etisalat Archives - The Integrator

etisalat by e& is Continuously Fostering New Innovative Cloud Capabilities, Investing in Developing and Adopting Cloud Native Platforms.

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:02:16 +0000

Etisalat by e& is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers. The Integrator had an opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Khalid Murshed, Chief Technology & Information Officer, etisalat by e&

Q1: What is the strategy of etisalat by e& to drive growth in its transformation from a telco to a techco?

With the successful launch of the new brand identity of Etisalat Group to e&, the overall strategy is now anchored towards driving business growth through the creation of distinct business verticals. This was accompanied with the strength of etisalat by e&’s advanced and one of the world’s fastest mobile and fixed networks, best of class products and services, well-established digital channels, and our top commitment to provide the highest customer experience.

To thrive and sustain leadership as a service provider, the focus to transform from a telco to a techo was a critical imperative. While shifting towards a digital services provider, etisalat by e& remained committed to lead the telecom network evolution through rolling out advanced bundled network capabilities, addressing our various customer segments and their requirements with the continuous evolution of the network. This included 5G High Speed Services, 5G Private Networks, Multi-Cloud connectivity, security Services, SD-WAN, Fixed Services, and others. etisalat by e& is also investing and attracting new talents, leading the development of advanced technologies and new capabilities in the areas such as: Artificial Intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity, Robotics, Metaverse, 5G, IoT, OTT and others. This will help establish and fulfil unique and effective E2E digital services across various business verticals Fintech, Health, Government, Education, and among others. Our continuous efforts and technology investments have helped retain leadership and maintain the highest speeds in our network including the rollout of 5G Standalone and the enablement of various 5G uses cases for both business and consumers. In fixed network infrastructure, the digital business product portfolio has expanded to include new features and capabilities across IoT and M2M products, SD-WAN, cyber security, business vertical solutions and end-to-end managed service. The consumer products were enhanced with the adoption of OTT services, integration on the retail front with Al Grocer, payment channels, and the loyalty point system.

Q2. What has been the impact of 5G on etisalat by e& services?

Since 2018 etisalat by e& was among the first operators to invest in wide 5G rollouts and adoption to establish the foundation for the network of tomorrow. Today due to these efforts and investments, 5G is now widely available in UAE, enabling our consumers to experience our mobile services on one of the fastest networks in the world.

etisalat by e& has been working closely with businesses to enable 5G capabilities to address various use cases, such as in the area of 5G private networks enabling organizations to build secure, high speed and fully managed private 5G networks, connecting their different entities, systems, equipment to their critical business applications. New features and use cases will enable network slicing, latency sensitive M2M (machine to machine) IoT (Internet of Things) through active developments and partnerships to ensure readiness and effective tangible benefits to UAE businesses.

Q3: Tell us about the focus of etisalat by e& on AR or VR (Metaverse) and future technologies?

Although the Metaverse technology is still at its early stages, we see a significant opportunity in the technology that will totally transform the user experience, how people and businesses can connect, communicate, and interact and improving the overall quality of life.

The infrastructure foundation is built to support future technologies like Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR) that require low latency, leveraging on our high-speed 5G and fixed network, comprehensive coverage, and multi-cloud infrastructure, including MEC.

We also work closely with Metaverse partners and technology providers to enable various use cases, such as digital twin for visualizing and visualizing a company’s infrastructure and physical presence. For example, providing customers with virtual live visualisations of their physical locations to enable effective new floor plan designs, changes, and problem solving without having to conduct costly visits and actual reworks. We have also implemented several use cases in the consumer and entertainment sectors which were launched and showcased at GITEX, the global technology exhibition held in Dubai this year.

Q4: What is your Cloud Strategy?

Cloud is at the heart of etisalat by e&’s strategy through our extensive hybrid cloud adoption and by partnering with public hyperscalers, building, and evolving our private and edge clouds at the same time establishing a robust secured multi-could connectivity.

etisalat by e& is continuously fostering new innovative cloud capabilities, investing in developing and adopting cloud native platforms and applications, enabling higher efficiency and faster time to market of new enhanced services targeted to enhance the overall customer’s experience. By partnering with public cloud providers and technology partners etisalat by e& is leveraging on the offerings and innovation capabilities to benefit our business customers and enable their business growth.

