Exclusive Interviews

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of telecommunications and the need to have resilient infrastructure capable of ensuring a seamless experience in light of the rise of remote experiences’ trend. EY published recently a study entitled “Top 10 risks in telecommunications” which sees failure to maintain network resilience in a post-pandemic world emerge as the most pressing challenge for the industry. Telecom Review spoke to Tom Loozen, EY global telecommunications leader, to discuss the outcomes of the study and highlight its main findings.

In an ever-evolving yet diverse socio-economic market such as the MEA region, telecommunications serve a purpose like no other.

Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East Region, discusses the future of the ICT sector in rebuilding post-pandemic economies and bringing digital to every person home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world

OSN, the region’s leading entertainment network, has been providing premium content to subscribers ever since it was established. In the times of COVID-19, the company was one of the few who were able to leverage the situation. In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Zahra Zayat, senior vice president – OTT digital and telco, OSN explains how the company aims to retain subscribers in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The first half of 2020 has been nothing short of transformational for several industries as businesses everywhere had to adapt in order to survive. Thanks to the ICT sector, many businesses have managed to stay afloat and new solutions were even created in an effort to ease customer business operations and manage consumer expectations.

The pandemic has changed the very nature of the global business ecosystem and has left us with an economic future that has never been more ambiguous. Telcos have learned a great deal from the challenges that were brought about by the pandemic and have placed an even greater emphasis on digital transpormation and innovation.

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have put things into perspective for several industries, particularly the telecommunications sector. One of the major lessons learned throughout the pandemic was the importance of extremely reliable networks. Telcos have been indeed the unsung heroes of the pandemic as they have done their part to ensure connectivity which not only made great strides in business continuity but innovation too.

Zain KSA has been labelled as the Kingdom’s preferred digital services provider following the great achievements the operator has made throughout its journey. In an exclusive interview with Eng. Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Aldeghaither, CEO, Zain KSA, Telecom Review delved into the operator’s main accomplishments that encompass most importantly having the fourth largest 5G network in the world and the largest in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

COVID-19 has been impacting all industries ever since it started to spread to all parts of the world. Governmental entities and United Nations bodies have been playing a key role in countering the ensuing challenges. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Bilel Jamoussi, chief of the ITU-T study groups department, elaborated more on the ITU’s response to COVID-19 and the importance of digital transformation and emerging technologies in such challenging times.

It is no surprise that the industry was dealt an immense blow as soon as COVID-19 hit. Operators and vendors alike, across the world, have had to deal with (or are currently dealing with) an immense burden due to widespread lockdowns and the rise in remote working and learning. This has caused a great deal of pressure on networks everywhere. However, companies have been quick to realize that this may just be the right time to leverage emerging technologies to ensure business continuity and minimize the disruption of business operations.