Etisalat solutions enable mobility, flexibility and scalability increasing efficiency in businesses
SAMENA’s Leaders Summit’s theme this year focuses on ‘5G+X’ shedding light on all the possibilities with 5G technologies across industries. 5G+X is enabling a smart new era with the collaboration of 5G, AI, big data, IoT, robotics bringing people, devices and systems even closer together. With the pandemic this year, companies today are resorting to 5G, AR, VR and remote control solutions to keep operations running with employees working from home.
5G presents immense possibilities to bring mobility, flexibility and scalability to the business. Industry 4.0 journey is creating significant potential and next-generation cellular wireless communication (5G) accelerates the flexibility, efficiency and innovation in industries.
At Etisalat, we are looking forward to being part of this global conversation to share our experiences during the pandemic with peers and technology leaders as well as exchange experiences in innovation that is set to transform every industry that uses mobile technologies from manufacturing, retail and healthcare, to automotive, utilities and entertainment. Etisalat has become a key regional and international player in 5G especially with one of the biggest world expo powered by 5G to be held next year.
5G and the new normal
The pandemic has changed the way businesses and individuals prioritise things and as we towards a new normal in the not-too-distant future, it looks like 5G plays a significant role in every aspect of life penetrating different market segments.
As a telco, managing remote workforces, concerns about supply chain disruptions and managing our networks was key priority to linking with our global customers.
The pandemic has highlighted the need for the kind of high-speed, high-bandwidth connections 5G promises. The capability to enable technologies like automated factories and remote augmented reality, all of which become even more apparent in an age of social distancing and working from home.
Etisalat telecom infrastructure is the backbone of its success
Today we have made global achievements in 5G setting benchmarks for the industry. This was backed by the infrastructure accomplishments made in the past that have complemented the 5G network.
With 5G gaining momentum, 4G LTE network coverage reached 99.56 percent and 3G covers 99.82 percent. FTTH has reached 95.7 percent of homes across the UAE, maintaining the UAE’s position as a global leader in FTTH for the third consecutive year.
5G networks and fiber optic networks complement each other, offering a more cohesive experience across fixed and mobile applications. This synergy also has a great impact on emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles where vast amounts of data have to be transmitted and this is where the high-speed fiber-based network helps in distributing terabytes of information around the world via 5G.
In fixed telecom services, Etisalat in UAE set a major benchmark by upgrading home and business speeds for free pushing the country to the top ranking in terms fastest internet speeds. Within a span of less than 10 months, Etisalat increased its entry-level speeds for home and business segment resulting in Etisalat UAE’s network being crowned as the fastest fixed broadband network last year in GCC, Africa and Arabian region. In mobile, Etisalat was ranked as the fastest network in MENA region and in UAE among the top five fastest countries in the world.
During the pandemic with more families working and studying at home, Etisalat had special promotions to enhance TV viewing for everyone at home with higher speeds on the home network.
5G and emerging technologies making an impact on businesses and the societies at large
5G and disruptive technologies are at the forefront of transition bringing new opportunities to the industry and the country. UAE has also displayed a clear commitment towards embracing this change as it offers great economic potential by making processes faster, effective, providing insights and efficiencies while creating incredible new experiences.
It is estimated that telecom operators in the UAE would realise incremental revenue of $3.3 billion by 2026 from the digitisation of industries through 5G, with manufacturing, energy & utilities and public safety showing the greatest growth potential. *4
Etisalat’s 5G network amplifies the use of these futuristic services, targets new opportunities, and implements 5G use cases across verticals.
During this period companies aim to capture opportunities and deploy services that enable remote monitoring and working by incorporating emerging technologies such as IoT, cloud, big data, AI, robotics, autonomous, AR/VR. This is only possible by becoming their trusted partner that supports transformation in a digitally disrupted and fully connected world. Technologies like AR and VR are expected to contribute significantly to UAE’s GDP mainly $3 billion and $1.3 billion by 2030 respectively. *5
Our IoT platform connected over 1 million SIMs with renowned entities like Emirates Transport and Xtramix for fleet solutions and Ministry of Interior for Hassantuk Smart Fire Alarm solution, which have a massive impact on saving lives and enhancing the state of security for the country.
Etisalat cloud computing services are the foundation for customer’s digital transformation enabling services that will bring flexibility and availability for business critical applications. Here next generation capabilities like quantum computing play a critical role for its large set of possibilities that a classical system cannot process transforming business operating models, value chains and revolutionise entire industries. To enable these hyper and distributed cloud-computing capabilities, Etisalat has made significant partnerships with global players to provide best-in-class solutions.
Our safe city platform is another value addition to Etisalat’s Smart solutions portfolio, which comprises of a video cloud platform, AI for behavior analysis, facial and vehicle recognition with a big data platform to correlate events in real time. Etisalat foresees massive growth from cloud services, we are expanding data center capacity with the construction of two new facilities in Dubai and Al Ain by the end of this year.
