du TELECOMS

du

Supporting the growth of telecoms throughout the Middle East www.du.ae

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Smart New Generation du’s

du is aligning with Dubai’s Smart City transformation programme with the roll-out of a whole host of value-add and customer-centric services that promise to boost its reputation in the Gulf Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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elebrating its 10th anniversary this year, UAE’s major broadband and telecom provider, du now serves more than eight million individual costumers, 80,000 businesses and proudly retains a mobile subscriber market share of 46.5 percent.

Over time, the Company has become a provider of choice in UAE telecoms with many awards and accolades to its name today; including the Best Enterprise Service award by Telecom World; Broadcast Pro Middle East 2015 award for Best Telco/Broadcast initiative for the du ‘View’ multi-screen service; the Gallup Great Workplace 2015 award; and the Best Satellite Services Innovation of the Year award at the 12th annual Digital Studio Awards, among several others. This translates into unparalleled customer service levels that mirror the rich cultural diversity of the nation, serving customers in a variety of languages across a wide array of technology verticals.

“Our business has evolved with the changing times and we are no longer in the business of just providing telephony services. We provide the network infrastructure for connectivity to occur across the entire information and communications technology spectrum, encompassing new growth areas,” says Saleem AlBlooshi, du’s Executive Vice President of Network Development & Operations.

“We are taking our role as a responsible corporate citizen seriously and we endeavour to support the UAE Government with its Smart City initiative. We were the first telecom Company in the world to release a Sustainability Report based on GRI-G4 comprehensive guidelines, and today we are the strategic partner of the Dubai Smart Government,” adds Marwan Abdulla Bindalmook, du’s Senior Vice President of Managed Services & Smart City/Smart Gov Initiative Lead.

IMAGE COURTESY OF DU, 2016

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FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS Reshaping the ICT landscape in the GCC – one step at a time With a broad spectrum of services that cover the ICT landscape, Future ICT’s goal is to help customers and organisations reshape their businesses now and in the future.

Through its five divisions, it partners with global technology giants to create powerful eco-systems offering bestin-market IT products, software and services to SMBs and large enterprises in the MENA region.

Future ICT is a fully-owned subsidiary of Future Communications Company Global, (FCCG), which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and has more than 350 employees across the GCC. Its Mobility Services Division focuses on providing solutions and services using mobile based technologies as the key touch point. These solutions revolve around business intelligence and analytics, and other value-added services. du customers can now pay bills online via Quick Pay self service machines, without logging into their account

Service bouquet

du has worked hard to enhance and expand its “bouquet of services in an industry that is at the heart of economic and social transformation”, the Company notes. Providing carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities and satellite services for broadcasters to generate extra value for businesses and customers, du is fostering a culture of continuous improvement across all of its products and services to ultimately benefit the customer.

In line with this, the Company enhanced its broadband portfolio with high-speed offerings, and integrated its broadcast and telecom assets to create one-stop shop enterprise solutions for SMEs; with highlights including the launch of new Business Mobile Plans and Business Connect, serving as the complete telecommunications solution.

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Our business has evolved with the changing times and we are no longer in the business of just providing telephony services - Saleem AlBlooshi

Its Enterprise Business Services (EBS) unit focuses on solutions that include vertical applications layered over Microsoft. These solutions are aimed at the education, retail and real estate domains. Having recently achieved Silver level partner status with Microsoft for cloud based solutions; it also offers related hardware and infrastructure services.

The Special Projects Group (SPG) focuses on the provision of Test and Measurement Equipment and Systems to the private and government sectors.

Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx Additionally, it also sells a range of LED products and media production systems and devices.

Future ICT’s Telecom Engineering unit focuses on fixed and mobile networks to mobile network carriers as well as communications infrastructure, IT networking & surveillance services to non-carrier customers.

The Company’s newly established enterprise networking and security solutions (ENSS) division focuses on fixed and mobile surveillance, audiovideo conferencing, mobile surveillance and access control solutions.

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elfocus helps Communication Service Providers (CSPs) transform their business, allowing them to improve competitive positioning and ultimately their performance. We have been solving CSPs’ business challenges over the past 15 years, combining a deep telco business knowledge with the understanding of the different technologies.

At the core of our offering is a consolidated BSS/OSS customer-centric architecture, anchored in solid IT principles and leveraged by a vast experience in deploying and integrating best of breed solutions and our own product portfolio.

