Page 7 - SAMENA Trends - January 2022

FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS

2021 IN REVIEW

SAMENA Council’s Perspectives on the Year as It Unraveled New Trends
and Contributions

The Digital Communications Industry’s
multi-dimensional role, led by Telecom
Operators, was highlighted once again
throughout 2021, and remains undoubtedly
at the nucleus of the society’s efforts to
embrace digitization and to keep hopes
of achieving digital inclusion for all; an
imperative that has now been extensively
defined by regional governments through
their ICT visions.

Following the events of the past two years,
a new opportunity landscape has now
emerged. In this landscape, creating the
right enabling environment, especially with
new policy approaches and regulatory
measures that can benefit all stakeholders
in a sustainable manner, is a major policy
and regulatory imperative. The need
to ensure sustainability of the Industry
demands transformational steps across
the business, and putting right policies and
right methods in collaboration to effective
use.

In the post-pandemic era, sustainability
of Operators’ business is critical, for they
are the providers of the infrastructure
that supports the now-ever accelerating
digital and related economic activity.
While trying to understand the impact technology developments and identifying regulatory authorities and governments
on their businesses from new digital the right digital transformation strategies, need to adjust legacy regulatory and
economic frameworks to new data-driven
In the post-pandemic era, sustain-ability of Operators’ technology and market realities.

business is critical, for they are the providers of the A lot of questions are surfacing regarding
infrastructure that supports the now-ever accelerating the new disruptions caused, including
digital and related economic activity. While trying to what to do about cross-border data flows,
taxation in the digital economy, spectrum
understand the impact on their businesses from new availability, 5G and digital services use-

digital technology developments and identifying the cases and much more. To bridge the gaps
in understanding of different stakeholder
right digital transformation strategies, regulatory issues, and to align policy-, regulatory-, and
authorities and governments need to adjust legacy private-sector priorities, SAMENA Council
focused its 2021 work on addressing core
regulatory and economic frameworks to the new data- issues that Operators are contending with,

driven technology and market realities. including but not limited to enablement of
Cross-border Data Flows, rectification of

7 JANUARY 2022