Page 26 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Batelco Announces Participation in the AWS Marketplace CPPO

Batelco, the leading digital solutions provider in Bahrain has 2017, enabling Batelco to offer the most in-demand services to its
announced its role as a Consulting Partner with Amazon Web partners and customers. Through this launch, all AWS customers
Services (AWS) Marketplace, the fast-growing online software in Bahrain will be able to purchase software solutions available
store that helps thousands of AWS customers accelerate project on AWS Marketplace directly through Batelco, while receiving
success and innovation, as part of the launch of the Consulting guidance from Batelco’s dedicated team of skilled AWS certified
Partner Private Offer (CPPO) program in Bahrain. Launched in professionals on the right solutions and products to fit their
2002 as a subsidiary of Amazon, AWS is a platform that offers needs. Catering to customers through the one-stop shopping
flexible, reliable, scalable, easy-to-use and cost-effective cloud solution for all Cloud, Digital, ICT and Telecom needs across any
computing solutions. It has enabled its customers to achieve industry, Batelco will also facilitate a smooth and co-effective
their business requirements and meet their digital objectives. shopping experience for customers, allowing them to save time
Batelco’s collaboration with AWS has grown rapidly since early and money. Commenting on the announcement, Batelco GM
Enterprise Abderrahmane Mounir said, “We are very pleased to be
expanding our work with AWS, which complements our role as the
leading provider of digital solutions in Bahrain. This launch will
enable us to provide AWS services nationwide, which reflects our
continuous efforts to support our valued enterprise customers, by
providing the necessary technical support and tools to grow their
business. Through taking this step, Batelco is also reaffirming its
support for the Kingdom's Cloud-First Policy, the growth of the
digital economy.” Furthermore, as an AWS Consulting Partner,
Batelco has an added benefit of having the required technical
and specialist skillsets to help customers in end-to-end cloud
and AWS needs, along with providing the attractive bundling of
telecom products, with Batelco also providing options for single
and monthly billing.

Etisalat Will Focus On 5G NSA for Next Two Years

Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it expects to fixed-wireless mode due to the lack of 5G-capable handsets on
concentrate on non-standalone (NSA) 5G for the next two years the local market.
before launching a standalone 5G network. The NSA standard
enables 5G to operate utilizing 4G LTE equipment, while the
standalone mode uses dedicated spectrum and infrastructure. A
report from TechRadar cites Hani Yassin, Group Senior Director
for Technology Strategy at Etisalat, as saying: ‘We are taking a
phased approach to maximize our return on investment and get
confidence in the technology maturity.’ In the mid-term (three-to-
five years), Yassin said that Etisalat will focus on high throughput
and low latency for applications in the standalone mode when
the new 5G core is ready, serving industrial applications such as
port operations for operating cranes and vehicles wirelessly, and
immersive VR experiences in gaming and training. In the long-
term (five-to-ten years), he said that the focus will be on mission-
critical services such as autonomous vehicles and remote
surgery in the standalone mode. Etisalat was one of the first
operators in the Middle East to commercialize mobile 5G when
it launched services last May. It had previously offered 5G only in

26 JUNE-JULY 2020