Reports and Coverage

The RIPE Network Coordination Centre (NCC), the Ministry of telecommunications in Lebanon and OGERO, the public operator, successfully held "Lebanon IPv6 Week" in Beirut, inaugurating the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in Lebanon and supporting Internet stakeholders with the necessary technical expertise. The IPv6 training activities and the national IPv6 meeting were held as part of the collaborative efforts of OGERO, the RIPE NCC and the American University of Beirut (AUB) to raise awareness about the importance of shifting to IPv6. Additionally, the meeting aims to support ISPs and telecom operators with the technical expertise to meet the growing demand for Internet services and to provide their customers with up to date services.

Smooth check-ins and luggage robots are not the only innovative advancements guests expect when checking in to their favorite hospitality establishments. Tech-savvy hotels are now transforming the guest experience through technology investments, as the industry continues to keep up with customer demands, says Hermoine Macura-Noble.

The General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) announced the launch of the first phase of the "Bashr" initiative, one of the most important strategic initiatives implemented and developed through close and constructive cooperation with all local and federal government departments and entities involved in licensing economic activities in the UAE. This initiative aims to promote UAE's competitiveness in doing business by allowing to tart business in simple, fast steps taking no more than 15 minutes.

A delegation from the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA) visited Sharjah Municipality in an effort to share expertise and experience between federal and local government entities to serve digital transformation in the UAE.

While the corporate university concept has become perfectly integrated into the landscape of telecommunications operators in Western countries, it is still not widespread among incumbent operators in Africa. The creation of a corporate university accelerates innovation for operators and information technology players. Experiments carried out in this area confirm the benefits of the approach in fostering a successful digital transformation.

Expo 2020 Dubai is teaming up with UAE-headquartered DarkMatter to deploy advanced cyber security technologies that will help safeguard Expo's digital experience for millions of visitors and 180 country participants.

Plantronics announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Polycom. The acquisition of Polycom will accelerate and expand Plantronics' vision and enable it to deliver the broadest portfolio of end points in the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) ecosystem.

By Jacek Passia, Regional Executive Middle East, Russia & CIS, Vodafone Partner Markets

5G is likely to be predominantly rolled out to consumers and enterprises globally from 2020, although some of the benefits associated with this new technology are already available. 5G will be deployed commercially when markets have appropriate spectrum, once all the standards are agreed by 3GPP and compatible telecoms equipment and devices are available.

Publicis Groupe announced that it appointed Raja Trad as its first chairman of the Middle East region. Trad, who was named CEO of Publicis Communications MEA in 2016, will now oversee all of the holding company's operations in the region, including the creative communications hub he recently led, Publicis Media and Publicis.Sapient, according to the announcement.

The word “algorithm” has become very recurrent and polemic lately in the world of digital technologies and trends. It symbolizes the dangers and consequences of an automated world conditioned by commercial logic. Before judging negatively or positively its impact and role in Google’s searching process, Facebook’s news feeds and recommendations on Amazon, it is important to define an algorithm first.