REDtone IoT and Unified Inbox partner to integrate IoT devices with Social Media

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teletimesThe latest in telecoms, sat-comms & ICT sectors of the Middle East, Asia and Africa
Issue 128
August
2016
August 2016 www.teletimesinternational.com
Zain enjoys
phenomenal loyalty
from its 45 million
customers
Scott Gegenheimer
CEO - Zain Group
Redtone and Unified
Inbox to integrate IoT
devices with Social Media
Huawei pioneering
security measures
in the wake of IoT
Ooredoo launches
Algeria’s first
4G network

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“Etisalat’s performance in the first half of 2016
maintains our record of solid performance” 09
Eng. Saleh Al Abdooli, CEO – Etisalat Group
19 STC cloud is more agile with Juniper Networks Contrail
21 Huawei pioneering security measures in the wake of IoT
23
31
37
TRA participates in 25th GCC Ministerial
Committee for Post and Telecommunications
Ooredoo launches Algeria’s first 4G network
Alfa and Nokia launch first 4G LTE-A network
Articles
38
39
5 Mobile Development Pitfalls – and How to Avoid Them
Increased internet penetration in the Arab World leads to
exponential growth in GCC online ad spending
10 Surviving the Century of Data Growth
IoT: Let’s not forget the consumer08
32 CTO releases report of 2016 ICT Ministers Forum
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industry event for the Americas
35 ITU-PTA Asia-Pacific Regulators’
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satellite with Thai TV Platform Operator IPM
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25 Intelsat 33e prepares for launch on Ariane 5
41
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Welcome to the latest edition of
Teletimes International.
This edition of Teletimes features
an exclusive interview with the
Group CEO, of Zain, Mr. Scott
Gegenheimer. Zain Group
continues to play a key role
in many of the markets that
provide a highly complex and
competitive environment in this
region and as so, we are glad to
publish this detailed interview of
the leader who has championed
Zain’s success over the years. In
his interview, Scott talks about
his experience and the current
market dynamics – definitely a
very informative read and highly
recommended for all our readers.
As a market leading
telecommunications company,
Huawei has been at the forefront
of technological innovation
– leading the industry into
the digital age of IoT. As our
connectivity needs grow, so do
the needs for cyber-security.
The potential for cyber-crime
is constantly increasing as we
explore a world of IoT, and rightly
addressing the issue, Huawei is
pioneering security measures
that will support the vision of a
safe, connected environment. A
detailed report is available in this
edition for your interest.
Continuing on the subject of
IoT, REDtone IOT and Unified
Inbox are collaborating to
integrate REDtone IOT’s
CitiSense Smart City IoT solution
together with Unified Inbox’s
UnificationEngine™ IoT Messaging
capabilities to enable products
and software to communicate
with people and things. This
will enable citizens everywhere
to talk to their local and
national governments on the
communications channels they
use every day – a solution with
huge application potential all
around the world.
In other IoT related content, you
will find an interesting article by
Camilla Urdahl emphasizing on
the important of customers who
will define winners in the IoT world
of endless potentials. As usual,
you will find the latest updates
and news on all upcoming events
and major players as well.
Your feedback is welcome on
info@teletimesinternational.com
Please enjoy reading this edition
of Teletimes International!
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8 August 2016
IoT is set to revolutionize the world
and the eye watering growth
rates for IoT can’t help but impress.
Astronomical growth is expected and
new products are being announced
every day and there is an endless
number of applications that could
be imagined. There is a whiff of gold
rush in the air. But a gold rush always
contains a touch of the fantastical.
Not everyone that rushes in ends up
wealthy.
IoT’s endless potential
So, are we going to realize a total
revolution, where objects around us
and all connected and integrated?
And will it happen at the aggressive
rate many are forecasting? If one
has the look at the pure potential of
IoT, it would seem endless, but are
we forgetting the consumers in this
process? It is, after all, the consumer
who needs to adopt it, and they
don’t always do what they’re told.
The perfect conditions for IoT
Part of the belief in IoT is that
conditions are perfect. We have
the devices, broadband, and
decent prices, but do we have a
value proposition that is compelling
enough? Past experience in energy
efficiency has taught me that even a
good value proposition is not always
enough. With energy, often IoT
related, solutions pay for themselves
and keep paying. It’s free money,
but often the consumer still can’t be
bothered. It’s easier just to pay the
bill.
Building it doesn’t necessarily ensure
that they will come.
Is a value proposition enough?
Therefore, we must question what
the consumer truly values, and if that
value is worth making changes for.
Sure, I might be able to control my
lights from my smartphone, but can I
be bothered? Am I happy to get up
and switch it on the old-fashioned
way? Sadly, the consumer don’t
always embrace change, even if
they could save exertion to switch
lights from the couch.
The same worry applies to the
multitude of sensors being
celebrated. We could technically
measure everything around us, but
how many would we care to, and
how many would we bothering doing
the analysis on. Collecting is one
thing, but then there is analysis. Data
is heading toward a state of being
cheap and boundless, but analytical
capacity is a restraint. Even as an
energy efficiency engineer, I can’t
be bothered keeping track of my
own energy expenditure. Am I going
to care about my clothes telling me
what temperature I am? Or how
many steps I took that day? Or even
when my white ware recommends a
service? Obviously, there are some
that care, but I’m not going to be
one of them, if I’m honest.
Value will determine winners
Of course there are applications
that will be extremely valuable. It
would be compelling, even to me,
to find missing dogs, bags, keys and
kids. And there is definitely money
to be made by running an optimally
efficient household, let alone factory.
Integration issue will serve as a
barrier to some adoption, where an
aggregator for all devices make them
manageable, but even so, we need
to pay attention to the consumer.
Building it doesn’t necessarily ensure
that they will come. In the end, the
consumers will decide who will win in
this gold rush.
IoT: Let’s not forget the consumer
Camilla Urdahl
ARTICLE

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
9August 2016
Etisalat Group posted its Q2
consolidated financial statements on
July 27 for the three months ending
June 30, 2016. The company posted
an impressive 51% increase in net
profit compared to the same period
last year, amounting to AED 2.3
billion, resulting in higher margin of 6
points to 17%.
Etisalat’s earnings per share (EPS)
amounted to AED 0.27 in the second
quarter of 2016, representing a 51%
increase from the same period
last year. The Board of Directors
has approved an interim dividend
distribution for the six months period
ended June 30, 2016 at the rate of
40 fils per share.
In terms of profits, Etisalat’s
consolidated revenue for Q2 2016
amounted to AED 13.3 billion with
growth of 2% in comparison to
the same period last year and 4%
quarter over quarter. In the UAE,
revenue in the second quarter
increased year on year by 3% to
AED 7.7 billion and 6% quarter over
quarter.
Maroc Telecom, the main
telecommunication company
in Morocco, which Etisalat is a
parent company of, reached
a subscriber base of 53 million
customers, representing a year over
year growth of 4%. Meanwhile in
Pakistan, subscriber base increased
by 7% year over year to 23.6 million
customers.
Etisalat’s consolidated EBITDA
(earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization)
totalled AED 6.8 billion, resulting in
EBITDA margin of 51%. In the UAE,
EBITDA in the second quarter of
2016 was AED 4.3 billion increasing
year over year by 3% leading to an
EBITDA margin of 56%.
Maroc Telecom’s consolidated
EBITDA for the second quarter of
2016 amounted to AED 1.6 billion,
resulting in EBITDA margin of 51%.
In Pakistan EBITDA in the second
quarter of 2016 amounted to AED 0.4
billion with EBITDA margin increasing
by 2 points to 36%. Quarter over
quarter EBITDA increased by 7% with
EBITDA margin improving by 2 points.
“Etisalat’s performance in the first
half of 2016 maintains our record of
solid performance and consolidates
our position as a leading operator in
emerging markets,” said Eng. Saleh
Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer of
Etisalat Group. “Therefore, enabling
us to continue to offer significant
value for our shareholders, whilst
being able to make the investment
in innovative solutions that is vital
to maintain our leading role in
one of the world’s fastest evolving
industries.”
He continued, “While the industry is
renowned for the speed of change,
Etisalat Group is also under-going
positive change. The re-structuring
of the company, which was
announced earlier this year, was
finalised during the second quarter
of 2016. It was designed to help the
delivery of our strategic objectives
and enhance overall performance.”
He continued, “Etisalat is already
using its telecommunication
infrastructure and digital
technologies to deliver for our
customers. We were the first
company in the region to roll out
4G-LTE, with now around 95% of the
UAE’s populated areas covered
by faster speeds. Recently, we
launched the UAE’s first Voice
over LTE (VoLTE) service, providing
customers with vastly improved
quality for voice. In addition, Etisalat
Group achieved a penetration rate
of Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) of 89.4%,
which is considered as one of the
highest in the world.”
Etisalat Group announces impressive Q2 results
Eng. Saleh Al Abdooli, CEO – Etisalat Group
NEWS

