Page 14 - SAMENA Trends - February 2020

SAMENA COUNCIL ACTIVITY SAMENA TRENDS

among the most mature ICT markets in the
whole of the SA-ME-NA region and it is a Insights & Emphasis from the Conference
comfortable destination for conducting • 5G is not meant to be an additional connectivity layer
business-centric industry meetings that • Operators can no longer just sell connectivity, but must now explore with vertical
require multiple stakeholders with varying partners how a 5G enabled system can be effectively leveraged beyond simple
profiles to convene together.” connectivity; need value over and above connectivity
• Connectivity for everyone needs to be ensured so that inequality is not driven
Participation in Convergence to Bahrain any further
conference was open to the Industry and • Relevance locally is the most important thing – to enable addressing the real
top professionals from adjacent sectors, local challenges
sharing interest and expertise in 5G and • Need more local services, local focus, edge computing
IoT. Major regional industry players, • 5G is an enabler for local value-creation
including Batelco Group, stc Group, Zain • To have intelligent digital services we need a sustainable ecosystem; Telecom
Group, Mobily, Orange MEA, Etisalat, AT&T, operators are at the centre of the ecosystem
Arabsat, Sudatel, stc Kuwait, Omantel, • Satellite is to become an integral part of the 5G ecosystem
and Huawei took frontal role in the • Innovative use of AR/VR can deliver a step change in how people interact and
conference. Other telecom industry players use 5G
participating in Convergence included stc • Mobility for airplanes, inflight entertainment would be served by satellites
Bahrain, EDB Bahrain, Zain Bahrain, Cullen • Government is a key player in healthcare, education, eGov, etc, and a key driver
International, Strategy&, Orange Jordan, in change
Syniverse Technologies, Oman Broadband, • Need to make the C-Band central to achieving 5G economies of scale and de-
Analysys Mason, Arthur D Little, Nokia, veloping the device ecosystem, such as 1800 MHz has helped to proliferate LTE
Samsung, Comviva, goetzpartners, Brinc. • Regional digital visions require coherent approaches and greater government
io and many more… to government and government to private sector collaboration in order to reach
timely fulfillment
The advent of 5G networks is shifting the
focus back to the local ecosystem and local regards the vertical space / local industry Telecom Operators, indeed, are the key
value-creation. Whereas in the 4G world and resulting local 5G needs. Consumer enablers of 5G services and need to make
there was a lot of focus on cross-border market potential needs to be carefully significant efforts to expand their role
provision of services by international studied and assessed in collaboration beyond connectivity. This could start well
digital communications players, for 5G with vertical players and local and cultural by working directly with the healthcare
there needs to be a strong local ecosystem demand characteristics. Key barriers need industry to address the Coronavirus
to leverage 5G infrastructure and justify to be identified and government needs to challenge.
the significant investment needed. Locally assume a key role in pushing and including
adapted use cases need to be identified as 5G as a key pillar of its economic strategy.

14 FEBRUARY 2020