Exclusive Interviews

During the GITEX Global 2021, Telecom Review secured an exclusive interview with Kamal Ballout, Nokia’s head of enterprise in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. He elaborated how the company’s broad portfolio empowers the digitalization journey across multiple industries, what is the importance of having people as assets with deep expertise to help enterprises, and why telecommunication is not the end game, but an essential means to achieve digital transformation and accelerate Industry 4.0 for efficiency and productivity in a sustainable way.

Telecom Review spoke with Adrian Pickering, regional general manager, MENA, Red Hat, regarding the company’s latest developments, digital transformation outlook, and participation at GITEX 2021.

During the GITEX Global 2021, Telecom Review secured an exclusive interview with Karim Benkirane, chief commercial officer at du. He shared how the company executes its business strategy, what steps are being done to cater to different market segments, and which position will du have within the telecom industry in the next five to ten years.

In the early days of mobile telecommunications, telecom operators focused on selling different rate plans to their customers. They never thought about naturally expanding beyond their original business niche, and rightfully so: digital ecosystems were non-existent, the internet was in its web 1.0 days, and even DVD was yet to become mainstream. Fast forward to 2021, things have changed on every level: telecom operators provide the foundation to the flourishing digital environment full of independent or intertwined ecosystems, and the urge to become a part of this new world has become natural to telco operators. 

In an exclusive one-on-one, Telecom Review caught up with Safder Nazir, senior vice president of digital industries strategy, Huawei Middle East during GITEX, who shared his insights about his company’s role in pushing the digital drive across industries.

Telecom Review organized an exclusive interview with Edgard Tawk, CEO and co-founder of Hiverse. Tawk shared deep insights on the benefits of the new platform and the services offered to companies as well as the future they expect for this tool.

In an exclusive with Hatem Dowidar, GCEO, Etisalat, he expressed his confidence that the Group will maintain its leadership position in the telecom industry with an unwavering commitment to key strategic priorities to enable a future driven by digital innovation across their operations.   

Fastlink has announced that over 40% of its LTE network has deployed the state-of-the-art green hybrid power technology to tackle the power shortage and realize “0” D.G operation. Its Network OPEX has been significantly reduced by 25% since 2019.

Smart city is a concept of urban development, designed to deliver all the information, crucial for better city management, in real time. Its popularity has further increased with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of smart city solutions and emerging technologies, including IoT infrastructure and monitoring centers, information and communication technologies are used to collect, analyze and implement key information about the core systems for smooth city operations.

With the leadership of Eng. Eyad Abu Khorma and his extensive international experience in the technology and telecommunications industry, a new digital hub is underway. The Aqaba Digital Hub is set to benefit not only Jordan, but also all the Middle East region, profiting from the presence of big CDNs, international operators, new submarine cables, and OTTs coming to the region.