Huawei Hosts Middle East 5G Ecosystem Conference

DUBAI — Huawei hosted the 5G Ecosystem Conference under the theme “5G is Now, Sailing to New eMBB Horizons” on the sidelines of the 3rd annual Middle East Innovation Day. During the conference, Huawei announced it had acquired six 5G commercial contracts in Middle East, showcased latest 5G ecosystem cooperation progress and recommended 5G use cases, also unveiled “Unlocking Digital Opportunities with 5G “ whitepaper conducted in partnership with Analysys Mason.

The conference promoted a 5G Ecosystem in the Middle East by bringing together operators, regulatory agencies, industry leaders and other stakeholders to discuss 5G from a business, policy, and industry perspective. During the event, Huawei introduced latest cooperation progress on use cases such as VR, drone and connected car. Huawei organized live trials of the most cutting-edge 5G uses cases, including drone taxis, a Virtual Room (VR) showroom, and tele-operated driving. Huawei also signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), with key partners to strengthen the 5G Ecosystem, including with Media Pro, Orange Business Service, and TPCast. Certificates were awarded to Internet of Things (IoT) organizations who have demonstrated outstanding value in the field of IoT.

Opening the conference, Mr. Bocar BA, CEO, SAMENA Telecommunications Council said: “SAMENA Council is engaged and working closely with Huawei, telecom operators, governments’ regulatory authorities and international organizations to create the enabling environment for the development of the 5G ecosystem. Today’s conference by Huawei has been a successful effort toward this objective, and it will bear positive impact on our industry’s pace of 5G development and launch. 5G is highly important for the region’s digital economy and, being so, will carry tremendous ramifications for socioeconomic progress in the region, for fostering improved understanding and collaboration among the stakeholders, and for enabling the fulfillment of the global sustainable agenda.

Mr. Tariq Al Awadhi Executive Director Spectrum Affairs, UAE TRA, said: “Our stakeholders have been the key success. They have brought the knowledge and the expertise together to help us succeed in our endeavors.”

 Mr. An Jian, President of Carrier Network Business Group, Huawei Middle East, said: “Huawei form and engage in open enablement platforms and business alliances that revolve around ME 5G Needs. We work together with ecosystem partners on open innovation projects to speed up the development of customized solutions, helping the governments of ME regions to consolidate their strengths in digital transformation and succeed in their national targets pursuits. Huawei has setup strategic partnership in 5G areas with carriers, and signed six 5G commercial contracts in the Middle East. In 2018, Huawei has formed a series of strategic partnerships with telecommunication operators in Kuwait, and has accomplished some significant 5G progress in the country.”

Huawei also unveiled a new research paper conducted in partnership with Analysys Mason. Titled “Unlocking Digital Opportunities with 5G”, the White Paper reveals that 5G could generate almost USD270 billion for the regional ICT sector in the next decade. In the top fifty use cases for 5G, VR for on-demand video streaming and VR for 4K/8K live video streaming use cases have the most potential to profit operators in the region. Flexibility to address new use cases, even unforeseen ones, is critical to commercial success in the 5G era. In line with this necessity, the paper advises regulators to promote policy neutrality and open spectrum to accelerate commercial deployment. The GCC is well poised to deploy 5G, with the UAE in particular being the most 5G-ready country in the region. In order to strengthen this position, the Whitepaper calls for collaboration between operators and vertical industries.