Smart and dynamic growth through collaboration between government and private entities, academia and citizens are most essential with a reliable infrastructure as the backbone for major national transformation programmes stimulating economic growth and gearing smart cities towards a sustainable future, said Hatem Dowidar, CEO, Etisalat Group.
He made these comments during a panel discussion at the Forbes Sustainable Innovation Summit 2021 held at the Expo 2020 site, an event that gathered global leaders to discuss the various pillars required for sustainable innovations that are at the forefront of smart cities development agenda.
Khuloud Al Omian, Editor-in-Chief at Forbes Middle East and CEO of Arab Publisher, said: “Today’s event gathered leaders from across industries to discuss their sustainability agenda and their efforts in building smart cities and ecosystems. With the telecom infrastructure playing such a critical role in creating this transformation, Etisalat has made immense efforts in closing this gap of digital readiness enabling smart communities while achieving the fastest network in the world today.”
Dowidar’s session focused on unlocking the key to an efficient and sustainable smart city model by integrating ICT and Big Data in the right way to make cities more sustainable. He was joined by global leaders from the technology industry.
Dowidar stressed on the increasing relevance of telecom sector as a key pillar for building smart cities requiring a reliable infrastructure which is a backbone for providing seamless, end-to-end connectivity, a key enabler for all aspects of smart cities. This also requires ubiquitous broadband connectivity through a high-speed fiber optic and 5G networks acting as a platform for advanced services built on IoT, AI and machine learning.
He applauded the efforts of the UAE leadership and pointed out how the country is a perfect model for others to emulate today taking a lead globally with its cutting-edge infrastructure and the deployment of smart technologies across essential services and sectors improving the quality of life of its residents.
