In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review during the 18th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, Karim Benkirane, Chief Commercial Officer at du, discussed how the company is leveraging 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to deliver strategies that drive innovation and meet the evolving needs of its customers.
What innovations is du exploring to meet the ever-evolving needs of its customers?
Innovation never sleeps; and this is why telcos are the key enablers. We are serving our customers, so we have to innovate and be an early adopter in onboarding new technologies, making sure that we also showcase our use cases at the du Innovation Center.
What strategies are being implemented to position du at the forefront of the region’s telecommunications sector?
Our strategy is based, first and foremost, on people, accompanied by a clear roadmap and vision, followed by execution. So, I think, these three elements form the pillars of our strategy. By upholding these pillars, we are making sure that we can always innovate when it comes to product and proposition, partnerships, and micro-segmentation. This approach is helping us find certain gaps in the market and design propositions that serve our customers.
With 5G and AI driving global digital transformation, how do you envision the future of the GCC’s telecom industry within the next five years?
In terms of 5G, we were one of the first movers and an early adopter during its rollout; this helped us grow our core. We also represent a case study at this industry level. 5G-Advanced is halfway between 5G and 6G, and this is definitely helping us to improve experiences and build new use cases to monetize our 5G investment.
When it comes to AI, you have AI applications that scale-up and enable self-learning, ensuring that customer insights are better understood to serve customers in a better way.
Benkirane at TRS-24:
du’s Bold AI-Centric Vision for Network Transformation Impresses at TRS-24
