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Etisalat Promises Big Network Boost
Published Mar 17, 2011
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Some of the world's top media and technology executives have offered a tantalising glimpse into tomorrow, as they shared visions of how new technologies will change the lives of everyone on the planet. And the boss of telecom giant Etisalat promised the UAE and some of its neighbours would soon feel the benefits of such advances as he pledged to invest $15 billion in the coming years to improve its networks across the country and beyond.
In a speech to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Mohammed Omran said the pace of developments in telecoms, IT and other modern conveniences means the average home could soon have up to 50 devices which connect wirelessly to the internet, ranging from TVs to air conditioning units.
And a senior executive from internet titan Google forecast that there would be 15 billion wireless devices in use within the next five to ten years, more than two for every person on the planet. "It will get to the stage where you won't know what to do with an unconnected device," the firm's chief business officer Nikesh Arora told delegates. For his part Omran said Etisalat would invest around Dhs10 billion on new fibre optic technology across the country, and make substantial commitment to wireless systems too.
He revealed that the firm is close to launching major new services using IPTV, which allows mobile customers to watch visual content on their phones. A major announcement will be made "within a few weeks", he said.
He also said that ultimately the UAE should have ambitions of playing host to the data centres of major firms and organisations, helping serve many parts of the world in addition to its own market.
The challenge now, he said, was for stakeholders as diverse as banks, telecom firms, and television companies to come to a mutually beneficial way of exploiting new technologies. "It's about how those categories fit together and find the right model to work together, to enhance the lives of people...and make money at the end of the day," he said.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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