10 August 2016
Dramatic business digital
transformation, the Internet of Things
(IoT), and everyday digital activities
are driving immense data growth
worldwide. Research shows that by
2020, the world will generate 44,000
Exabytes (EB) of data in one year
alone - 37 times more the 1,200 EB
generated in 2010.
At an individual company level,
by 2020, industry experts expect
to see at least 10 times more data
in the average data centre. A
company that had to manage and
orchestrate 10 TB in 2010 needs to
prepare to keep 100 Terabytes (TB)
available in 2020. Keeping up can
be overwhelming, and the need for
continuous access to that data at
any time has made us completely
dependent on IT.
IT leaders are responding to this
progressive data growth by shifting
toward converged and hyper-
converged IT infrastructures. Three
years ago, IT started renewing data
centers with more efficient flash and
software-defined storage, taking
data away from the traditional
arrays and shifting the focus back to
applications.
To keep up with data growth,
IT needs to keep application
performance, availability and
scalability high, while minimizing
storage costs per gigabyte. Software,
along with cloud computing, will
become crucial in meeting today`s
business demands of both enterprises
and end users.
IT challenges of data growth
When a company generates
terabytes of data daily, it brings
quite a few tough management
challenges for IT. The sheer volume of
unstructured data makes it difficult to
gain valuable insights from it. At the
same time, nothing can be deleted
because it’s too difficult to sort out
what’s unnecessary. In turn, storing
and archiving all of that data fuels
the exponential growth as well.
As the data growth trend continues,
getting the most relevant data at
your fingertips, when you need it, is
only going to get harder. Businesses
provide their services 24.7.365 and
they need all data online and
available at all times.
Enabling availability requires data
centre modernization with the
latest technologies and software
solutions that support virtualization
and storage across on-premise
and cloud-based platforms. Huge
volumes of unstructured data require
a unique approach to storage.
Storage systems should have enough
flexibility to not only scale up, but also
to scale out cost-effectively. On the
hardware layer, you can achieve
higher performance by implementing
modern storage mechanisms, tiered
storage and different types of media
within the storage array, like flash
and non-volatile devices. At the
same time, traditional array features
such as compression, deduplication
and snapshotting are moving to
the software layer, providing more
flexibility for big data management.
The winning strategy
To survive in the age of data
growth, you need to support your
business with valuable insights.
You need a strategic approach to
data management. Scalability and
availability are the two key pillars to
developing this strategy.
Planning the future capacity
demands of your infrastructure
and workloads will help you get
ready for future growth. Choose
platforms, solutions and hardware
that allow you to easily scale.
Capacity planning solutions featuring
resource reservation and built-in
simulation scenarios can be very
helpful when estimating your future
resource needs. Try to simplify your
data centre management and
add an orchestration layer into
your existing environment. Hyper-
converged solution stacks combined
with a proven availability solution
can dramatically minimize your
total cost of ownership in terms of
management overhead.
It’s important to understand your IT
environment, know which workloads
are mission-critical and break down
applications into availability tiers.
Each application has its own level of
importance for business operations,
and therefore should have a specific
SLA tier. While some workloads
demand absolute, uninterrupted
business continuity, you can tier
others at more moderate RTOs and
RPOs and easily put them into public
cloud storage, for example.
Data center modernization requires
a combination of integrated
solutions that allow you to meet all
compliance and SLA requirements
and respond to business and end-
user demands.
Only a strategy embracing
virtualization, cloud technologies,
modern storage and a reliable
availability solution will help you fully
address the challenges of a massive
increase in data. If you’re not thinking
of your strategy right now, in a couple
of years you may simply be lost.
Surviving the Century of Data Growth
Gregg Petersen, Regional Director -
Veeam, ME and SAARC
ARTICLE

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teletimes

12 August 2016
Khalid Athar: Please share with us an
overview of your experience at Zain.
How has the company evolved and
grown over the years?
Scott Gegenheimer: My three and
a half years at Zain have been
fulfilling in many respects. That is
not to say that there haven’t been
challenges. There have been plenty,
but what I appreciate is the sense
of urgency and can-do attitude
of my colleagues, and the shared
determination to succeed whatever
the odds.
Zain is proudly an operator from the
region, for the region, and we try to
place the customer at the center
of all our activities and initiatives.
We believe offering the best service
possible through state-of-the-art
technologies and networks is one
of our key differentiators, and in
order to achieve this we strive to
remain the region’s most innovative
service provider from a technology
standpoint as well as a product and
service offering perspective.
Zain Group continues to operate
in the midst of highly complex and
dynamic environment in a number
of markets, and the company’s
adaptability to rapid and often
drastic changes in socio-political and
economic conditions is what defines
it as a successful, sustainable entity.
Competition across our markets
is squeezing traditional sources of
revenue and margins, and thus we
instituted a strategy to develop into
a digital lifestyle provider, which
is in a position to drive efficiencies
Zain enjoys phenomenal loyalty
from its 45 million customers
Group CEO, Scott Gegenheimer talks about his experience, industry trends
and the future of mobile in the region during an exclusive interview with
Teletimes International
Interview - Khalid Athar
INTERVIEW

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
13August 2016
and leverage our network to great
effect. We are sometimes frustrated
by externalities beyond our control
such as social unrest and currency
impacts across several of our key
markets that hamper our progress
from time-to-time, but that is the cost
of doing business.
Nevertheless, we remain committed
to our strategy that will take
advantage of our competencies,
including our people, brand,
impressive customer experience,
cutting edge innovations and
geographic coverage.
Overall, I would say my time at
Zain has been progressive, and
I look forward to driving more
growth in areas such as smart city
developments, enterprise mobility,
and M2M in order to generate
incremental revenues as well as
driving efficiency and investing and
developing our talents to be future
leaders.
KH: Which factors have played key in
Zain’s success?
SG: I touched on some of them in
my opening remarks. I believe Zain
enjoys phenomenal loyalty from its 45
million customers, who I think clearly
appreciate our endeavors to offer
them the best quality network and
customer experience in every market
in which we operate.
We have a fantastic group of people
working for us, who we refer to as
Zainers, who stop at nothing to
resolve issues and give customers
what they want wherever they may
be located. We have a tremendous
distribution network and really do
understand the dynamics in our
markets and across the region, which
has helped us maintain leadership
positions across most of the markets
in which we operate.
Our reputation as a service provider
that really understands the region
has resulted in us partnering
with some of the largest digital
applications players in the world,
keen to have a strong strategic
partner in the region with whom
to grow. This then translates to our
customers often-time gaining access
to applications that are being
offered for the first time in the region,
which helps maintain loyalty levels.
Zain is the market leader in most of
its markets, both in terms of value
share and market share. Zain utilizes
its business intelligence platforms
to build a strong customer value
management framework premised
on well-defined customer segments
in each of its markets. Data
monetization is a key area for the
company and numerous initiatives
are underway to implement data
centric pricing across our footprint.
Thus our investment in innovation,
content, and customer experience
works as a virtuous circle.
KH: Many operators see IP service
based networks as the key to
compete with OTTs? What
is your opinion?
SG: What is there to ‘compete’ over?
The notion that service providers
are in competition with OTTs is an
outdated one. OTTs have something
to bring to the table, content and
applications that customers want,
and we have the networks and the
devices to deliver such to them. The
industry needs to recognize that OTTs
are service providers’ partners and
needs to be innovative in service
The notion that service providers are in
competition with OTTs is an outdated one.
OTTs have something to bring to the table,
content and applications that customers want,
and we have the networks and the devices
to deliver such to them. The industry needs
to recognize that OTTs are service providers’
partners and needs to be innovative
in service offerings

14 August 2016
offerings.
Zain is very proud of the partnerships
it shares with numerous leading
content players, and we are pleased
with the strategic and financial
benefits these partnerships generate.
These include Uber, Booking.com
and Cut the Rope’s developer
Zeptolab to name a few.
As with all partnerships, what is
necessary is for there to first be
an acknowledgment of what the
various parties bring to the table,
followed by the creation of a
mutually beneficial, cooperative
business model.
KH: Some countries today are
keeping a check on the type of
data that is going through OTTs
(Skype data etc.) Do you think such
an approach towards Analytics is
effective or actually an intervention
into privacy of users?
SG: Let us be clear, Zain is not
a proponent of blocking OTT
communication channels on our
networks out-of-hand because they
have not been developed by us.
We approach the delivery of third-
party services and applications that
our customers want in the spirt of
cooperation and mutual benefit.
That being said, in the data-heavy
mobile communications environment
in which we currently exist, it is
absolutely necessary to have an
understanding of the type of data
being transmitted over the network,
together with traffic and usage
patterns. This is important from a
billing perspective, as well as with
respect to traffic management
requirements and prioritizations.
KH: Please talk about Zain’s efforts
and initiatives to deal with Cyber-
crime and Grey-traffic.
SG: Zain recognizes that as a
mobile network operator, we are
a critical national infrastructure
in the countries we operate in.
Consequently, fighting cybercrime
is one the core priorities of Zain.
Today, we are seeing highly complex
cybercriminal networks bring
together individuals from across the
globe in real time to commit crimes
on an unprecedented scale. As new
trends in cybercrime are emerging all
the time, we at Zain are continuously
enhancing cyber capacity building.
Zain treats the information of our
customers, employees and partners
confidentially. As awareness is a
critical first step in safeguarding
our information and assets,
we continuously work with our
employees and partners to inculcate
the right culture of security in our
daily operations, while enhancing
our technical capabilities to serve
our customers best. With Zain’s
management providing strategic
direction to address security
challenges, we are constantly
aligning our efforts to ensure that it is
well targeted.
KH: What factors will play make or
break for telecom operators within
the region in the coming years?
SG: Innovation. The ability to
become what the customer wants
us to be in order to continue being
relevant, and not what we think
we ought to be. Non-voice and
digital services are the drivers of the
modern mobile communications
industry and we expect them to
remain so going forward. Thus we
believe it is incumbent upon us to
continue to transform Zain into a
digital services provider in order to
align it with where we believe the
value is migrating to in our industry.
Those service providers that do not
act similarly will be overtaken, and I
believe we ultimately fail.
We established the Zain Digital
Frontier and Innovation (ZDFI)
business unit to thrust Zain into
the digital space by identifying
new business areas, value-adding
strategic partnerships, accretive
acquisition opportunities and
synergistic corporate venturing
investments. Collectively, these
activities look to create new revenue
streams to maximize the group’s
high-speed 4G-LTE broadband
networks, customer assets, network
intelligence and payment and billing
frameworks. ZDFI focuses on the
areas of innovation; digital services;
corporate venturing; and smart
cities.
On ZDFI’s part, we have identified
substantial incremental revenue
opportunities from the investment in
smart city deployments in the Gulf,
as well as from M2M. For example,
we invested into a strategic stake in
neXgen Group, a Smart City advisory
and solutions entity based in the
UAE that we are very excited about
and expanded our existing Partner
Market Agreement with Vodafone,
in order to deliver M2M services to
enterprise and government sectors
across the region, with our operations
in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia at the forefront of this
initiative.
We have also made strategic
investments in several Venture
Capital Funds (MEVP, Wamda
and EarlyBird) that are focused
on early-stage and growth-stage
digital opportunities in Central
and Eastern Europe, Turkey, the
Middle East, and Africa that we
aim to capitalize on by rolling out
Zain sees value
in combining SDN
and NFV, and this
is to be expected
given our networks
are evolving to
become all-IP
Non-voice and
digital services
are the drivers
of the modern mobile
communications
industry and
we expect them to
remain so
going forward

