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Etisalat all set to play major role in smart city initiative

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is a starting point towards renewing the partnerships between world's biggest telecommunication companies and producers of cellular phones across the world, chief executive officer of Emirates Telecommunication Company, or Etisalat UAE, Engineer Saleh Al Abdouli, said on the sidelines of the congress.
Al Abdouli said that the conference is considered as the most prominent and the most attractive event for the telecommunication sector for decades, referring how etisalat has always been participating in such world event. "The conference has enabled etisalat and has provided it the opportunity to interact with its current and potential partners, who came to take part in the Mobile World Congress," he said.
He said that etisalat is the largest regional operator in terms of investment in developing and enhancing the infrastructure, noting that etisalat is ranked as the top countries in terms of the installation and coverage of the fibre optics technology.
Al Abdouli pointed out that etisalat will launch 5G technology by the start of 2020, adding that 74 per cent of etisalat customers are using 4G network.
He assured that no extra fees would be charged to the company's customers in case of moving from the present 4G to 5G network. Once being on 5G network, the download speed will reach one GB/second compared to 400 GB/second on the current 4G network. "Etisalat is the least affected company with the global economic downturns," Al Abdouli said. He said the company in 2015 announced about 220 offers for individual customers and 80 offers for its customers from companies - an average of an offer per one-and-a-half day.
Etisalat's network covers now approximately 95 per cent of the country, he added. He said the 4G internet may help the services prices reduced for customers due to saving on costs.
Regarding etisalat's contribution in the initiative to turn Dubai into a 'Smart City', Al Abdouli said that the company will play a major role in supporting the initiative through its internet technology and its techniques in running smart cities.
"The concept smart cities depend on the fibre optics technology, which had been made available extensively in the country," he noted. "The UAE is the first country globally in providing the high-speed fibre optics with 90 per cent coverage rate of the country's areas, in addition to the 4G networks, which are currently available," he said.
- malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com