Page 4 - SAMENA Trends - February 2022

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

5G, Cloudification and Network Transformation

As we speak, 5G exists in more than 175 the network. Already we see that 5G is
countries, serving over 500 million users. bringing major changes to cloud computing
5G is not only providing a new mobile and cloud communications. With 1 billion
experience for end-users, we see multi- 5G end-users expected earlier than the
industry empowerment taking place next two years, such 5G plus cloudification
before our eyes. In some cases, the pace capabilities will prove to be a true game-
of adoption and impact of 5G has been changer, allowing for new applications
faster than expected, and, in part, this may across industries to come into existence,
have also to do with early discussions making use of Internet-of-things and
on 5G enablement, as done by SAMENA Artificial Intelligence, and triggering an
Council and likeminded industry bodies on altogether new wave of investments in the
their respective platforms. Among other cloud business.
requirements, such platforms, including
the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit The process of making 5G a mainstream
(which will be held on 9th May this year technology is well on its way to catching
in Dubai as a fully physical industry further speed and, in so doing, several Bocar A. BA
Chief Executive Officer
meeting), have successfully highlighted network, infrastructure, and terminal & Board Member
the need for an enabling regulatory standardization milestones have to be SAMENA Telecommunications
environment. Furthermore, stakeholders achieved first. Nonetheless, 5G strategy Council
and decisionmakers have been called on encompassing cloudification and cloud
to timely capitalize on new opportunities enablement at its heart must be adopted
relating to Industry 4.0, smart-city projects, by Telecom Operators, enterprises, and bring access to advanced connectivity,
and proliferating 5G applications across any existing and emerging businesses that make use of cloud technologies, and
education, healthcare, oil and gas, port will depend on cloudification for scalability, other allied technologies that are
operations, and other verticals of most efficiency, and innovation. From healthcare transforming the network, should be
relevance to the economic diversification to financial services; from IoT, remote driven with full cognizance of the new
efforts of the countries of the SA-ME-NA working, to latency-free applications of 5G market and societal realities, and
region. at the network edge, the future of mobile sustainability of the evolving digital
cloud applications will materialize quickly ecosystem, with cloud taking center
Granted 5G development is an investment- with widespread expansion of 5G networks, stage. Moreover, investment in new
intensive undertaking, making best use of particularly standalone 5G networks. infrastructure, including cloud
5G is in major part driven by the freedom infrastructure, may no longer follow
to innovate, achieve efficiency in capex, In the larger interest of the region’s Telecom traditional approaches. A technology
reduce opex, and scalability of networks Operators, enterprises, and socio-economic such as 5G, which improves integration,
to offer new digital services and customer empowerment goals of individual countries innovation, cloud-dependence, and
experiences by leveraging the new cloud as well as the region, we need to align our inclusion of multiple industries
technologies as well other technologies business and regulatory priorities and particularly requires new approaches
that dramatically transform and optimize programs to advance in synch. The way we across all layers.

4 FEBRUARY 2022