UAE operator du has always been at the forefront of the country’s technological development with the revolutionary solutions and services that it offers to its customers. Lately, du has been very active in the area of smart cities given the efforts deployed in Dubai to make the city a leading smart city. In this context, it has chosen to take part in the 2^nd edition of Smart Cities World Forums’ “Building the SMART Future” conference as the Smart ICT Partner. At the event, we spoke to Jihad Tayara, VP ICT Business Development, EITC, to know more about the operator’s participation in the event.

Telco du has partnered with Orange Business Services to deliver smart services at Silicon Park – Dubai’s first integrated smart city.

du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), will support ‘Dubai Can’ – an innovative citywide sustainability initiative launched by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, that encourages and empowers communities to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles. In light of this initiative, the telco has implemented multiple initiatives at its new headquarters in Dubai Hills. du’s sustainable and technologically- advanced headquarters symbolize its journey to a leading digital telco with new values that drive a purpose-driven mindset and sustainable ethos.

The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), signed an MoU during ADIPEC 2022 whereby du will join the UAE’s Champions 4.0 Network.

In a bid to make the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the safest country in the world, du, part of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and Injazat have selected Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform for the Ministry of Interior’s “Hassantuk” system to speed up response time and maintain the highest standards of fire safety.

du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and Masdar City, a global leader in sustainable innovation and development, have partnered to build a 5G Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during GITEX GLOBAL 2022, where du presented innovative showcases under the theme "Powering Governments, Shaping The Emirates Reality."

Under the arrangement, du will work with Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s only planned and approved R&D cluster, to implement a Smart City Platform, which combines physical infrastructure, open and shared data, and smart applications to deliver unprecedented value. The project will also oversee the development of an advanced command and control center along with the CoE to showcase exponential technologies.

The plan will enable operational efficiencies for Masdar City management and improve the daily quality of life for residents and tourists. The partnership underscores du’s holistic approach to innovation in line with the UAE’s sustainability agenda and the Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative.

Commenting on the development, Fahad Al Hassawi, chief executive officer at du, said, “Reinventing tomorrow is all about rethinking and rebuilding operating models for businesses and coming together to establish agile, innovative platforms to support our vision. We are excited to partner with Masdar to establish a 5G Centre of Excellence to present exponential technologies and become part of the equation to deliver a strong, connected future through the Smart City project.”

The Smart City vision encompasses an integrated approach to champion disruption with scalable and phased implementation and flexible frameworks and standards to achieve cost efficiency and agility. du will leverage world-class sustainable Internet of Things (IoT) technology to deliver a complete view on the sustainability of Masdar City’s assets while facilitating processes such as asset benchmarking, performance and predictive analytics, along with insights on digital operations. The partnership will facilitate seamless city operations, leading to optimized and improved services.

Ahmed Baghoum, executive director, Masdar City, said, “We are delighted to welcome du to develop a 5G Centre of Excellence in Masdar City. The CoE will bring du, partner organisations and educational institutions together to create real-world 5G applications. These applications will be tested at Masdar City, which is Abu Dhabi’s only planned and approved R&D cluster with a focus on innovative technologies, and further enhance its reputation as a Smart City. After proof of concept at Masdar City, these applications will be rolled out commercially across the UAE and beyond.”

In addition to the Smart City, the CoE will deliver transformative and disruptive technological innovations with a key focus on environmental, social and governance factors. Through substantiating and implementing next-generation technologies, du and Masdar will embrace advanced innovation to position Masdar City as the first 5G-enabled sustainable city in the world and create an enhanced future for the UAE.

UAE’s leading telecommunications services provider, du is driving major digital transformation with Oracle to accelerate the uptake of the UAE Federal Government Network (FEDNet) program that provides a common infrastructure resource for any federal government entity. This implementation will allow du to offer cost effective, integrated, secure and scalable cloud infrastructure services to power various Smart Government initiatives including ‘mGovernment’ and ‘Big Data’.