5G opens doors to these new opportunities by providing faster speeds and facilitating a wider world of cloud and data analytical services
When it comes to 5G adoption, the Middle East is outpacing established western markets which are slowed down due to needing to replace legacy infrastructure. A 2020 report by Ericsson Mobility predicted there would be 80 million subscribers to the 5G project in MENA by 2025. This massive adoption not only empowers businesses and other technological enhancements in the region, but it provides a healthy foundation for smart cities and global connectivity.
Read more: How 5G is fast-tracking digital transformation in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s planned smart city Neom, expected to be home to one million people, is set to issue its first tenders for a renewables power grid later this year. The move underscores the gathering green energy transition taking shape in Middle East countries, as they seek to shift away from their longstanding dependence on oil and gas. And while they profess a desire to contribute to international net-zero ambitions, there are also more hard-headed calculations at play.
Declining oil prices and questions over long-term demand for the commodity, coupled with the need to diversify their hydrocarbon-reliant economies and the falling costs of renewable energy generation are driving heavy investment in a range of power technologies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), particularly solar and wind – though, so far, their huge potential has been largely untapped. Globally, MENA has the lowest share of renewable energy as a portion of total energy consumption.
Read more: The Middle East’s green energy transition is underway
Huawei has a strong foothold in the GCC 5G market
Huawei has maintained its lead in global 5G deployments with a 31 per cent market share as of 2020, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group. As of the end of last year, Huawei had deployed more than 140 commercial 5G networks in 59 countries and regions with the number of 5G subscribers on its infrastructure exceeding 220 million worldwide.
The Middle East has emerged as a global 5G trailblazer. In just 19 months, the number of 5G users has exceeded two million, a milestone that took the previous 4G technology twice as long.
In 2020, a McKinsey global study found that half the world’s companies have implemented artificial intelligence to some degree. In the Middle East, PwC puts the potential revenue boost of smart solutions at around US$320 billion, with the UAE alone expected to see an impact of almost 14% of 2030 GDP.
This is to be expected. Following the uncertainties of the past year, AI opens doors to resilience and agility, and futureproofs businesses against fluctuating market conditions. Earlier this year, Accenture released the 2021 edition of its Innovation Maturity Index report, which measures the progressiveness of companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with respect to their leverage of technologies such as AI. So-called “Innovation Champions”, enterprises deeply embroiled in digital transformation and sound governance experienced 42% higher productivity and 27% higher profitability than their less advanced peers.
Read more: Middle East: Artificial intelligence, 4 tips to get buy-in from non-technical executives
Technology, when implemented with the intention of improving the lives of its users, can enhance and save lives, says Alaa Elshimy
In the digital era, information flow will be at the core of everything. Everything will be sensing - people will be connected to people, things will be connected to people and things will be connected to things. These information flows will create new forms of industrial digital transformation & scenario-oriented solutions.
Read more: Middle East: How to achieve digital maturity with AI-driven business transformation