Reports and Coverage

Everyday, we are drowned even more into the online world. With the fast development of services, the consumer is making more online purchases and accessing more services all through his mobile. For example, purchasing goods or carrying out a bank operation through your bank's mobile application are both very common actions that have never been easier. Undoubtedly, this is considered as a huge step forward for technology; however, it carries various challenges regarding the security of the consumer's digital identity and the privacy of our personal data online. One of the biggest challenges is developing systems that allow any person to authenticate his/her online identity.

H.E. Eng. Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, the Deputy Director General for Telecommunications Sector at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been elected as the Chairman for the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference, which is being held in Dubai.

The adoption of artificial intelligence has been rapidly accelerating across the regions that embraced its impact on industries, economies and lives. The Middle East has seen a significant increase in the technology's adoption and parts of the region have already embraced the new digital age. A study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that spending on cognitive and artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region will grow from $37.5 million in 2017 to over $100 million by 2021, representing a growth rate of 32% a year.

The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) 20th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) commenced in Dubai with a global call for the world to "act as one" to connect the world's nearly four billion people who remain unconnected to the Internet.

Breakthroughs in deep learning and reinforcement learning are driving a new wave of AI advances. AI applications are now widely deployed across almost all industries, whether through auto-piloting technology, unmanned supermarkets, intelligent voice assistants and more. AI has become a new powerful engine that drives industry digital transformation.

Sofrecom and Comsof will cooperate more closely to plan and design future-proof fiber networks in the MENA region. Telcos can benefit from the combination of Sofrecom's consultancy and analytical experience in this sector and the state-of-the-art fiber planning tool of Comsof, resulting in huge planning and design benefits and less worrying about human-made errors.

5G is set to be commercially deployed. Commercial testing from the USA, Canada, Asia and the Middle East is running frequently. Telecom operators and vendors alike are excited about 5G deployment and expect it will bring their businesses up and running again.

Tech-savvy consumers, ICT experts, and companies in every tech-related field were all present at the most-attended event in the Middle East. The 38th edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) was held at Dubai's World Trade Center gathered over 4,000 exhibitors from 100 countries ranging from large companies to startups and government entities. Dubai's Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, opened GITEX 2018 and visited the stands of the most prominent technological companies.

Member States at ITU's 20th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, completed the election process that resulted in electing the organization's top five management posts, including the UN agency's Secretary General.

Smart Dubai has concluded another successful participation in GITEX Technology Week, where it showcased its main strategies, services, and initiatives that seek to cement Dubai's global lead in the smart city sector.