Celfocus’ vision, best practices and most importantly, the experience and learnings from helping CSPs across the globe have demonstrated, time and time again, to be effective and pivotal in enabling the journey to cross the digital transformation chasm.

Our solutions have broad coverage and have proven to achieve all mission critical requirements: reliability, flexibility and scalability. Celfocus’ track record includes the delivery of tactic as well as strategic projects and transformation programmes.

The team is comprised of highly trained systems architects, business analysts and consultants, with extensive hands-on experience in critical information systems that specialise in business intelligence, business and operational support systems, internet of things, IPTV, online, retail & mobile, and next generation intelligent network applications and services.

Serving a global client base in more than 25 countries, Celfocus delivers high tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services.

du and Celfocus joined forces in 2006, when the operation was first launched. Since then, we’ve provided local support, with dedicated teams, enabling du’s capabilities to better serve its customers and streamline its operations.

Celfocus’ core set of IT architecture principles introduced in CRM unification and order management transformation projects helped shape du’s ecosystem and its overall design to meet business needs, define roles and responsibilities for each component system and how these systems would interact. The benefits from this approach were paramount in the preparation for the journey to digital transformation.

Bound by a shared ambition and goals, Celfocus has championed du’s vision to enhance UAE’s people, homes and businesses life, anytime, anywhere, by deploying du’s systems such as: customer relationship management, enterprise architecture integration, data warehouse, order management, incentive compensation management and more recently du sales portal (an innovative and comprehensive web portal solution for retail stores and dealers). du stands for innovation, service and quality in the Middle East, providing a truly unified service that comprises mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to both the enterprise and consumer market.

A reference for the region but also for the telecommunication world.

Markets evolved, new technologies were introduced and business models emerged but, amid all these changes, something remains the same: Celfocus’ commitment to du. We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years have in store.

www.celfocus.com

We du more Together. Over the past decade, Celfocus and du forged a partnership that has enhanced the lives of UAE’s people, homes, and businesses. Anytime, anywhere.

In an ever-changing market, where technologies, business models, and customer expectations change frequently, one thing has remained the same: Celfocus’ commitment to du.

WE ARE PREPARED TO DO EVEN MORE AND CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE NEXT TEN YEARS HAVE IN STORE.

www.celfocus.com

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The Company launched the fastest consumer internet service in the UAE last year, while also enriching its quadplay offers with new TV packages.

Elsewhere, du continued to foster growth in its higher value, post-paid customer base. Key expansions included new Emirati post-paid plans, iPhone 6S and several other device bundled offers, and the launch of data contract plans representing the best-in-market offers for post-paid customers. For its core customers the Company launched social plans, ‘Easy Social’ and ‘Extra Social’, combined prepaid voice and data bundle-based plans.

Smart Dubai

Dedicated to nationwide digitisation and innovation, the Company remains deeply committed to UAE’s Smart Government objectives having supported the Government Summit as headline partner for three years.

Building on its proposition of a world-class ‘Smart Dubai’ platform, a digital backbone that is to power the city in the near future, du began 2016 with the signing of a strategic partnership with SAP during the World Government Summit that will enable UAE Government enterprises to gain access to smart applications; in addition to its partnership with TRA’s

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FEDNet programme and many other promising industry relationships.

Having already laid the foundations for a smart city with Wi-Fi UAE and the first Internet of Things (IoT) network in the Middle East (LoRa network), du is ensuring the backbone of the Smart City and integration of IoT is available to help the Government to realise this vision. By integrating systems of

vendor-agnostic and open platforms, du believes Dubai can foster unlimited innovation and adoption of all evolving technologies to create a Smart Dubai.

“Telecommunications infrastructure is the backbone to any smart city project,” highlights Carlos Domingo, du’s Chief New Business and Innovation Officer. “As the official smart city partner to Dubai Smart Government we are providing both a platform for integration and collaboration, in addition to offering communications.

This gives us a competitive advantage over other service providers to ensure collaboration during the project. However, the importance of telecommunications within a smart city network also necessitates high levels of innovation and collaboration, as well as commitment.”