Etisalat has explored new innovative opportunities for consumers like the joint venture with Noor Bank to offer eWallet services aimed at empowering customers with safe, convenient and flexible payment solutions using mobile devices. In the light of the current global situation, people are increasingly choosing to send money digitally from the comfort and safety of their homes. As people work to support their family and loved ones across the globe eWallet aims to enable them to safely and instantly remit money to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Changes 5G bring to our lives and development opportunities for industry customers
5G technology is way beyond connectivity, it is a revolution that puts mobile at the heart of the digital continent enabling futuristic services. The true potential of 5G is realising mid-to-long term the evolution of the network and technology with the increased availability of affordable 5G devices and implementation of 5G use cases across verticals.
The combination of 5G, Big Data, AI, AR/VR, cloud and edge computing and IoT forms an ‘Intelligent Connectivity’ landscape to enrich individual experiences, transform industries and maximize productivity.
5G harnesses technologies to accelerate adoption of a digital lifestyle providing a connected consumer experience by unifying real-time data and taking advantage of AI-powered insights.
Consumer use cases:
– Transform consumers’ entertainment experience e.g. by enabling AR/VR cloud gaming and delivery of 8K content on multiple devices, live streaming for sports and other events
– 5G-connected home robots, autonomous driving cars, virtual shopping and drone delivery will transform consumer digital lifestyle
– Transform learning with use of AR/VR for the next generation
– 5G enabled wearables particularly health devices and remote medicine/surgery will significantly improve QoS for patients
– The opportunity is to enhance the consumer experience through the 5G network and hence driving incremental revenue
– This largely depends on linking 5G commercial propositions to content and application developments in immersive reality, eSports and enhanced in-venue digital entertainment (stadium, music venues)
5G opportunities for the industry:
5G drives 4th industrial revolution by transforming various industries and enabling enterprises to improve productivity & efficiency, enhance time to market, increase reliability and better security and thus creating new business opportunities for industries.
Overall, enterprise opportunities exist but ecosystem requires maturity. Service providers address the opportunities that 5G provides across industries in different ways or roles. They may do this differently per industry or opportunity and the role descriptions indicate where in the value chain.
The service creator role is most attractive to digital service providers as Etisalat encompasses the creation of new digital services and collaborates beyond telecoms to establish digital value systems, in addition to providing digital platforms and infrastructure services. It includes service provisioning, service delivery and end-user applications
It is estimated that telecom operators in the UAE would realise incremental revenue of $3.3 billion (AED12.1 billion) by 2026 from the digitisation of industries through 5G, with manufacturing, energy & utilities and public safety showing the greatest growth potential (Source: Ericsson)
Industry Use cases:
– Energy & Utilities:
o Remote Control of fully automated offshore platforms o Digital Twins providing enhanced insights into physical plants and precise indoor positioning for assets and resources in critical infrastructure
o Drones for infrastructure and pipe inspections is a well proven use case
– Health Industry:
o HD remote doctor consultation
o Remote patient monitoring
o Connected ambulance
– Ports & Logistics:
Today UAE is a global logistics hub and 5G revolutionises supply chains around the world. Nearly 90 percent of logistics and shipping providers feel that the lack of supply chain visibility is one of the biggest challenges in the industry today (Source: Moor Insights & Strategy)
o The wide range of low-energy benefits of 5G paves the way for new globally dense tracking and condition monitoring capabilities for parcels and devices in real time
o The location and condition of the goods, temperature, humidity, light, shock, reporting acts of tampering, theft throughout the entire supply chain and eliminating information ‘black holes’
o Autonomous Driving trucks changes the way freight is implemented at airports, ports and roads, marking the shift from labor-intensive processes to a lean and efficient operation.
Industries to benefit from the development opportunities created by 5G
5G along with other new technologies transforms industries like port & shipping, transport, manufacturing, public safety, health, oil & gas, utilities, agriculture, entertainment and media. However, the scale and the timing may vary subject to the maturity of emerging uses cases
– By 2030, globally, manufacturing, energy, media, sports and entertainment, transport & distribution will be the main industries to see the highest contribution from 5G (Source: STL)
– Operators have to identify and prioritise industries having highest potential to benefit from 5G enabled digital solutions based on their capabilities, market dynamics and the overall macro-economic conditions
– Operators can provide range of services across the value chain like basic and/or differentiated connectivity, 3rd party’s services as a platform enabler and delivering innovative customised solutions
– Operators need to define a comprehensive strategy aligned with their ambition to target enterprise opportunities, mainly focusing on the below factors
o Cross-industry collaboration
o Investments in R&D and innovation
o Exploring and testing use cases for specific industries
o Stakeholders engagement
o Developing partner ecosystem
o Managing regulatory landscape
o Efficient operating and business models
– At Etisalat, we are also taking specific steps to enhance and complement 5G propositions, such as:
o Deployment of mobile edge computing capabilities
o Network slicing
o Expanding IoT propositions
o Enterprise networks capabilities to complement 5G enabled solutions
o Ensuring to provide business partners with security, reliability and efficiency.
