Page 3 - SAMENA Trends - December 2023

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

On the Path to Innovation & Sustainability

As we prepare for continued progress in on new opportunities across education,
2024, across various areas of interest to healthcare, oil and gas, port operations,
SAMENA Council Members, we look back and other verticals of most relevance to the
at major areas of collective interest, where diversification visions of the region.
impact was achieved during the year 2023.
Throughout 2023, our focus has been on
A significant part of the SA-ME-NA region building stakeholder support, advocating
is home to some of the most well-defined regulatory transformation, interlinking
ICT and economic diversification visions societal welfare with secure digital space,
in the world as well as strong international corroborating the necessity of high-capacity
coordination on spectrum management fixed networks, supporting 5G evolution
approaches. for cross-industry development, bringing
Mobility/Transportation sector closer to
The emerging 5G/5G-Advanced opportunity Telecom sector, voicing sustainability
landscape is a great reflection of the imperatives, and bringing an innovation
possibilities that await us across a wide framework to finance and fund future digital Bocar A. BA
Chief Executive Officer
group of industries, applications, and infrastructure. & Board Member
business use-cases. 2023 showed us that SAMENA Telecommunications
5G is indeed a transformative advancement, SAMENA Council has been vocal about Council
and a door to true digital transformation. having good regulation at the foundation
Fortunately, as evidenced through the of industry development and sustainability.
proceedings of WRC-23, some of which However, equally important is the necessity
SAMENA Council was a part of, with the to remain engaged; closely calibrating
allocation of a significant part of the 6GHz focus on existing and arising priorities, and
spectrum for 5G, this advancement in mobile enhancing strategic cooperation between
technologies awaits a great momentum by regulators and the Private Sector.
next year.
As it continues with its private-sector
The pace at which 5G adoption is representation and advocacy support to help
happening, we can expect more than foster an environment of sustainability,
1.5 billion 5G users next year, and such predictability, and collaboratively executed
dramatic adoption rate equally applies reforms and norms that will shape the year
to industries and niche segments now 2024, SAMENA Council looks forward to
extensively being driven by digitization, new enabling where merited and supporting
digital offerings, differentiation in value- where needed collective gains for Tech
propositions. This demands a very enabling Providers, Telecom Operators, Digital
regulatory environment, so to capitalizing Services Platforms, and Regulators.

3 DECEMBER 2023