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
15August 2016
appealing and unique innovative
services that arise within these funds.
We also recently invested into a
mobile solutions and consultancy
entity, FOO, that we believe will help
further drive our innovation efforts
in the app development arena and
deliver quality digital services to our
customers.
KH: Do you believe combining SDN
and NFV is the answer to many of the
challenges faced?
SG: We believe that technology is
important, but it is only as important
as the need it is being deployed to
solve. So indeed, Zain sees value in
combining SDN and NFV, and this is
to be expected given our networks
are evolving to become all-IP.
We face a very real challenge of
network congestion and availability,
and so technologies that allow us to
manage these aspects better and
more efficiently are of value.
KH: Please tell us about some of
Zain’s initiatives in the e-governance
and Smart City sector.
SG: As I mentioned earlier, Zain sees
tremendous potential for astute
service providers within the smart
city space and have gone as far
as investing in NeXgen Group. The
combination of our two companies’
efforts sees us advising governments
and mega real estate developers
on the deployment of smart city
solutions across the region, initially
focusing on smart city opportunities
in key Zain operating markets.
We believe that at the essence
of smart city developments is
connectivity, which is also the core
business of the telco industry, and
thus we believe we ought to be able
to leverage our own vast experience
in this area within the smart city
environment.
With respect to e-governance,
we approach this in much the
same way as we do the enterprise
segment. The two sectors’ profiles
are broadly similar, and Zain is
investing in adding capabilities to
cater for the interconnected and
often sophisticated requirements of
enterprise and government users.
KH: Which issues from a policy and
regulation perspective do you think
need to be addressed at a priority in
this region to foster an ecosystem for
5G and IoT?
SG: Cyber security is a big regulatory
issue in IoT specifically given the level
of interconnectivity and the resultant
cascading effect of any cyber
breach. A framework to ensure cyber
resilience of the digital networks,
devices, and sensors on which IoT
and smart city ecosystems are built is
essential for the sustainability of such
environments into the future.
KH: Do you have any plans to
expand into new geographical
markets in the coming years?
SG: Zain continues to take a
pragmatic approach to geographic
expansion. We have reviewed
expansion opportunities in the past,
and will likely continue to as they
present themselves. For us to progress
any such opportunity, it would need
to meet a number of different criteria
and ultimately make sense from a
value added perspective.
Going forward Zain Group and its
operating entities are looking to
remain vigilant and agile to market
opportunities. We are all well aware
that the telco industry is changing
rapidly, and as one of the leading
service providers in the region, we
believe it is imperative for us to
embrace these changes and be
forward-looking in our approach to
industry changes. These are exciting
times for all stakeholders in the ICT
value chain, traditional as well as
new, and opportunities abound for
the creation of significant value for
all participants should they be agile
enough to grasp them.
We believe that at the essence of
smart city developments is connectivity, which
is also the core business of the telco industry,
and thus we believe we ought to be able to
leverage our own vast experience in this area
within the smart city environment

16 August 2016
The Middle East has emerged as a
leader in the USD 3.8 trillion global
digital economy. The UAE is driving
this world of technology with game-
changing initiatives such as the first
fully 3D printed office building and
the Dubai Future Endowment Fund,
which dedicates AED 1 billion to
support innovative projects in the
Emirate.
With cutting-edge technology at
the heart of this global city, Dubai
has inarguably become the world’s
gateway for tech transformation.
As we enter a future that sees six
billion devices connected by 2018,
the globe will look to the exhibitors,
entrepreneurs and experts attending
GITEX Technology Week to lead the
way to a more networked world. The
region’s ICT spend is growing and 40
per cent of that growth comes from
enterprise corporations. With nearly
22,000 CXOs from top corporations
attending the show, GITEX is a leader
in strengthening the global digital
economy.
The Middle East IT spend itself is set to
reach USD 212.9 billion in 2016, a 37
per cent increase from the previous
year, which puts GITEX at the centre
of a thriving global ICT economy.
“GITEX is at the global nexus of trade
and technology innovation, with
the UAE government a leader in
using technology to transform daily
lives and businesses. GITEX is the
single most powerful and influential
sourcing platform for tech solutions
and innovations in the region,” said
Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-
President, Exhibitions and Events
Management, DWTC.
Technology Reimagined
Under the theme “Reimagining
Realities”, GITEX 2016, from 16-20
October 2016, will redefine how
technology can transform businesses
through cutting-edge showcases,
international keynotes and
dignitaries from around the globe in
attendance.
“GITEX provides a gateway to the
fast-growth Middle East, Africa, and
South Asia markets, and a global
platform for sharing knowledge
and innovations from students to
startups,” said Mohammed Areff,
Vice President of META at Avaya.
The company exhibited at last year’s
event, which saw over 146,000
visitors from 144 countries, and 4,200
sponsors and exhibitors from 130
countries.
New at GITEX
GITEX will change the way
visitors view the world with its
interactive Immersive Tech
section. The Virtual Reality
GITEX Technology Week 2016 set to change
the way we view the world
From 3D printing to virtual reality, GITEX Technology 2016 set to put visitors in the
driver seat of the over USD 200 billion Middle East IT economy
REPORT
Trixie LohMirmand

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
17August 2016
gaming industry alone is
expected to rise to USD 4.4 billion
by 2022 - this technology is set to
be the GCC’s next billion dollar
industry. From VR headsets, to AR
tools used in live surgery, GITEX is set
to demonstrate how a new view
of reality can change lives and
businesses.
Dubai is at the top of its class when
it comes to ICT business model
creation, standing in the 30th
percentile globally. The new GITEX
Startup Movement is set to be
the most global event of its kind,
connecting over 400 startups from 35
countries, and 1,000 entrepreneurs,
venture capitalists, angel investors,
government buyers, and mentors.
Startup or enterprise, each business
has industry-specific needs. GITEX
Vertical Days will act as a platform
for IT leaders to address industry
issues and learn from international
thought-leaders. A world-class line
up of speakers from around the
globe including Greg Cannon; VP
of Marketing & All Things Digital,
Caesars Entertainment and Andres
Wolberg-Stok, Global Head,
Emerging Platforms and Services, Citi
will address Vertical Day conference
attendees to share their expertise.
Industries across the board have
a growing appetite for 3D printing
technology. The 3D print spend in the
MEA region alone is set to reach USD
1.3 billion by 2019, presenting clear
market opportunities. The world’s
first fully 3D printed office building
was unveiled by His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Vice President and Prime Minister of
the UAE and Ruler of Dubai earlier
this month. The regional market for
3D printing is in high demand with the
upcoming International Centre for
3D Printing. 3D printing technology
exhibited at GITEX will demonstrate
how an array of printers and makers
creating everything from medical
supplies and automobile parts shape
the vision of 3D printing technology.
To further demonstrate how the
supply chain is evolving, robotics and
drones will be buzzing in the halls of
GITEX 2016. “As the interconnected
Internet of Things era rises, robotics
and automated solutions will
be essential for organisations to
overcome the world’s most pressing
challenges. From high-risk activities
such as welding, to driverless
cars and robotic cafes, the next
generation of automated services
being demoed at GITEX will drive
Smart City innovation in the Middle
East and around the world,” said
Bilal Al Hattab, Managing Director
at DigiRobotics Technologies, a
Dubai-based robotics manufacturer
showcasing at GITEX Technology
Week 2016.
GITEX will open with Keynote
speeches from Dr. Phyllis Schneck,
the chief cybersecurity official at
the United States Department of
Homeland Security and James
Barrese, former CTO at New Money
company PayPal. Other speakers
include Aseem Puri, CMO at Unilever;
Paul Clarke, CTO at Ocado, the
world’s largest online grocer; Dr.
Rafael Grossmann, the first doctor
to use Google Glass in live surgery;
Keith Kaplan, CEO of think tank Tesla
Foundation.
Scheduled to speak at GITEX,
Robert Scoble, a San Francisco-
based technology expert, brings his
thoughts on the digital economy.
“Emerging technologies such as
Virtual Reality and Augmented
Reality are set to completely
transform daily lives and business,
with a shift in the social experience
as massive as the launch of the
personal computer. Governments,
businesses, and startups that are
early adopters and innovators in
technology will be able to leapfrog
competitors, reimagine their
businesses, and drive the world’s
digital economy.”
“GITEX Technology Week 2016 is the
voice and venue for technology
innovation. Technology is no longer
limited to the IT department – every
industry needs to understand how
digital transformation can drive
competitiveness, from cloud-based
mobile apps, to robots, drones, and
3D printing,” added LohMirmand.