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EDCH Brings the VAS Revolution Into the Global Telecom Industry Besides Offering Intelligent Roaming

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 06:34:28 +0000

EDCH is a leader in providing intelligent roaming and revenue management to telecom service providers across the world. Tamer Abou-alam, Vice President – Sales and Business Management, EDCH speaks to The Integrator on the value-added services (VAS) the company offers to its telecom partners.

Thank you, Mr. Tamer for sparing time with The Integrator. We are excited to understand more about EDCH with this interview session!

We understand EDCH is one of the prominent companies that help telecom operators with VAS and generate revenues for their business. Give insights into the areas you focus in the industry

EDCH is a UAE-based service provider that has a presence in nearly 10 countries across all regions and helps numerous telecom operators in their business. We help telecom operators provide international roaming services, protect their roaming business hassle-free by providing them with data and financial clearing and settlement services.

Tamer Abou-alam, VP, EDCH

Apart from that, we help our customers generate value for their subscribers in different areas like A2P messaging, Fintech and SIM, and E-sim businesses. Each of these solutions helps create more revenue for the telecommunication business of these operators as we study numerous factors and introduce tailored services for our customers.

You are seemingly offering services outside the UAE and across the globe. Tell us about the countries you offer services and operators you are associated with

We are the trusted partner for many MNOs spread around the world. We support our customers with a high level of customized services across all our services portfolio in roaming, A2P Messaging, Fintech, and SIM/E-sim business.

Which are the key areas EDCH concentrates on roaming clearance?

When it comes to using roaming services, we support telcos with data, financial clearing, and settlement services with a high level of customizations and BI tools to our customers. We always thrive to improve our offering to support new technologies like 5G, IoT, complex roaming agreements, and blockchain.

What kinds of FinTech and enterprise messaging services do you provide?

We had found a huge business scope with fintech in different regions especially in Africa and Asia. We collaborate with telecom operators to create futuristic mobile payment solutions such as e-wallet and aim to connect them together via an international money remittance hub.

How do you work with telcos in the A2P messaging space?

Enterprise messaging is all about profit-oriented mediation between telecom operators and enterprises on SMS services. Network operators carry text messages of various enterprises i.e., financial, banking, healthcare, automobile, etc. to their customers. EDCH simplifies the handling of this complex business to telcos by working between both categories of service providers and integrating them into prospective business models.

How about the use of modern technologies such as AI, Data Analytics, and Cloud in your business?

We make use of AI tools in different services offering especially for roaming services. We also offer most of our services in a cloud environment or locally if required by the local market regulations.

Tell us about EDCH’s business prospects for the next two, three years

Global expansion is our primary goal and hence the current approach to strengthen our business with local resources and expand our commercial presence in all those geographical locations to support telcos around the globe. While keeping EDCH as a reliable hub between global telecommunication service providers, we wish to bring in the latest technology and practices all within the telecom ecosystem.

Do you face challenges in the business?

The pandemic had severely reduced international traveling of people and that impacted the roaming services globally. The hazy days are over as COVID-19 fears are fading away and the global travel restrictions are being relaxed. We also realize the potential in developing services to support telcos in other growing areas outside of the roaming scope yet still within the ecosystem. We forecast a bright future with continuing roaming services and other uniquely productive solutions offered to our partners.

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Etisalat showcases futuristic Technologies at GITEX

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 06:15:42 +0000

Keeping up with its theme ‘Driving the Digital Future’ at GITEX Technology Week, visitors took a journey experiencing all futuristic technologies at Etisalat stand during this week at the event.
Etisalat aimed to create an unforgettable presence at GITEX Technology Week by showcasing a remarkable array of innovations and concepts driven by its advanced infrastructure, smart apps and solutions. The theme this year ‘Driving the Digital Future’ signified the company’s mission to create a highly connected future for the UAE. GITEX attendees this year witnessed innovative ideas, concepts and solutions pioneered on through the company’s digital platforms, infrastructure and communication. To Etisalat, creating a digital future means enabling a connected lifestyle for the people as well as providing a plethora of highly efficient systems for government and business entities alike.
From a humanoid robot ‘Sophia’ speaking to visitors to a robot conducting surgery over 5G, robotics were one of the major highlights at Etisalat stand. Robotics made its presence in retail where a robot assists you to shop and complete your shopping experience. There is a robot Einstein, a genius in maths and science is an educational robot chatting with kids on weather, famous people, etc. In healthcare, the 5G robotic surgery is a demo that highlights mission critical use case for use of human skills remotely by using the power of the network.
In Smart home, robots displayed their skills in cooking and ‘Buddy’ the companion robot that protects your home, entertains kids and helps stay connected with family and friends.
Augmented and virtual reality made their presence felt in all aspects of life, at GITEX this year; Etisalat highlights the use of these technologies in retail, education and in large-scale industry. In retail, augmented reality technology helps in choosing your favorite design on your shoes, clothes and merchandise. In education, augmented and virtual reality, collaboration and sharing highlight innovation in the classroom. IoT solutions also used augmented reality interfaces that could be used across industrial applications.
Another technology that has made its presence across the different verticals is artificial intelligence (AI). In technologies for the visually impaired ‘Drishti’ developed by Accenture has smart glasses that recognizes objects and say what it sees through an audio to the person wearing the glass. AI also showcased in education where a digital library interacts with students to find the answers to their questions. Here the library recognizes the voice and responds back accordingly. In retail, the AI reception welcomes visitors, with a virtual assistant talking to you and a face recognition camera recognizing the visitor.

