UAE telecom giant Du bets big on 5G

Up to Dh1.8b investment on infrastructure to drive future growth.

The telecom industry is gearing up for more exciting times ahead due to fast developments on the technology front. Du is developing its network and portfolio of products and services to cater to customers' needs and increase its market share, its senior executive says.
Fahad Al Hassawi, chief commercial officer of du, predicted a bright outlook for the telecom industry and said 5G will remain at the forefront of research and development for telcos around the world. He said telecom operators are the core players in the journey towards a smart city.
"Du has focused on forming its strategy and constantly developing its network to march towards defining and achieving 5G," Al Hassawi told Khaleej Times during an interview.
He said du had contributed to the ITU Study Group on 5G in 2015 and believes the initiative supports its objective to be the first in market with pioneering technologies.
"Du is also investing between Dh1.5 billion to Dh1.8 billion in infrastructure on an annual basis. Our investment in infrastructure will be the key to driving future progress," he said.
Elaborating, he said du will invest more into infrastructure, such as 4G LTE networks, fiber to the home and converged systems in 2016 to ensure quality of services to its subscribers.
He said operators around the globe are moving towards providing complementary digital services, such as machine to machine (M2M), eEducation, eHealth, smart homes, mGovernment, mobile financial services, mobile advertising, digital content and so on, by leveraging their existing capabilities and customer insights through either partnerships or in-house development.
"Digital services present the most substantial opportunities for local and foreign entities to partner with UAE telcos. We also anticipate more investment made in areas such as managed services, cloud services and technologies that will continue to develop the UAE's growing smart city environment.
"Innovation is embedded in our corporate DNA. Du is already offering innovative communication services throughout the UAE. We are planning to introduce a number of innovative and value-added solutions to our customers this year."
Trends to watch out for
Al Hassawi said du is multiplying its efforts to provide the latest and most developed products and services to one of the most tech-savvy societies in the world.
"We expect an increase in data-centric offers as the smartphone industry expands to new heights. In parallel, the mobile broadband explosion is expected to create new demand that will partially offset the loss of revenue due to VoIP substitution. Opportunities in mobile data will open new avenues for revenue creation."
Due to the growth of the UAE as a global business hub, he said enterprise offerings will continue to play a major role - managed services and data centres are expected to be future avenues of growth for telecom and information and communications technology (ICT) players. This will also drive the popularity of M2M among industries such as healthcare and oil and gas, he said.
To a question, he said du is diversifying its range of services, not just to increase revenues. As a corporate entity, it is du's responsibility to stay in tandem with global telcos' best practices and ensure that the UAE, its citizens and all businesses remain at the forefront of technology.
Currently, the SME market constitutes the biggest chunk of the UAE's economy and is key to the nation's growth. Promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship has formed an important aspect of du's business, he said.
"We believe that supporting SMEs is vital for our business, as well as the overall economy in the UAE. As the operator of choice for SMEs, we strive to simplify their work process and enhance their performance and productivity, while reducing costs among other benefits. "Overall, enterprise requirements have diversified - our customers do not just require connectivity, they need a comprehensive and diverse range of ICT services to ensure that their business functions optimally. Today, we offer machine-to-machine services, cloud-based services, managed services and improved security to ensure that our customers remain at the forefront of technology."
Smart city agenda
Al Hassawi said 2015 was an exciting year for the telecom industry as telcos explored opportunities to better leverage consumer information and data assets through their high-speed fixed and mobile broadband networks.
"We expect to see considerable development and cooperation with sectors such as health, education, financial services and advertising, as connectivity will empower these businesses."
In 2015, he said the UAE leadership has put forth strong considerations for its smart city agenda, in which connectivity plays a key role. Du also recognised that the ICT sector is a key driver of this connectivity and has taken on the task of developing its telecom offerings.
"Together with the government, we have taken steps to transform the UAE into a digital economy by investing in further developing the ICT infrastructure and strengthening the mobile network. In fact, we became the first operator to introduce the first CAT-6 ready 4G LTE network in UAE."
"As a corporate citizen, we see it as our responsibility to support the government in its vision," Al Hassawi said.
- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com