18 August 2016
REDtone IOT Sdn Bhd (REDtone IOT)
and Unified Inbox Pte Ltd (Unified
Inbox) are collaborating to integrate
REDtone IOT’s CitiSense Smart City IoT
solution together with Unified Inbox’s
UnificationEngine™ IoT Messaging
capabilities to enable products
and software to communicate with
people and things.
According to REDtone IOT Chief
Executive Officer Dr Mazlan Abbas,
the partnership is set to enhance
its CitiSense platform with new
smart city/smart nation Internet of
Things (IoT) capabilities which will
increase cities’ safety, efficiency and
resiliency.
“The most exciting area of innovation
being driven by IoT right now is
smart cities and governments.
Some of the innovative uses of IoT
Messaging for governments here
in Asia include UnificationEngine-
powered technology for jobs
requiring execution, service
level and completion alerts, and
Unified Inbox’s SHOUT emergency
broadcast platform for mission-critical
communications.
“These are great examples of how
Unified Inbox and REDtone IOT’s
collaboration will help make cities
safer and more enjoyable for citizens
and visitors alike,” said Dr Mazlan in a
statement to the media.
REDtone IOT connects things and
aggregates their data to the
cloud, transforming businesses
and governments by delivering
actionable insights. The company, a
subsidiary of REDtone International
Bhd, recently won the 2016 Frost &
Sullivan Malaysia Innovative Smart
City Solution Provider of the Year
award.
Unified Inbox Chief Executive
Officer Toby Ruckert echoed
Dr Mazlan’s remarks on the IoT
Messaging solutions resulting from the
partnership making cities everywhere
more secure. “This integration will
increase cities’ safety, efficiency,
and resiliency, both across Asia
and around the world. Citizens
and visitors alike will now be able
to communicate with all of their
different connected devices on the
communications channels they use
most including email, SMS, social
media, chat/messaging apps,
website content management
systems, outdoor screens and
projectors and more.
“REDtone IOT is Asia’s leader in
smart city IoT technologies, and
a valuable Unified Inbox partner.
Integrating REDtone IOT’s IoT
platform with Unified Inbox’s IoT
Messaging platform will enable
citizens everywhere to talk to their
local and national governments on
the communications channels they
use every day, just as they would any
other contact in their smartphone’s
address book,” said Ruckert.
He added, “SHOUT meets the
safety and security needs of public
institutions who require the capability
to transmit emergency multi-channel
broadcast communications on
demand. Target users include
federal and municipal government
agencies, transportation authorities
and schools and universities.
We also see private institutions such
as hotels and resorts, amusement
and theme parks, conference and
event centers and large corporate
campuses using SHOUT to give them
the capabilities for mission-critical
communications.”
Redtone IoT and Unified Inbox partner to
integrate IoT devices with Social Media
Toby Ruckert
CEO - Unified Inbox
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
19August 2016
Juniper Networks has announced
that Saudi Telecom Company (STC),
has deployed Juniper Networks®
Contrail Networking to create
automated, best-in-class cloud
services for its customers. STC is
pioneering the use of Network
Function Virtualization (NFV) in the
region, enabling it to offer customers
accessible, dynamic online
services and applications rapidly.
This approach is also expected to
increase STC’s business agility and
revenue growth.
With dedicated cloud services
powered by Contrail Networking,
STC now has a fully scalable, flexible
resource to sell to subscribers and
customers on-demand as their IT
requirements evolve and change.
Contrail Networking enables full
automation, better scalability,
security and flexibility for STC’s NFV-
based cloud computing services.
Juniper Networks Contrail
Networking is a simple, open and
agile SDN solution that automates
and orchestrates the creation of
highly scalable virtual networks. It
interoperates with an OpenStack
cloud orchestration platform,
enabling the agile creation and
dynamic scaling of service instances
with high availability and reliability.
Contrail has been recognized as
the most widely used commercially
available SDN Controller in
OpenStack deployments for the third
consecutive year by OpenStack
Users Survey.
STC’s new Contrail Networking-based
service platform reduces time-to-
market for new customized services,
applications and functions by
connecting virtual resources located
across private and public clouds.
Contrail Networking creates and
orchestrates easy-to-manage virtual
overlay networks that integrate
seamlessly with STC’s physical
systems.
STC is expecting increased
international growth opportunities
with the simplified roll-out of new
virtualized services.
“At STC, we have a ‘customer-first’
approach. We aim to earn our
customers’ trust and enrich society
with comprehensive, innovative
services and solutions. The network,
underpinned by advanced NFV
and automation capabilities, can
deliver substantial value to our
customers by providing the agility,
speed and simplicity that today’s
businesses require. Juniper is an ideal
partner with the same customer-
centric approach, providing us with
state-of-the-art technology for our
cloud-based offerings,” said Dr.
Tarig M. Enaya, senior vice president
for enterprise at Saudi Telecom
Company.
“Using virtualization technologies to
build a programmable NFV platform
that creates agility and automation
can provide the competitive edge
for service providers operating in an
increasingly competitive market.
Juniper Networks is committed to
supporting STC at the forefront of
the telecom industry in the Middle
East by helping to create a
differentiated customer experience,”
said Adrian Pickering, Vice
President, Middle East and Africa
at Juniper Networks.
Saudi Telecom Company cloud is more agile with
Juniper Networks Contrail
Dr. Tarig M. Enaya, SVP enterprise - STC
At STC, we have a ‘customer-first’ approach.
We aim to earn our customers’ trust and enrich
society with comprehensive, innovative services and
solutions. The network, underpinned by advanced NFV
and automation capabilities, can deliver substantial
value to our customers by providing the agility, speed
and simplicity that today’s businesses require
NEWS

20 August 2016
Global ICT solutions provider Huawei
and Lebara Mobile KSA have
announced the commercial launch
of Lebara Mobile’s first Mobile Virtual
Network Enabler in the region.
Lebara Mobile leverages Mobily’s
advanced telecom network in the
Kingdom to deliver cost-effective
voice and data service to Saudi
customers.
The launch of Lebara Mobile KSA
ushers in the next evolution of
mobile connectivity in the region
with the creation of the Kingdom’s
first Mobile Virtual Network Enabler
(MVNE). MVNEs provide turn-key
communications infrastructure and
related services to other MVNOs
and businesses who, in turn, can
offer hosted mobile services to their
customers while leveraging the
MVNE’s hosted network, services,
billing and CRM systems.
“Lebara Mobile KSA is the first MVNE
host in KSA and the Middle East,
and will serve as the enabler of
many new businesses in the mobile
industry while accelerating the digital
transformation of the region,” said
Fadi Kawar, CEO Lebara Mobile
KSA. “Advanced, cost-effective
mobile services are critical to
businesses today and through our
advanced mobile virtual network
which is based on Mobily’s superior
mobile infrastructure, we are able to
serve regional telecom business by
meeting their communications needs
and delivering value-added services
that accelerate their growth.”
Huawei was able to help design
and then deploy the Lebara Mobile
network in less than 30 weeks, putting
in place the tools to migrate to the
new network without any loss of
critical data or functionality.
Huawei provided support in planning
and implementation of the core
network elements while deploying
the full range of Business Support
Services to provide end-to-end
telecommunication services, as well
as a range of value-added services
to Lebara Mobile.
“Huawei is particularly proud of its
partnership with Lebara Mobile KSA,
as this network represents a first-of-
its-kind in the region and a new era
in digital communications services
for the Middle East as a whole,” said
Chen Jianhan, COO of Huawei KSA.
“The telecom industry needs to move
rapidly towards an open digital
ecosystem, and Huawei is committed
to collaborating with customers and
industry partners to achieve this.
Lebara Mobile KSA’s network is proof
of the effectiveness of embracing
this ecosystem and delivers digital
services seamlessly anytime,
anywhere, and on any device,” he
added.
Huawei believes that telecom
providers must be able to deliver
the ROADS experience to stay
competitive, encompassing five
fundamental characteristics of the
ultimate user experience in a fully
connected world - Real-time, On-
demand, All-online, DIY, and Social.
Today, Lebara Mobile delivers on
these five key characteristics based
on Huawei’s ROADS vision, and will
foster an open industry ecosystem
that will enable innovation and
accelerate the region’s digital
transformation.
Through Lebara telecom platform
supported by Huawei, Lebara Mobile
will begin to offer high-quality MVNO
services to regional players in the
coming months. Huawei will continue
to collaborate with Lebara Mobile
on building win-win scenarios as it
continues to expand its services in
the region.
Huawei enables Lebara Mobile KSA
to launch first Mobile Virtual Network
Enabler in the region
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
21August 2016
Huawei has announced that it is
making major leaps in the Internet
of Things (IoT) security landscape,
with the advent of mechanisms that
identify and prevent new age threats
born from the rise of connected
things.
As the development of IoT products
continues to gain pace, and the
market expands, a new era of
security and privacy challenges
rises.
To counteract this concern, Huawei
has focused its energies on adaptive
learning techniques that acquire
sophistication from existing attacking
mode databases, and snuff out new
dangers.
At a recent ACM Asia Conference
held in China, two Huawei security
experts shared insights on the new
threat environment, shedding
light on existing security defense
technologies no longer capable of
resisting IoT-led attacks.
Today, with IoT adoption growing,
businesses are suddenly faced with
the challenge of securing anything
that can send and receive data –
and that’s basically anything that
can have a sensor or chip put in it –
which is essentially everything.
With greater efforts needed to study
and specify international IoT security
standards which are more secure
and easier to implement,
Huawei is dedicated to this mission
and is always open to collaboration
with all parties interested in this
subject area.
With this in mind, Huawei recently
published “The Global Cyber Security
Challenge – it is time for real progress
in addressing supply chain risks” – a
whitepaper that focuses specifically
on threats that arise through the
manipulation and evolution of the
supply chain – another core area
that IoT will heavily affect
“While there is still no simple answer
or solution to the cyber security
challenge, it is increasingly apparent
that there are steps the global
community can take – as well as
individual organizations – to drive
demonstrable progress in reducing
cyber security risk,” said Ken Hu,
Deputy Chairman of the Board
and Chairman of the Global Cyber
Security and User Privacy Committee
of Huawei.
“With this in mind, Huawei is
committed to working with a network
that is recognized through earned
trust and validation in its endeavor to
construct a set of laws and principles
the industry can follow,” he added.
In order to understand these threats,
Huawei has also made a war cry for
businesses to work together in the
education space.
The whitepaper “The Global Cyber
Security Challenge -- It is time for
real progress in addressing supply
chain risks” discusses such a network
that shares global best practices,
and encourages information flow
between businesses.
Research and Advisory Firm, Gartner
recently highlighted how IoT will
impact business from a logistics point
of view. The way businesses access
information, manage flow, and
communicate throughout the supply
chain will significantly change as
more and more devices, machines,
and people become connected.
Huawei Drives Openness,
Collaboration, and Shared Success
to Enable Digital Transformation and
Build a Better Connected World.
Recently launched the Open ROADS
to a Better Connected World as part
of its commitment to meeting user
demands for a “ROADS” experience
(Real-time, On-demand, All-online,
DIY, and Social) in the digital era,
the company strives to enable agile
innovation, build an open ecosystem,
expand business partnerships, and
help carriers succeed in their digital
transformation.
Huawei pioneering security measures
in the wake of IoT
Ken Hu, Deputy Chairman - Huawei
IoT will impact business from a
logistics point of view. The way
businesses access information, manage
flow, and communicate throughout the
supply chain will significantly change as
more and more devices, machines, and
people become connected.
NEWS