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Etisalat launches ‘Business in a Box’ Solution for SMB segment

admin — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 10:56:47 +0000

Etisalat’s unique all-in-one ‘Business in a Box’ solution enables Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) to focus on their core business by helping them innovate, diversify, cut costs and create tools that are right for the business.
Today SMBs are disrupting entire industries by introducing new business models or transforming their own. These businesses are raising the bar on customer experience by reinventing product and service delivery. According to ‘The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study, 71 percent of IT leaders from small and midsize businesses rank digital initiatives highest or relatively high in priority.
In this scenario, SMBs are doing their best by focusing on the core business as well as controlling inflationary costs by looking for business solutions that help them manage their business operations efficiently. Etisalat’s Business in a Box addresses the needs of this new mindset by offering a one-stop all-on-one solution that helps offices and employees manage their technology, devices and applications.
With 24×7 ICT and technical support as well as online supporting tools, SMBs are able to focus on their core business and diversify their customer base. Business in a Box from Etisalat starts at AED 955 per month and provides high-speed Internet with speeds up to 100 Mbps, advanced IP phones & features, firewall & access control, office applications, business devices at zero upfront cost, and more.
John Lincoln, Senior Vice President, Small and Medium Business at Etisalat said: “Today it’s significant for SMBs to adapt business tools to expand their opportunities within the economy to grow and innovate. Technology enables better connectivity, engagement and understanding of customers. Applying new technologies can help SMBs improve business outcomes and become more agile in the digital economy.
“Etisalat’s Business in a Box will help SMBs bridge this gap by giving them the right tools to run their business efficiently and transition into the digital era. We are confident that this business-grade solution will give them the convenience, value for money, flexibility in managing their finances, scalability and add value to their customer experience. Finally, the box that ticks all the boxes for SMBs!”
Etisalat’s Business in a Box provides small and medium businesses all the benefits in one platform that includes high-speed Internet, advanced telephony, office applications, business devices and end-to-end security

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Etisalat achieves ISO 20000 certification

admin — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:26:25 +0000

Etisalat announced that its ‘Managed Services’ business was successfully accredited with the prestigious ISO 20000 certification, an acknowledgement to its outstanding commitment to IT service quality, standards and global best practices in service management.
The certification reiterates that Etisalat is the leading telecom services provider in GCC to independently demonstrate to its customers that it’s operating in strict accordance with the highest international standards and following industry best practices for their business.
ISO 20000 provides a better alignment of IT services and the business building trust and confidence in customers. This is also mainly due to an integrated process approach, reduction of incidents and continuous improved incident management, improved service delivery costs leading to financial savings, greater understanding of roles and business objectives and protecting the company, assets, shareholders and customers.
Speaking on the achievement, Salvador Anglada, Chief Business Officer, Etisalat said: “Etisalat is dedicated to delivering best-in-class services to our key stakeholders and customers, the ISO 20000 certification is a great way to demonstrate our core values to both new and existing customers. This accreditation is in line with our long term business objectives and functions re-assuring our clients that our services are efficient to meet their requirements.”
“The certification is significant as it differentiates Etisalat within the telecom sector and this achievement also provides transparency due to the formal mechanism of reviewing Etisalat’s services and to measure our commitment.”
Haitham Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer said: “Etisalat has continuously invested in improving the quality of our systems and service portfolio by attaining industry accreditations in quality, business continuity, information security and environment. This has helped maintain our leadership position, demonstrate excellence and proven best practices in IT service management.”
“The ISO qualification audit is a rigorous process by independent audit bodies implementing stringent principles to ensure that we benchmark ourselves against the highest standards to guarantee our IT service management is the best for our customers. This certification reflects the team’s hard work and complete dedication in governance of the processes and best practices required for effective service

