Page 5 - SAMENA Trends - March-April 2022

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

New Trends in the Digital Opportunity Realm

Sustainability and inclusiveness are the and achieving more on the industrial
key principles for any ecosystem. It is truly fronts — demands tackling the financial
through collaboration and by fostering resource gaps and incentivizing practical
inclusion and participation of everyone innovations to empower and sustain
that we can ensure that we will take into the region's digitalization . In addition to
account different needs and issues into regulatory enablement, financial resources
consideration.As our societies and the are required to build both 5G networks as
global economy digitalize, there are ever well as fiber and IPv6 based fixed networks,
more possibilities to advance standards of not to mention foster digital trust-
living through human-centric, data-driven, building through cybersecurity measures.
and evidence-based policies, increased
economic competitiveness, higher- Expectations put forth by international ICT
quality jobs, enhanced provision of public community, with our region's policymakers
services throughout the SA-ME-NA region. and regulators at the forefront, have defined
sector development priorities fundamental
To make progress on multiple fronts, to ensuring digital inclusion and expediting Bocar A. BA
Chief Executive Officer
which includes provisioning meaningful digital transformation efforts, and to help & Board Member
access to connectivity and achieving build a sustainable digital economy in the SAMENA Telecommunications
beneficial utilization of the 5th generation region. Digital resilience, as determined by Council
mobile broadband and fixed broadband resilient networks that are built on reliable
technologies that our industry has physical and cloud infrastructure and
created, we need also to be mindful of new enhanced robust connectivity, is crucial for
opportunities that integration of seemingly making the most beneficial use of the Internet,
diverse technologies can create and how how fast we can materialize a sustainable
we can further shape the opportunity digital economy, and how well we can
landscape with focus on sustainability. move toward creating a knowledge society.

To focus on integration and making holistic The SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit
use of technologies, with much larger 2022 is congregating industry leaders on
goals, the foremost of which is closing May 9 to focus on integration, resilience,
the gap between connectivity and digital connectivity requirements for the next
economy. The 5G technology arena — decade, and how innovation, partnerships,
which are as much about mobile broadband and creation of new human experiences will
as they are about cloud, AI, virtual reality, set our direction for years to come.

5 MARCH-APRIL 2022