or simply to measure the popularity or viral status of a particular post or object.

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a standard protocol for accessing email on a remote server from a local client. IMAP is an application layer Internet Protocol using the underlying transport layer protocols to establish host-to-host communication services for applications. This allows the use of a remote mail server.

IIoT

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) is a term for all of the various sets of hardware pieces that work together through internet of things connectivity to help enhance manufacturing and industrial processes. When people talk about the industrial internet of things, they’re talking about all of the sensors, devices and machines that contribute to physical business processes in industrial settings. By contrast, when people talk about the internet of things in general, they’re talking about any connected devices that fit the IoT model.

Interoperability

The property that allows for the unrestricted sharing of resources between different systems. This can refer to the ability to share data between different components or machines, both via software and hardware, or it can be defined as the exchange of information and resources between different computers through local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs). Broadly speaking, interoperability is the ability of two or more components or systems to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged.

EVENTS’ CALENDAR

JUNE 2019

59

JUNE

CommunicAsia CommunicAsia continues to be Asia’s key international Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trade event. Into its 30-year edition, the event consistently delivers a highly relevant show experience for ISPs, Satellite Operators, System Integrators, Mobile Operators amongst many others in Asia.

18 20

Place: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

MWC Shanghai 2019 is Asia’s leading event fornext generation technology – 5G, IoT, AI, big data and beyond. This year, the most influential and industry dominating companies and organizations will come together to explore the depths of Intelligent Connectivity.

26 28

JUNE

MWC Shanghai

OCTOBER

Place: Shanghai, China

GITEX 2019

6 10

The most important week in the regional technology calendar for the last 38 years, GITEX is a must-attend event located in Dubai. This is where the world’s technology leaders, enterprises and startups come together to show you the future of every business and every industry, as it happens.

Place: Dubai World Trade Center, UAE

Latest updates on: www.telecomreview.com

EVENTS’ CALENDAR

60

MEF19 MEF19 focuses on accelerating the industry transition to dynamic, assured, and certified services across a global federation of automated networks. MEF19’s action-oriented program will help service providers on their journey to transform their businesses, services, and networks; federate on a global basis; and certify that their services perform at the highest levels.

18 22

Place: JW Marriott LA LIVE, Los Angeles, California USA

Saudi Mobile Show Saudi International Exhibition for Communications and Mobile Technology is the largest B2B show in Kingdom for mobile and technology. Saudi Mobile show showcases the latest emerging technologies, communication solutions, mobile accessories, latest gadgets and applications, service provider’s research and development and much more.

19 21

DECEMBER

Place: Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, KSA

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER

JUNE 2019

Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit

10

The 13th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit will be held in Dubai to shed light on the industry’s latest ICT trends through interesting panels and keynotes that will be given by prominent industry leaders.

Place: Dubai, UAE

Latest updates on: www.telecomreview.com

JUNE 2019

EVENTS’ CALENDAR

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