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UAE ranked as global leader in Fiber Optic Network

admin — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 11:16:43 +0000

UAE is ranked no. 1 for the highest Fiber to the Home (FTTH) penetration in 2016 among all its global counterparts, according to the leading industry body FTTH Council.
The council published its annual report recently that highlighted UAE with a coverage of 93.7 percent compared to countries such as Qatar (87.9 percent), Singapore (85.4 percent), South Korea (79.8 percent), Hong Kong (73.7 percent) and Japan (53.9 percent).
UAE was shortlisted in the category of countries with a FTTH penetration of over 40 percent. There were 11 countries in this category.
Saleh Al Abdooli, CEO, Etisalat Group, said: “This achievement was only possible due to the long term vision of the UAE leadership of development and modernization. Etisalat has worked in line with this strategy investing more than AED 28 billion in the network infrastructure. This has led to the launch of innovative services meeting the growing demand and changing requirements of our customers across the country and making the capital the first city globally to be covered with a fiber optic network.”
“With network enhancement and expansion Etisalat has also focused on investing in innovation and next generation technologies and services. This is in line to provide the best customer experience to our subscriber base and position our UAE leadership on a global map in the ICT sector as well as other sectors”
Etisalat eLife customers now experience a high speed network at 1GBps enjoying the best in entertainment due to exclusive partnerships with leading TV entertainment international providers. eLife TV also includes the country’s widest portfolio of on-demand movies and TV series with 150 TV channels in High Definition.

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Huawei secures top spot at Etisalat Strategic Suppliers Awards

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 08:13:38 +0000

Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, has been honored with the “Best Strategic Supplier Award” by Etisalat UAE. Huawei secured the top spot at the inaugural Etisalat Strategic Suppliers Conference, held at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The event successfully promoted better understanding and mutual benefit within the ICT ecosystem, while recognizing the key telecom suppliers in the region.

In order to determine the winner of the ‘Best Strategy Supplier’, Etisalat evaluated suppliers on several crucial sets of criteria, like quality and performance of work; overall cost competitiveness and added value; how they approached innovation and partnership; and capability to follow clause compliance.

For years now, Etisalat and Huawei have worked together on leading projects that span beyond the building of crucial ICT infrastructure in the region. Just this year Etisalat and Huawei partnered up to successfully trial 10Gbps service that will enable users to experience the fastest broadband speed available in the region today; one of several key projects.

Under the current partnership framework, Huawei is committed to collaborating with Etisalat on launching innovative technologies and services.

“Needless to say, this is a proud moment for the entire Middle East team,” explained Poundss Peng, President of Etisalat Global Key Account, Huawei ME. “Ranked number one in 2015, based on a comprehensive evaluation, this is the direct result of the close partnership between Etisalat and Huawei over the years, and the hard work from both teams.”

Huawei and Etisalat have worked together to outline the carrier’s future network framework architecture vision and produce a five year roadmap to achieve end goals. Future network and operation plans, that will enable the various national visions of the region, will see Etisalat offer personalized and seamless user experience and services over the next decade.

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Emircom honored among top suppliers by Etisalat

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 06:02:38 +0000

Emircom, a leading systems integrator, placed Runner Up in the ‘Supplier – Business’ category during the awarding ceremony of the 2016 Etisalat Strategic Suppliers Conference held recently at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The company has been providing various information and communications technology (ICT) solutions for Etisalat and Etisalat Customers for over three decades and counts the multinational UAE-based telecommunications services provider among its key clients.

Emircom partners with leading technology vendors to deliver best-in-class solutions to customers such as Etisalat. During the conference, Emircom was commended for its innovative and comprehensive portfolio of integrated systems, its team of highly-qualified professionals, and its exceptional expertise in the telecommunications domain.

Mohamad Abou-Zaki, Chief Operating Officer, Emircom, said: “The recognition from Etisalat marks another major milestone in our efforts to become a preferred partner to the region’s telecom leaders. It serves as further motivation for us to add more value to our products and services in strategic partnership with renowned technology vendors. We thank Etisalat for this award and will continue to harness the latest technologies and best practices to come up with industry-leading ICT solutions.”

