UAE: His Excellency Engineer Majed Sultan al-Mesmar, Director General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), stressed that countries possessing the most advanced infrastructure in the ICT sector will lead the digital transformation process, and be able to design their future, as digitization has become a decisive factor in human life for the foreseeable future.
This came in a speech delivered by His Excellency during the opening of the final day of the “Tech Xplore” conference at Dubai Airshow. On its last day, the conference addressed future telecommunications technologies, including 5G and superfast Internet networks, as well as expectations of industry experts that 5G technologies will be the biggest driver of change in the aviation sector in the coming period. As such, these modern technologies will not only enhance current applications, but also provide more opportunities to help create smart airports.
TDRA’s Director-General pointed out that the meeting of aviation industry giants under the umbrella of Dubai Airshow confirms that Dubai and the UAE have already returned to normal life after the pause imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. His Excellency added: “Today we live in a rapidly changing world both horizontally and vertically, which creates an urgent need to foresee the future in order to prepare for anticipated changes. We in the UAE have succeeded in overcoming the most difficult times of the pandemic based on the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership, placing early emphasis on advanced infrastructures. Results achieved by the UAE in key ICT indicators provide a clear picture of the leadership’s vision and determination to develop the sector in the present and future, as the UAE is ranked first globally in wireless broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants, mobile broadband speed and mobile broadband Internet subscriptions. We also rank first in mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. In addition, one of UAE’s national companies, Etisalat Corporation, is the world's fastest mobile network provider for the second consecutive year. All such indicators and more give us a glimpse of how our wise leadership envisions the ICT sector to be the engine of development in all other sectors – including of course the aviation sector.”
His Excellency added: "The aviation sector has always been a source of pride for us in the UAE, and has played an important role in strengthening the UAE's economy, reputation and global leadership. Thanks to the enormous potential of ICTs, this outstanding sector will continue to contribute tirelessly to creating a bright future, just as it has created the bright present. The emerging communications technologies will provide the aviation industry with a wide range of opportunities in automation, operational efficiency and big data analytics, enabling the aviation sector to get the best of IoT and AI for both aircraft and airports.”
Speakers stressed that new technologies have created a real revolution in the air travel sector, raising the bar for service delivery, starting from registrations and expediting routine procedures, to innovations that make flying more comfortable and enjoyable. Speakers also touched on how ICT contributed to easing restrictions and operational challenges on airport stakeholders, concerning public health measures amidst the pandemic.
The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) launched the 2020-2025 UAE 5G Strategy, making the UAE the first country in the region to launch such strategy beyond 2020. TDRA is also expanding the construction of 5G networks in the UAE, in addition to conducting studies on various relevant topics, including 5G network synchronization within the UAE and neighboring countries, national deployment strategy, and other wireless service protection standards.