Reports and Coverage

The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, hosted at the Dubai World Trade Center, gets bigger and better every year. This year's 36th GITEX Technology Week hosted the Global Startup Movement, in response to the need for an industry hub for investors, incubators and accelerators to identify the world's next great startups and support youth empowerment. Dubai's Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, opened GITEX 2016, which ran for five days from 16 to 20 October. Sheikh Hamdan stopped at the stand of UAE telecoms heavyweight Etisalat, as well as other leading tech companies from the region and around the world, to kick-start the most highly anticipated technology event in the Middle East.

More than 1000 delegates from across 5 continents and more than 60 countries gathered for a three-day event to showcase and learn about the future of smart cities in the world. Covering many aspects and challenges, this event was the chance to share best practices with some of the world's most prominent smart city thinkers and take a tour in Yinchuan.

The 3rd Global Standards Symposium, Hammamet, Tunisia, 24 October 2016, brought together thought leaders in the standardization sphere to discuss how standards efforts could best integrate the consideration of security, privacy and trust.

In an interview with Telecom Review, Peter Sany, president & CEO, TM Forum, gave us an idea about the association's history, yearly events and the catalyst program.

Strategies to accelerate the deployment of gigabit-speed broadband access networks and the new industry dynamics ushered in by the rise of over-the-top (OTT) services were the key topics discussed at a meeting of 24 high-level industry executives (CxOs), representing leading ICT companies, with the Arab and African regions especially well-represented, and the senior management of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).

Alfa: Speeding all the way upwards

Bringing happiness to people through technology innovation is the biggest achievement of Lebanese mobile operator Alfa, managed by Orascom Telecom, according to Marwan Hayek, CEO and Chairman. In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Marwan opens up about the organization's accomplishments, plans and challenges, showing us how the operator is aspiring speedy transformation in the mobile telecommunications sector.

On the sideline of GITEX Technology Week 2016, Teknotel, the magazine specialized in technology and business, distributed awards to the best smartphone and electronics manufacturers as well as telecommunications companies. The ceremony took place on October 18, at Nassima Royal Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

FTTH Council MENA study reveals significant uptake in FTTH technology in the MENA region with UAE no. 1 in the MENA region and among the top leaders of the Global ranking with one of the highest penetration rate.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Oman, in cooperation with RIPE NCC, held a series of IPv6 technical training workshops from 26–28 September 2016 at TRA’s headquarters in Muscat, Oman. Staff from eight private and governmental bodies participated in the workshops.

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has called on all smart mobile and device users and warned them about playing online electronic games that request for their geographical locations, which could be used against them for criminal activities.