For more than 30 years, Emircom has been delivering cutting-edge integrated ICT solutions across the MEA region. Its experienced and highly skilled engineering teams ensure the highest quality of System Integration and Managed Services. Emircom’s ICT portfolio covers Data Centers, Cloud Services, Security, Collaboration and Services. The company is currently building up its expertise in emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Big Data and Cloud Computing.

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Etisalat conducts the region’s fastest 5G live trial

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 13:02:07 +0000

Etisalat announced today the completion of the MENA region’s first 5G mobile technology live trial using millimetre wave (mmWave) during GITEX Technology Week 2016 in Dubai (16-20 October 2016).
In the lead up to the 5G deployment in the UAE by 2020, Etisalat’s latest technological milestone includes the live trial of a remarkable 36 Gbps peak rate at E-Band frequency. The latest trial ensures Etisalat’s pioneering position as the region’s first to develop the next-gen network for its customers.
5G is all about “ubiquitous computing”, meaning the ability to access applications from any platform, anytime, anywhere. It is the next step in the evolution of high-speed mobile broadband services, shaping the environment for growing ‘Internet of Thing’ and smart cities to become a way of life for end users.
The new 5G network will help Etisalat cope with the massive digital content explosion anticipated in the next few years. Our field test at GITEX this year is a significant step in validating the performance of 5G in high frequency bands. It has refreshed Etisalat’s understanding to the capabilities of the technology, which Etisalat believes will deliver capacity and connectivity beyond anything we’ve even come close to today.
The trial aimed to explore higher spectrum efficiency at high frequency band for 5G enhanced mobile broadband, using a 2GHz bandwidth at E-Band. With Massive MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output) and other advance technologies, the downlink peak rate reaches 36 Gbps on UE side, establishing Etisalat’s new record of peak rate during 5G technology research.

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Cisco’s IoT World Forum in Dubai – A Grand Awakening Towards IoT

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 15:04:07 +0000

Cisco announced that the third annual Internet of Things World Forum (IoTWF) 2015 in Dubai was a huge success with over 2000 attendees from across the world getting awakened to the Internet of Things (IoT) possibilities. The event featured visionary keynotes by leaders and experts from top companies such as Etisalat, Emirates, Visa, Intel, Siemens AG, Rockwell Automation, GE, Schneider Electric to name some.

The 2015 World Forums highlighted three key themes:

Awaken — which highlighted the opportunities across all industries, identified multiple business cases, and helped customers discover the competitive advantages that IoT can bring
Activate — which covered laying out roadmaps to IoT deployments, best practices and learnings from customer IoT case studies
Accelerate —focused on moving the industry forward quickly, and highlighted the roles that service providers and application developers must play in enabling this speed

In addition to the keynotes, the World Forum also featured breakout sessions, a hackathon, a startup showcase, and smart-city tours of Dubai.John Chambers, Executive Chairman of the Board at Cisco met with the country’s leadership, key government officials, regional customers and media and delivered a keynote on how the IoT is creating a new world of possibilities through digitization.

The event saw more than 25 customers presenting on how IoT has changed their business. Through Dubai Smart City Experience Tours, attendees were able to learn first-hand how Dubai, one of the most digitally advanced cities in the world, has connected transportation, education and healthcare across the city for a better citizen experience.

A special bus tour was arranged to the Dubai Design District (D3), which has implemented a wide spectrum of smart solutions and applicationsthat use IoT technologies, which include lighting solutions, clean energy, surveillance cameras as well as environment sensors to measure carbon dioxide to limit emissions. These applications are instrumental in making Dubai Design District one of the green fields for IoT and Smart and Connect Cities solutions.

The IoTWF 2015 also featured a Research and Innovation Symposium, where some of the world’s leading technology researchers and scholars talked about the New Frontiers of IoT research enabling a connected world.

The World Forum held an IoT Hackathon – a learning session and coding competition, which took place on the weekend preceding IoTWF. The Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge, which recognizes, promotes, and accelerates the adoption of breakthrough IoT technologies and products, brought together six amazing startups to Dubai to compete for their share of $250,000 in cash prizes. These six finalists, who were narrowed down from15 semi-finalists, got an opportunity to give their pitches live, on stage before the closing ceremony. The winners for the IoT Hackathon and Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge were announced during the event.

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