22 August 2016
The UAE, represented by the
Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority (TRA), headed the 21st
Arab Spectrum Management Group
meeting, which concluded recently
in Cairo, Egypt, as part of the
preparatory meetings for the World
Radiocommunication Conference
2019 (WRC-2019).
During the meeting, the Arab
Spectrum Management Group
discussed the results of the
World Radiocommunication
Conference 2015 (WRC-15), the
most significant and latest services
and developments in radio
communications, as well as their
economic, technological and social
impacts on Arab countries.
Eng. Tariq Al Awadhi, Executive
Director for Spectrum Management
at the TRA, said that the meeting,
which brought together an elite
group of decision makers and
experts in spectrum management in
the Arab World, highlights the value
of cooperation and participation
in planning and management of
radio spectrum, especially in Arab
regions, and is an effective means
to iron out problems and issues that
hinders the development in the
telecommunications sector.
The Arab group also discussed
restructuring and chairing the
ASMG until 2020, where Eng. Tariq
Al Awadhi was elected for the third
time to head the Arab Spectrum
Management Group. Eng. Tariq
Al Awadhi has been working in
the frequency spectrum field for
about 20 years and has successfully
represented the UAE several times
during his participations in various
international conferences. He
also held leading positions in the
International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), the Arab League as
well as the Committees of Gulf
Cooperation Council and the World
Radiocommunication Conference
2012 (WRC-12). Al Awadhi has
been heading the Technical
Committee of the GCC Technical
Office at the GCC General
Secretariat since 2003 and the
Arab Spectrum Management
Group since 2008.
UAE heads the Arab Spectrum Management Group
UAE ranks 8th globally and 1st regionally
in UN’s 2016 e-Smart Services Index
The UAE has moved up by four
ranks in its position in the e-smart
services index of the E-Government
Development Index (EGDI) issued
by the United Nations Department
of Economics and Social Affairs
(UNDESA)--ranking 8th (0.8913)
globally with the Republic of Estonia.
The EGDI is an important component
in the overall index used to
determine growth in e-government
development.
The current ranking consolidates
the UAE’s regional leadership in the
e-services index--ranking 1st place
in the Gulf, the Arab World and the
West Asian region. The UAE is also
ranked 3rd in Asia and 8th globally.
For the e-participation index, the
UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain are
ranked number 1 in the Arab World
and are also tied at the 32nd place
globally.
The report indicates that the UAE has
achieved full marks in the second
level of the services provided by
the government. The overall index
is composed of three indexes;
e-services, human capital, and
communications infrastructure. The
report has listed the UAE and the
Kingdom of Bahrain as among the
global leaders in e-government
development index, where the UK
came first, followed by Australia and
South Korea.
H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori,
Director General, TRA, said, “We are
very thankful for the positive results
that the UAE has achieved in this
report, particularly the achievement
of being ranked third in the smart
e-Service Index. We are coming
close to our goal is to be number one
in the world.”

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
23August 2016
The TRA has participated in the
recently concluded 25th GCC
Ministerial Committee for Post and
Telecommunications, chaired by
Dr. Mohamed Bin Ibrahim Al-Swail,
Minister of Communications and
Information Technology of Saudi
Arabia, held in Riyadh, Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia. The meeting
focused on the recommendations
raised by the GCC Committee
for Undersecretaries of Post and
Telecommunications during its
meeting held in May this year.
It also discussed the
recommendations by the Secretariat
General regarding the outcomes
of the 31st GCC Posts Chiefs and
Undersecretaries Meeting, Mobile
Roaming Team, recommendations
from the GCC Technical Committee
for Telecommunications Bureau
and the legislation and regulation
of application services provided
through the Internet. Supporting
the joint initiative between Jordan
and GCC in formulating a plan for
collaboration and integration within
telecommunications have also been
discussed, in addition to several issues
such as ways to limit blackmails,
impersonation, and other types of
spam emails. The meeting also noted
the need for collaboration among
GCC countries and companies
providing applications on how to
respond to these concerns.
Members also raised the plans
to create a strategy which aims
to reduce the price of mobile
roaming within GCC and review
current procedures for the benefit
of consumers. Other concerns
were also raised such as the review
of the tasks of the regulation and
legislation committee, regulatory
and operational issues, present
partnership with international
organisations and regional and
multinational companies, and other
ways to promote information and
communications technology (ICT) in
the region.
H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori,
Director General of the TRA, led the
UAE delegation, which composed
of Engr. Tariq Al Awadhi, Executive
Director for Spectrum Management;
Engr. Mohamed Al Zarooni, Director
for Policies and Programs; Engr.
Nasser Bin Hammad, Senior Manager
for International Affairs; Hasan Al
Ahbabi, Regulatory Economist; and
Sultan Al Madfaa from Emirates
Post Group.
Engr. Mohamed Al Zarooni has
suggested during the meeting a
project which aims to unify all the
telecommunications devices in
GCC to further strengthen the level
of coordination between Arab Gulf
countries. The project will ensure that
documents related to the devices
distributed in the GCC are uniform to
protect the market from counterfeit
products and documents which
pose risks on users’ safety. The project
presents an innovative solution to
limit fraud by forming a quality review
team within the GCC which will help
unify laboratory standards following
global standards and establish a
database within a joint electronic
system for the project.
H.E. Al Mansoori said: “Our
participation in this meeting is in
line with TRA’s efforts to promote
collaboration and coordination with
the GCC in telecommunications and
information technology sector (ICT) in
order to face the challenges brought
about by the sector’s rapid growth in
the region and the world. The UAE is
keen to take leadership in adopting
advanced technologies and systems
to meet the demands of the sector
and enable other organizations and
national entities to acquire a solid IT
infrastructure and meet the people’s
needs, happiness and comfort.”
TRA participates in 25th GCC Ministerial
Committee for Post and Telecommunications
TRA initiates suggested project to unify telecommunications devices in GCC
NEWS

