Page 50 - SAMENA Trends - January 2022

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Kuwait Continues to Benefit From 5G Investment

Kuwait’s telecom infrastructure is well broadband infrastructure will help develop more citizens will require online services
developed, with a focus on mobile sectors such as e-commerce, along with for work, entertainment, education, tele-
infrastructure and services. The telecoms smart infrastructure developments, and health, and social purposes.
sector is important to the country’s tech start-ups. BuddeComm notes that the Key developments:
economy, and this will become more pandemic continues to have a significant • STC Kuwait launches 5G standalone
pronounced in coming years as the impact on production and supply chains services;
economy is purposefully transitioned away all around the world. During this time, the • Telecom regulator supporting
from a dependence on oil and gas to one telecoms sector to various degrees is likely infrastructure sharing in Kuwait;
which is increasingly knowledge-based to experience a downturn in mobile device • Kuwait noted as having the fastest 5G
and focused on ICT and related services. and ICT equipment production, while it download rates in the region;
The MNOs have focused investment on 5G may also be difficult for network operators • Improvements to fibre-broadband
networks, which support and promote the to source necessary equipment or manage infrastructure continue;
growth of data traffic. This in turn has been workflows when maintaining and upgrading • Report update includes the regulator's
a catalyst for revenue growth in recent existing infrastructure. Overall progress market data to Q1 2021, telcos'
quarters. While Kuwait’s mobile sector towards 5G may also be postponed or financial and operating data to
shows considerable progress; the country’s slowed down in some countries. On the Q3 2021, Telecom Maturity Index
fixed broadband penetration is the lowest consumer side, spending on telecoms charts and analyses, assessment
in the region. However, the government services is likely to be impacted by large- of the global impact of Covid-19 on
has stepped up efforts to build up fixed scale job losses and the consequent the telecoms sector, recent market
broadband networks, and ultimately this restriction on disposable incomes. In developments.
sector offers a potential future growth contrast, the demand for mobile and Draft
opportunity. Improvements to the fixed broadband services is expected to rise, as

Pakistan Turns to Fingerprint Liveness Detection to Shut Down Fraudulent

SIM Business

Stolen fingerprints in Pakistan have more than a dozen others have followed of more than a dozen technology providers
pushed the government to deploy live suit, like Pakistan hoping to cut down on in the LivDet challenge. Pakistan appears
finger detectors. Government regulator the crimes carried out under the anonymity to be the first nation to deploy fingerprint
Pakistan Telecommunications Authority provided by mobile phones. A similar liveness detection for SIM registration.
will use the biometric devices specifically proposal has met with staunch resistance The stakes for weeding out fraudulent
for issuing mobile device SIM cards. in Mexico. Liveness and presentation SIM cards are made even higher by a
Fraudulent SIM cards hide the identity of a attack detection for fingerprint biometrics plan to launch digital wallets based on
device’s owner. Pakistan began enforcing have likewise advanced significantly in the biometric SIM registry, in an effort to
SIM ownership in 2008 using biometric recent years, as shown by the participation improve financial inclusion.
verification. At the time, would-be buyers
provided their national ID number and a
fingerprint. The publication ProPakistani
reports that there are more than 300,000
older government-approved biometric
verification devices nationwide. Each will
be replaced with the live detection version.
There reportedly are around 700,000 active
fake SIM cards in the country. Most false
prints come from deceased individuals.
Others are from official documents such as
voter cards, sometimes obtained through
collusion with insiders. When Pakistan
launched its biometric SIM registry, the idea
was still somewhat novel. Since then, other
countries such as Nigeria, Bangladesh and

50 JANUARY 2022