Telecoms & IT
From The Report: Dubai 2015
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The emirate continues to benefit from well-developed telecommunications infrastructure with high penetration rates for both mobile and fixed-line services and a local population that is highly concentrated, tech-savvy, and global in both composition and outlook. With saturation rates reached in the local market, telecoms players are looking overseas for growth opportunities. The e-commerce segment is on a strong growth trajectory, with companies hoping to capture a share of the MENA retail market, which is set to reach $15bn by end-2015, up from $12bn in 2012. Online content streaming is becoming another important revenue generator. The launch of Dubai Smart City initiative in 2014 aims to complete the “third phase” of the emirate’s development, propelling it to be a leading global smart city as it integrates more than 100 initiatives and 1000 government services into a single platform.

This chapter contains interviews with Osman Sultan, CEO, du; and Ahmed Bin Humaidan, Director-General, Dubai Smart Government.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Growing market saturation in Dubai telecoms increasing competition for high-quality content
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The emirate benefits from well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, with high penetration rates for both mobile and fixed-line services. These are delivered over a technically advanced network that is further enhanced by the emirate’s Dubai Smart City initiative (see IT overview). The local population is also highly concentrated, tech-savvy and global in both composition and outlook. Yet the sector remains a duopoly, which poses certain challenges for businesses operating in the emirate,…

Interview

Osman Sultan, CEO, du: Interview
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Interview:Osman Sultan In what ways can telecoms companies in the UAE cooperate with the ICT sector to better leverage their consumer information and data assets? OSMAN SULTAN: The government has developed initiatives to keep the ICT sector at the forefront of the economic agenda, such as e-government and m-government initiatives, as well as through strategic projects such as FedNet, in which UAE telecom operators have a vital role to play. This has opened up numerous prospects for the ICT…

Overview

Dubai’s tech-savvy population and ICT-focused free zones create a welcoming environment for start-ups
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The year 2014 saw the launch of the Dubai Smart City (DSC) initiative – in many ways the culmination of more than a decade of ICT development in the emirate. Dubai has been able to successfully make this latest move thanks to its firm foundation of welldeveloped infrastructure. The emirate has also been diligently working to encourage IT start-ups, in addition to an education and training initiative that aims to maximise awareness of ICT opportunities amongst the emirate’s already highly tech-savvy…

Interview

Ahmed bin Humaidan, Director-General, Dubai Smart Government: Interview
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Interview:Ahmed bin Humaidan What types of additional investment in IT infrastructure will be required to address the rapidly rising demand for mobile data bandwidth? AHMED BIN HUMAIDAN: Customers’ adoption of digital services translates into higher demand for mobile data due to greater usage of ICT infrastructure. This creates opportunities for providers of such infrastructure. In the public sector, the Government Information Network (GIN) exchanges data among more than 50 government entities…

Analysis

Dubai integrating infrastructure and technology create a more efficient and liveable city
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With more than 100 initiatives and 1000 government services involved, the Dubai Smart City (DSC) project is the most ambitious ICT programme that has ever been launched in the emirate. Set to be rolled out over a three-year period, the DSC aims to complete the “third phase” of Dubai’s development, propelling it to be a leading global smart city. “When accounting for IT investments by the enterprise market as well as the public sector, we calculated that Dubai’s total public and private…

Analysis

Dubai’s retailers move beyond shopping malls as e-commerce outlets gain traction
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In recent years, the e-commerce industry in the MENA region has begun to take off. Dubai has been a leader in this field, with online trading a major potential contributor to the emirate’s IT industry, as well as to the overall economy. As e-commerce companies begin to flourish in the region, they hope to capture a bigger slice of the MENA retail market, worth $9bn in 2012 according to the online payment company PayPal, with the market expected to grow to some $15bn by year-end 2015. Nuts &…