24 August 2016
M-net, ABOX42 and Zattoo got
overwhelming response after the
first German IPTV breakfast at ANGA COM
How can regional network operators
and city carriers attract more
customers and increase sales with
IPTV? All without the costs and hassle
own development projects would
create? That was the headline of the
well attended event in Cologne.
During a breakfast event participants
had the chance to meet and
exchange experiences.
The panel discussion featured Thomas
Bichlmeir, TV Product Management
/ Head of IPTV of the Southern
Germany network operator M-net,
Oliver Soellner, management board
of the German set-top-box platform
provider ABOX42 located in Karlsruhe,
and Gernot Jaeger, chief officer B2B
TV Solutions IPTV of platform operator
Zattoo. The host was Julian Clover
from Broadband TV News.
The picture was quite clear after
the debate: Yes, IPTV is a great
opportunity for network operators, but
it is important to find the right partner.
As a pioneering approach M-net
presented their own multi-screen IPTV
solution, which is a white label service
fully hosted and managed by Zattoo.
“We tackled this project together
with Zattoo because the Zattoo
platform makes it possible to offer
the TV service under our own brand,
without having to invest in complex
and expensive IPTV technologies.
We were able, thanks to a very
professional project management,
to bring our own state-of-the-art TV
product to the market within a few
months. The first outcome is very
promising.” said Thomas Bichlmeir.
Demanded by the audience,
Gernot Jaeger of Zattoo explained
that there is a general trend in Europe
towards hosted TV services, especially
for regional and national network
operators. “The more devices a TV
service must cover, the narrower
linear and non-linear content is
interlinked, the shorter development
cycles get, the harder it is for regional
and national network operators
to handle this development in-
house. Large, mandate enabled TV
platforms are the only alternative.
That way, the network operator is
still in the foreground with his brand,
he continues to hold the customer
relationship but purchases the actual
TV product from us as a turnkey
solution.”
The set-top-box for the TV service
of M-net is provided by ABOX42,
a leading provider of innovative
set-top-box solutions for TV projects
of network operators worldwide.
The company supplies the set-top-
box including the interfaces for
the integration of the Zattoo TV
application.
“It is obvious that a modern
and comprehensive multi-screen
IPTV product with innovative
features is essential for national
and regional network operators
in order to survive along the
multinational competitors. With
the complete solution offered by
Zattoo and ABOX42 we provide
the ideal product. With the
combination of modern set-top-box
hardware, a comprehensive set-
top-box middleware, an integrated
lifecycle management concept for
hardware and software as well as the
compatibility to OTT services (such
as HbbTV and On Demand services)
we provide a complete First Screen
product. “said Oliver Soellner
Thomas BichlmeirJulian Clover Gernot Jaeger
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
25August 2016
Intelsat has announced that Intelsat
33e, the second of the Intelsat
EpicNG series of high throughput
satellites (“HTS”), arrived at the
Guiana Space Center in Kourou,
French Guiana, where it will
undergo final preparations before
its scheduled launch on an Ariane 5
rocket on the 24th of August, 2016.
Manufactured by Boeing and
equipped with the most advanced
digital payload on a commercial
spacecraft, Intelsat 33e will extend
Intelsat’s high throughput capacity
in both C- and Ku-band from the
Americas to include Europe, the
Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, the
Mediterranean and Indian Ocean
regions.
Intelsat EpicNG features an
exceptionally flexible HTS payload
design that is backward compatible
with already deployed user networks
globally. The higher performance,
better economics and simplified
access of the Intelsat EpicNG design
are built to address an expected
$3.2 billion incremental revenue
opportunity related to new demand
for satellite-based infrastructure in
the enterprise, wireless infrastructure,
aeronautical and maritime mobility,
government and Internet of Things
sectors by the year 2021.
The amount of global data traffic is
expected to surge at a compound
annual growth rate of 53 percent
from 2015 through year-end
2020. With increasing broadband
requirements and a growing number
of smartphone users, the flexible
and open architecture of Intelsat
29e, Intelsat 33e and future Intelsat
EpicNG satellites will enable fixed
and mobile network operators to
cost-effectively extend their networks
and meet the surges in broadband
demand across the continents.
Select customers have already
committed to take advantage
of Intelsat 33e, some of which
include Pakistani Internet service
provider SuperNet Limited, African
telecommunications providers such
as Telkom South Africa, Orange, IP
Planet, Vodacom, Dijoubti Telecom,
Safarifone and Africell RDC SPRL.;
Russian network service providers
Romantis and RuSat LLC; and media
customers including TV & Radio
Broadcasting (formerly Television and
Radio Broadcasting of Armenia), and
MultiChoice of South Africa.
Intelsat 33e will also deliver enterprise-
grade, broadband services to
aeronautical and maritime mobility
service providers and users. The
satellite combines wide and high
performing spot beams facilitating
combined live television and
broadband applications within the
same network.
AsiaSat is collaborating with Digital
Magic, an industry-leading provider
of advanced imaging solutions to co-
produce UltraHD (UHD) content for
AsiaSat’s UHD channel ‘4K-SAT’, on
AsiaSat 4 at 122°E.
The co-production includes a
knowledge-based UHD mini-series on
satellite communications to provide
an easy-to-understand introduction
to topics such as how a satellite
works, how it serves people and how
it is used in broadcasting high quality
content.
“Compelling content is the key
to drive UHD viewership. Creating
original content is the first step of
our collaboration with Digital Magic.
Digital Magic is an industry renowned
content producer in UHD and VR.
We look forward to developing more
together for our audience in Asia,”
said Sabrina Cubbon, Vice President,
Marketing and Global Accounts of
AsiaSat.
AsiaSat’s ‘4K-SAT’ channel is currently
broadcasting a variety of full UHD
content. Major TV operators in the
Asia-Pacific have access to it via
AsiaSat 4.
Intelsat 33e arrives in French Guiana
amid preparations for launch on Ariane 5
AsiaSat and Digital Magic join hands
to create original UHD content for ‘4K-SAT’
NEWS
Sabrina Cubbon

26 August 2016
SpeedCast International has
announced that it has been
awarded a new sizeable multi-
year service agreement to provide
managed satellite communications
services by a leading global energy
service company (“the Customer”).
Under the service agreement,
SpeedCast will provide fully
managed VSAT network services
to 18 wellsite locations throughout
China.
“This is the third major services
agreement awarded to SpeedCast
by the Customer in the past 12
months. Working side-by-side with the
Customer, we proposed a solution
which has taken their operational
and business requirements into
consideration. The Customer will
be able to drive global network
consistency and gain efficiencies as
additional countries come under a
common global managed service.
The Customer is now able to better
manage resources and streamline
operational processes by working
with us across various countries and
three continents.” said Keith Johnson,
Senior Vice President, Energy of
SpeedCast.
“This is our first service
implementation for an Energy
Customer in China” PJ Beylier, CEO
of SpeedCast, emphasized. “It is
therefore an important milestone
that opens the door to more
developments in China. Even more
importantly, it validates our vision to
establish SpeedCast as a leading
global service provider, able to
serve blue chip energy customers
on a global basis, and as thus to win
market share versus long established
competitors in that sector.” he
added.
SpeedCast appointed by energy services company
to provide satellite communications services in China
Keith Johnson, SVP - SpeedCast PJ Beylier, CEO - SpeedCast
MBRSC captures HD images of the Moon with
DubaiSat-2 marking the 47th anniversary of Apollo 11
DubaiSat-2, the second Earth
observation satellite owned and
operated by the Mohammed Bin
Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC),
has captured clear, high-resolution
image of the Moon in its crescent
phase to mark the 47th anniversary
of the first manned mission to land on
the lunar surface.
MBRSC is a Dubai Government
entity which aims to promote
scientific innovation and technology
advancement in Dubai and the
UAE. The Centre works on research
projects and studies related to space
science, in line with the approach of
the United Arab Emirates, in its quest
to develop the sector and build
national academic skills through it.
Among the most prominent tasks
entrusted to the Centre are the
design, implementation, and
supervision of all phases of launching
the “Hope Probe” to explore Mars.
The Centre is also responsible for
all projects related to satellite
technology and applications and
specialized projects, and advanced
technical projects assigned to
stakeholders. Also, the Centre
provides space imaging and earth
station services and support to other
satellite services.
In 2009, MBRSC launched
“DubaiSat-1” into space, the first
Emarti remote sensing satellite.
In 2013, the second satellite
“DubaiSat-2” was launched, while
work is underway to launch the third
satellite “KhalifaSat”, which is being
built purely by Emirati engineering
and expertise in the UAE.
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
27August 2016
SES partners with Singapore EDB’s Office
for space technology and industry
SES has inked an agreement
with the Singapore Economic
Development Board (EDB), marking
its inaugural cooperation with EDB’s
Office for Space Technology and
Industry (OSTIn) to explore greater
development and innovation in
satellite technologies, hardware and
software tools for satellite networks of
the future.
SES and EDB will work with Singapore
research institutes and industry
partners in the design, prototyping
and production of technologies
for mobility applications in the
aeronautical, automotive and
maritime sectors.
Other potential areas of
collaboration with EDB include the
development of software to manage
next generation satellite networks,
as well as producing innovative,
compact components for Internet
of Things (IoT) applications, which
will continue to advance Singapore
in realising its vision of a Smart Nation.
The partnership will also pave the
way for collaboration between
Singapore and Luxembourg
universities and research institutions
to develop state-of-the-art satellite
and radio communications
technologies.
Beh Kian Teik, Executive Director
at EDB’s OSTIn, said, “We are
pleased to be working with
SES to explore innovation
opportunities in space technology
and communications. SES is a
leading operator in the satellite
communications market and will
further boost the maturity of R&D
in Singapore’s space sector. This
partnership also validates the
growing capabilities of our space
industry and the growing strength of
our research institutions.”
“Singapore has been home to SES
in Asia for the past 15 years and is
an important centre for our business.
The country has rapidly risen into
a world-class R&D and innovation
hub, and in partnering with EDB and
collaborating with local industry and
research partners, we are excited to
play a role in further developing the
emerging local space and satellite
sector and realising Singapore’s
space aspirations,” said Deepak
Mathur, SVP Commercial, Asia-
Pacific and the Middle East at SES.
NEWS

28 August 2016
Thaicom has announced that
the THAICOM 8 satellite at the
78.5°E prime orbital position has
been chosen to provide satellite
transponder services to IPM
Company Limited, a leading DTH
provider in Thailand. The contract
is a major milestone for THAICOM 8
which was launched in May 2016.
IPM is the first customer on the new
THAICOM 8 platform.
The satellite capacity will enable
IPM to move their existing 4 million
satellite dishes to Thaicom’s 78.5°E
position. The agreement is in line with
Thaicom’s business plan of providing
the satellite capacity needed to fuel
the fast growth of the broadcast
and media industries in Asia. IPM
is Thailand’s leading satellite dish
provider on the Ku-band with over
4 million subscribers
Manop Tokarnka, CEO of IPM
Company Limited commented,
“We are pleased to enter into the
partnership with Thaicom through
this deal. With THAICOM 8, we will
able to utilize Thaicom’s leading
video channel neighborhood and
broadcast platform at 78.5°E for
the cost-effective expansion of our
business including High Definition TV
service in the not-so-distant future.
We believe Thaicom offers superior
satellite performance and customer
service over other operators, which
is another reason why IPM decided
to be on THAICOM 8. IPM has
gone from strength to strength with
local content channels as part of
our strategy to strengthen the IPM
satellite TV platform. Thaicom plays
an important part in this strategy.”
Paiboon Panuwattanawong, CEO of
Thaicom, commented, “I would like
to thank IPM for their trust in Thaicom
and the opportunity to providing the
service quality and flexibility needed
to grow their business further. The
Thai TV market is one of the most
dynamic and competitive markets
in Asia. We are particularly proud
of the fact that IPM moved from a
global top 3 satellite operator to
Thaicom, which is testament to the
trust in us and the tangible benefits
that we bring to our customers.”
THAICOM 8 represents a total
solution for broadcast and data
clients in Asia and Africa with
excellent Ku-band coverage. The
satellite supports the high demand
for capacity of the broadcasting
industry as it transitions from standard
definition to high definition and
ultra-high definition. THAICOM 8 has
a total of 24 Ku-band transponders
which cover Thailand, South Asia,
and Africa. Co-located with
THAICOM 5 and THAICOM 6 at
78.5°E longitude, THAICOM 8 entered
service in July 2016. The rich video
channel neighborhood at the 78.5
E orbital slot is one of the leading in
Asia for a variety of programming.
Orbital ATK manufactured the
satellite and SpaceX was responsible
for the launch. THAICOM 8 is
designed to operate for more than
15 years.
Thaicom signs first major deal for THAICOM 8
satellite with Thai TV Platform Operator IPM
Paiboon Panuwattanawong
CEO - Thaicom
North Telecom has appointed
Richard Alwani as Senior Sales
Director for APAC.
Richard has over 20 years sales
experience in Information &
Technology and over 16 years in the
Satellite field.
He has worked in companies such
as ABS, SpeedCast, iDirect and
C2SAT and recently was a Senior
Consultant for the customers in the
Oil & Gas industries, supplying them
with VSAT communications, below
deck network equipment and
entertainment packages.
In his previous roles, he has
opened up new markets for the
companies that he has worked
for and has strengthen his
network to all parts of the world
in this field.
Richard Alwani joins North Telecom
as Senior Sales Director APAC
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
29August 2016
First telemedicine expedition to K2,
created by Thuraya, WiCis and OCENS technology
The first telemedicine expedition
to K2 is underway, after successful
trials in the Himalayas in March.
The WiCis-Sports app, running on
Thuraya SatSleeve+, will monitor
every step of the #K2Adventure16
Madison Mountaineering trip, taking
pioneering technology onto one of
the world’s most challenging peaks.
The expedition will demonstrate how
telemedicine can provide instant
access to medical expertise around
the globe. OCENS is providing
continuous pinpoint weather data
and forecasts via their patented
WeatherNet software through the
WiCis-Sports app.
The #K2Adventure16 project began
on 12 June and is set to reach
the summit in mid-August. Led by
Garrett Madison, the team of ten
is accompanied by porters from
Pakistan and Sherpas from Nepal.
One of the most remote places on
Earth, with only 46 permits issued
in 2016, K2 is the second highest
and arguably the world’s most
intimidating mountain.
Select adventurers will wear
lightweight, breathable, Bluetooth-
enabled garments featuring
embedded or integrated sensors,
under normal climbing gear.
The sensors continuously monitor
heart rate, oxygen saturation, skin
temperature, geo-location, altitude,
speed and bearing.
Data will be streamed to the WiCis-
Sports internet platform using Thuraya
Sat-Sleeve+, and will be available
within one to two seconds on any
internet-enabled device on the
planet. Dr Leo Montejo, CEO of WiCis,
will keep track of the party’s progress
from California. The data will also
be streamed online in real time on a
public dashboard.
Remote monitoring will reduce costs
for adventure climbers who do not
have a doctor at base camp, and
will allow more expeditions access to
remote medical support in real time.
WiCis-Sports is also combining and
analyzing vital sign data to provide
a snapshot of the climbers overall
health status. Should a medical or
other emergency arise, rescue teams
will have immediate access to the
data needed to assess the climbers’
condition and the exact location.
Bilal El Hamoui, Thuraya Chief
Commercial Officer, said: “We share
a desire to save and improve lives
with WiCis, and we’re delighted to
work together on something we
feel will be standard expedition kit
within five years. Thuraya-connected
wearables will help adventurers push
their boundaries farther and safer.”
Two successful trial expeditions were
undertaken earlier this year in the
Himalayas. Montejo, a team leader
in the first of the two, tested the
Thuraya SatSleeve+ and WiCis-Sports
App. Three expedition members
were forced to withdraw through
illness; one acute mountain sickness
case was so serious that a rescue
helicopter was called for, using
Thuraya SatSleeve+.
Montejo said: “The time we spent
testing the equipment meant we
could make improvements to the
system. Thuraya SatSleeve+ is reliable
and blends nicely with the WiCis-
Sports App. Now we’re ready for K2,
our ultimate challenge. Basically, if
it works there, it will work anywhere.
If we can offer you support through
technology, there is no reason to be
totally alone.”
NEWS

30 August 2016
Ooredoo has announced a group
strategic agreement with digital
consumer technology company
Mobimedia International to launch a
full suite of mobile consumer services
across its footprint in the Middle East,
North Africa and Southeast Asia.
The agreement follows the two
companies’ successful collaboration
in launching the mJams Music
Streaming app in Myanmar earlier
this year.
The mJams app provides a
convenient and high-quality way for
customers to enjoy the latest local
and international music directly from
their handset. With just a smartphone,
customers can access any song from
mJams’ library of music and playlists
and, by deploying the service over
Ooredoo’s world-class mobile
data networks, the mJams app
delivers an incredible listening
experience.
Waleed Al Sayed, Deputy CEO,
Ooredoo Group, said: “We are
constantly looking for ways to
enhance our digital customer
experience and this partnership with
Mobimedia International will add
a wide range of consumer services
and apps to our portfolio. The mJams
Music Streaming app generated a
fantastic response in Myanmar. We
anticipate similarly positive responses
to some of the other upcoming
services.”
Ooredoo signs agreement with Mobimedia International
Waleed Al Sayed
Deputy CEO - Ooredoo Group
Ooredoo Oman has announced
unaudited financial results for the six
months ended 30 June 2016:
Revenues for the first half of 2016
grew by 8.9% to OMR 132.8 million
compared with OMR 121.9 million
in 2015. The growth is driven by
increases in both mobile and fixed
data revenue.
EBITDA for the first half of the year
stood at OMR 73.4 million compared
to OMR 68.4 million for the first six
months of 2015. EBITDA growth for the
year is driven by higher revenue.
Net profit for the first half of 2016 was
OMR 24.9 million compared with
OMR 22.2 million in the same period
of 2015. Increase in net profit for
the year is driven by higher EBITDA
partially offset by higher depreciation
cost due to investment in network
modernisation.
Total number of customers grew
by 3.2%, to be 2,841,472 at the end
of the first half of 2016 compared
to 2,753,140 for the same period of
2015.
The fixed service customer base
increased by 28.7% to 80,292
customers in Q2 2016 compared
to 62,410 in same period 2015. The
mobile post-paid customer base
grew by 5.1% to 212,352 customers
compared with 202,026 customers
in Q2 2015. The mobile pre-paid
customer base for Q2 2016 increased
by 2.4% to 2,548,828 compared to
2,488,704 for the year 2015.
CEO of Ooredoo Oman, Greg
Young, said:“We are pleased with
our revenue growth in this first half
of the year and this is confirmation
of our continued focus on customer
needs. Our growth is largely driven
by a continued rise in data demand
in the mobile and fixed markets, as
well as a significant increase in fixed
customer numbers.”
“The growth is also a result of our
continued network investment,
both to modernise and increase
coverage. On the back of this,
we have developed a number of
inspiring products, promotions and
services, such as our Superfast Fibre
Home Broadband packages, our
popular daily Ooredoo Surprises
and attractive Shahry Business Pack
offers, to meet the changing needs
of customers and businesses in all
sectors across the Sultanate.”
Ooredoo Oman Revenue up by 8.9% in first half of 2016
Greg Young, CEO - Ooredoo Oman
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
31August 2016
As part of its network leadership
strategy, Ooredoo successfully
completed the pre-launch phase
for 4G mobile in Algeria, becoming
the first operator in the country to
provide the superfast Internet service.
With the launch in Algeria, Ooredoo
now offers 4G services in eight
markets in the Middle East, North
Africa and Southeast Asia, positioning
the company as one of the leading
4G providers. This significant network
investment reflects Ooredoo’s
commitment to deliver a better data
experience for its customers across its
global footprint.
The launch was conducted in
Tlemcen in north-western Algeria,
which is one of three provinces
(along with Tizi Ouzou and Bechar)
that will be first to have access to 4G
mobile services. Ooredoo Algeria has
plans in place to roll-out 4G across all
48 provinces in the coming months.
During the launch event in Tlemcen,
Ooredoo Algeria showcased its
range of new 4G handsets and
laptops, as well as innovative services
such as app downloads.
Ooredoo Algeria has successfully
conducted a trial phase to
demonstrate the speed and
capacity of 4G services, using
a preliminary licence from the
Algeria Regulatory Authority for
Post and Telecommunications. It
will now move forward with the full
commercial launch. During the trial
process, which was conducted
with Nokia and in presence of
representatives from the Regulatory
Authority, Ooredoo Algeria realised
speeds of up to 75 Mbps on its 4G
network – the fastest yet recorded in
Algeria.
Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani,
Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “Our
launch of 4G in Algeria demonstrates
Ooredoo’s commitment to investing
in superfast networks across all our
markets. We continue to offer our
customers a better data experience,
enabling them to enjoy faster
downloads and clearer, buffer-free
streaming, made possible by the
latest network technology.”
With the commercial launch,
customers will be able to access
4G speeds for the same price as
Ooredoo Algeria’s 3G services.
Customers will benefit from faster
streaming and upload speeds,
entertainment services delivered
via their mobile devices, and crystal
clear calls.
The network upgrade will also
support Ooredoo Algeria’s efforts to
offer e-commerce, m- payments,
m-banking, m-health, and
m-education services.
Ooredoo’s successful launch in
Algeria follows the launch of 4G
services in Myanmar in May 2016,
where Ooredoo was again the first
operator in the country to offer
4G. Coverage started in Yangon,
Mandalay and Naypyitaw, and
is continuing to roll-out across the
country.
Ooredoo’s other 4G markets include
Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Maldives
and Indonesia, and the company
continues to deliver
on-going network upgrades to
ensure its customers benefit from
faster Internet services across the
Ooredoo footprint.
Ooredoo launches Algeria’s first 4G network
Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani,
CEO - Ooredoo Group
NEWS

32 August 2016
The report of recent Commonwealth
ICT Ministers Forum in London shows
public and private sectors coming
together to help accelerate ICT
development in Commonwealth
countries.
The ministers issued a Declaration at
the end of a closed-door meeting
that endorsed the CTO’s strategy
for supporting member countries
over the next four years. Key issues
addressed in the Declaration
included broadband, cybersecurity,
applications and Commonwealth
coordination.
“Contributions from the private
sector at this year’s event were very
constructive, and from the various
comments I’ve heard during and
since the event, the addition of the
Open Forum has been a success,”
said Shola Taylor, Secretary-General
of the CTO.
Key outcomes of the two-day open
conference were as follows:
• Competition is an important factor
that must be allowed to flourish
in order to drive innovation and
creativity, especially when we take
into consideration the rollout of
new fibre networks and the mobile
network transition from 3G, 4G to 5G.
• Bridging the digital divide is
profoundly important if we want
to transform our global economy
to a digital economy. The Internet
of Things will see 20 billion devices
connected, possibly by the end of
the decade.
• Market liberalisation, independent
regulators, encouragement of new
technologies, new financing models,
making broadband access a legal
right, are several key factors that can
help reduce the urban/rural digital
divide.
• Giving young people access
to broadband technology is a
key factor in driving forward the
economic development of countries.
• Due to its decreasing cost of
service, high performance, high
reliability and capability to provide
universal coverage, satellite
technology is a very viable option
for delivering both fixed and mobile
broadband services to rural and
remote areas of a country.
• 5G technology will require
large blocks of spectrum within
the frequency bands identified
by ITU WRC-2015 for study for
accommodation of 5G; In addition,
the C band, the Ka band and the Ku
band will need to be protected due
to the large investments that satellite
companies have made in satellite
systems in these frequency bands.
Companies that took part in the
Open Forum ranged from service
providers and manufacturers, such as
Avanti and Huawei, to carriers and
operators. International organisations
and leading associations such as the
ITU, ITSO and GSMA also took part.
David Williams, Chief Executive
Officer of Avanti Communications, a
UK-based Ka-band satellite operator
and CTO sector member said: “Data-
hungry consumers, businesses and
government organisations across
the Commonwealth require reliable,
flexible broadband infrastructure to
bridge the digital divide. Avanti’s
HYLAS satellite fleet is helping to
achieve this today, as it covers a
significant number of CTO member
states. Many more will be included
when our latest high-throughput
satellite, HYLAS-4 is launched early
next year.”
“We live in an age of global
connectivity that is delivering social,
health, education and economic
benefits to mankind. This connectivity
is equally important to developing
and developed economies.
However, we face a universal threat
from cyber attacks, which puts at
risk the benefits achieved to date
and future opportunities for local
and global economies,” said David
Francis, European Cybersecurity
Officer at Huawei Technologies.
CTO releases report of 2016 ICT Ministers Forum
David Williams
CEO - Avanti Communications
Shola Taylor
Secretary General - CTO
David Francis, European Cybersecurity
Officer - Huawei
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
33August 2016
GSMA and CTIA partner to create
new mobile industry event for the Americas
The GSMA and CTIA® has announced a partnership
through which the two organisations will create a new
mobile industry event in the United States. “GSMA Mobile
World Congress Americas, in partnership with CTIA” will
debut September 12-14, 2017 in San Francisco. CTIA and
the GSMA are equal partners in the joint event, with the
GSMA leading the event’s production and management.
CTIA will host its Super Mobility event showcasing the U.S.
wireless industry in Las Vegas on September 7-9, 2016.
Beginning in 2017, the new joint Mobile World Congress
Americas will continue to serve CTIA Super Mobility
attendees, exhibitors and sponsors and will also attract
new audiences from across the growing communications
ecosystem.
“We are very excited to be partnering with CTIA
to create our first large-scale event in the
United States,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd.
“The North American mobile industry has been
the strongest performing of any developed region
globally, leading innovation in hardware, access
technologies, operating systems and new apps and
services that are scaling rapidly and changing how
individuals live and work. Mobile World Congress
Americas will put a spotlight on this innovation and
will support the continued growth of the mobile
ecosystem in the region.”
“By combining the show resources of the two preeminent
wireless organizations – CTIA and the GSMA – we will have
the first truly global wireless event in the United States
and the Americas. Each fall, this unique collaboration
will bring the world’s attention to mobile innovation
and opportunities from 5G to the Internet of Things and
beyond,” said Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO,
CTIA. “At the new event, CTIA looks forward to continuing
to develop its policy-focused educational sessions and
collaborate on the keynote program. Our joint event will
provide the ideal platform to highlight the U.S. mobile
industry and the impact it has for billions of people around
the world.”
Mobile World Congress Americas will include a
conference program featuring C-level speakers and
leading industry experts; an exhibition showing the latest
mobile technologies, products and services; a regulatory
and public policy program; partner events; free seminars
and many other activities.
Across these elements, Mobile World Congress Americas
will emphasize core mobile technologies, consumer and
industrial applications in the Internet of Things and the
intersection of mobile with entertainment, content and
media. It is expected that the inaugural Mobile World
Congress Americas will attract 30,000 attendees and 1,000
exhibitors.
Meredith Attwell Baker, President & CEO - CTIAJohn Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer - GSMA
NEWS

34 August 2016
Cisco partners with Saudi Arabia
to accelerate the digitization of the Kingdom
Following a meeting between
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, Cisco
Executive Chairman John
Chambers, Cisco Chief Executive
Officer Chuck Robbins and Cisco
Saudi Arabia Managing Director
Abdullah Al-Swaha, Cisco signed
a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the Saudi Ministry of
Commerce and Investment that
sets a roadmap for an accelerated
pace of digital transformation in the
Kingdom.
The MoU serves as a partnership
framework and underlines Cisco’s
strategic commitment in support
of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to drive
digital transformation at a country-
wide level. Digitization will play
an important role as the Kingdom
focuses on diversifying its economy
and achieving its ambitious “Vision
2030” agenda, launched last April.
“This partnership reflects the Saudi
government’s priority focus on
embracing digital transformation and
capturing the many opportunities
presented by country digitization,”
said Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-
Qasabi, Minister of Commerce
and Investment for Saudi Arabia.
“Developing a vibrant digital
economy is a key pillar of our
economic diversification plan and
collaborating with global technology
leaders is essential to bring expertise
and know-how to our program of
development.”
The memorandum outlines a
multipronged approach through
which Cisco will help accelerate
Saudi Arabia’s digital agenda and
position the country for long-term
prosperity in the digital age. Through
their partnering, Saudi Arabia and
Cisco will identify a number of
collaborative opportunities in areas
that include developing national IT
infrastructure, accelerating business
innovation, stimulating startups and
enhancing research and education.
“Saudi Arabia has a bold plan for
fostering an innovation, talent and
entrepreneurship ecosystem that will
shift the economy towards greater
private sector participation and a
more market-based approach,” said
John Chambers, Cisco’s Executive
Chairman. “The government and
leadership have shown great
appreciation of the importance
of digitization as a pathway to
prosperity and to the achievement
of their vision. This lays a strong
foundation for Kingdom’s success
and we are honored to collaborate
closely with them to realize the
immense benefits that Saudi Arabia’s
accelerated digital journey will
deliver.”
Cisco recently conducted a Saudi
Arabia ‘Digital Value at Stake’
analysis, based on detailed use
cases across the Public and Private
sector, which revealed a $124.1
billion value opportunity over the
next 10 years for Saudi Arabia –
representing over 0.27 percent
additional GDP growth. It also
highlighted the areas of digitization,
IP connectivity, security, Smart Cities
and the Internet of Things (IoT) as
having the potential to create
sustainable and positive impact
across the Kingdom.
Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi,
Minister of Commerce - KSA
NEWS

INTERNATIONAL
teletimes
35August 2016
Collaborating Regulations for Smart Digital Society
ITU-PTA Asia-Pacific Regulators’
Roundtable” and the “International
Training Program (ITP) 2016” held
in Islamabad under the aegis
of Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) and International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). In
these events representatives from
more than 20 countries from Asia
Pacific participated.
The Chief Guests of the inaugural
ceremony of this event were Ms.
Anusha Rahman Khan, Minister of
State for Information Technology and
Telecommunication and Mr. Houlin
Zhao, Secretary-General, ITU.
Members of PTA, Members of
Ministry of IT, regulatory heads of
different countries, representatives
from telecom mobile operators,
internet service providers, academic
institutions, banks, ICT entrepreneurs,
and commercial companies
attended the event.
Chairman PTA Dr. Syed Ismail Shah
in his welcome speech enlightened
the theme of the conference
“collaborating regulations for smart
digital society”. He said that our
vision is vibrant telecom market
with affordable access to services
for consumers of all strata, Which
is fully aligned with the vision of
ITU. We all have benefited from
the principles and standards of
ITU like IT advanced, IT 2020 most
popularly known as 3G/4G and
5G technologies by providing
meaningful input into all other areas.
I am sure that every regulator of the
region is playing its crucial role for the
provision of better telecom services
to the consumers. However, we the
regulators need to re-imagine our
regulatory approach in the wake
of new trends and challenges,
Chairman PTA added.
Houlin Zhao, Secretary General ITU
expressed his great pleasure and a
privilege to be at the Asia-Pacific
Regulator’s Roundtable jointly
organized by the PTA and the ITU
with support from the Department
of Communications and the Arts,
Government of Australia. He said, at
this esteemed Roundtable, we are
greatly honored by the presence
of high level regulatory and policy
decision makers from more than 20
countries from the Asia-Pacific region
and beyond.
Mr. Zhao further said, this Regulators’
Roundtable for Asia-Pacific 2016
is of particular importance as
it is the first Symposium in this
region since the United Nations
General Assembly adopted the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), otherwise referred to as
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. He said that ICTs
are the foundation upon which
economic and social development
can grow. ICTs have incredible
potential to improve development
outcomes in both the developing
and the developed world. All three
pillars of sustainable development-
ITU-PTA Asia-Pacific Regulators’ Roundtable 2016
Teletimes Report
Houlin Zhao, Secretary General - ITUAnusha Rahman, Minister of StateDr. Syed Ismail Shah, Chairman - PTA
REPORT

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