Offering a wide range of backend and customer-facing solutions – including enterprise resource planning, human capital management for human resources, customer

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Many smart technologies already exist in the UAE thanks to du, including: > Installation of the first smart street lights in Dubai’s Silicon Oasis > Use of du smart meters by SEWA (Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority) to improve energy efficiency > Increasing business efficiency through smarter fleet management that uses Machine to Machine (M2M) technology > Connecting the local population to complimentary internet countrywide via du’s Wi-Fi, where usage has tripled in past six months > The Global Blockchain Council has backed du’s pilot for the first blockchain electronic health record (EHR) service in the Middle East. This is also helping the UAE Government to develop big data solutions that can assist civil defence and health authorities to plan strategies to overcome any medical emergencies or epidemics > du has also partnered for another blockchain technology pilot with Loyyal and Dubai Tourism. The Dubai Points loyalty scheme is a world-first for any tourist destination and du will be facilitating this initiative by providing communications and identity authentication

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relationship management, marketing, and analytics and business intelligence – du brings a thorough knowhow of Dubai’s landmark approach to smart cities, exemplified by the Company’s ongoing smart city initiatives, continuing investment in smart infrastructure and longstanding support of entrepreneurship and fostering innovation. In delivering the Smart Dubai platform, du will pioneer a capex free, flexible, partnershipbased business model that is unlike any platform-based city model operating in the world today.

Domingo adds: “The Smart Dubai platform is a unique undertaking for any city in the world. Several leading cities have established ICT platforms, but often limited them to specific uses or a single dimension.

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The newly-conceived Smart Dubai platform unites city services, IoT, cloud services, big data and digital identity across all city dimensions to build the most comprehensive exchange point for Government and private sector services, delivering unprecedented value for the city.

“As an additional socio-economic advantage, local high-tech talent and job skill development will also increase in response to the developing market.”

Designed to significantly enhance real-time and data-driven decisionmaking capabilities, the platform enables city leaders to engage in community-wide dialogues and analyse rich city data across multiple dimensions; thus becoming an essential asset for Dubai’s seamless economic growth.

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ARRIS partnership helps Middle East telco du more in TV The 4K future of television is an exciting prospect. The levels of clarity, sharpness and quality are exciting consumers, but the right hardware is needed to bring 4K into their living rooms. Service providers are already making the adequate preparations to make sure they’re set for tomorrow. du, a telecommunications service provider in the UAE, is entrusting ARRIS with its move to 4K. It’s not a leap of faith though; the two companies have a relationship that spans the past decade. And it’s the success of this partnership in delivering high quality services to customers that will see it continue into the new era of television.

ARRIS is a global innovator in IP, video and broadband technology and has worked with companies all over the world to transform how consumers enjoy entertainment and communications. For du, that means supplying DVR set top boxes since 2009.

The two companies work together to expand du’s IPTV network by supporting the production and logistics process of du’s latest set-tops.

Recently, du created a regional first partnership with Omantel. The two independent telecom operators collaborated to bridge a gap by bringing du’s award winning IPTV platform to Oman; thereby reducing Omantel’s time-to-market and costs and expanding du investment and reach.

ARRIS was selected to support the smooth

introduction of the Omantel TV+ IPTV service with its set-top solution. du’s foray into 4K is now taking place. It’s a sizeable step and so everything – from the equipment, to the delivery of the service – has to be flawless. The nature of implementation means that the hardware has to be of the highest calibre; and it is.

ARRIS’s track record in delivering in instances such as this made the Company an ideal partner for providing set-tops.

Consumers in the UAE are demanding and have high standards when it comes to technology. The market was the first in the Middle East to launch the most advanced IPTV services. Customers call for the fastest and most reliable networks. In a market like this, ARRIS thrives as has its own thirst for innovation to provide the very best services.

“We’re proud to work with du in what has already been a successful and collaborative partnership,” said Youssef Awada, Managing Director, Middle East, ARRIS. “We’re always looking to expand into new areas and working with a company such as du has helped us to thrive in the region. We’re not just investing in 4K; we’re also looking more broadly at what will entertain tomorrow’s customers.

We look forward to a continued relationship that helps du realise its vision of the future.”

www.arris.com/solutions/ultrahd

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STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES

Ankit Agarwal, Global Head, Telecom Products, Sterlite Technologies

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u is one of the top telecom operators in UAE and is aligning its business with the Smart Government Initiative. With UAE’s demand for digital services and data increasing, du is growing every year on profits and customer base. We are extremely happy to partner them in their network rollout since 2012. We are very proud to be a leading provider of optical fibre cable requirement to du.

Sterlite Technologies has been actively working with du’s fixed access network and transport (backbone) teams, and providing innovative offering of OSP (outside plant) cables from 2-core up to 1152F duct/ribbon cables. Both the teams are actively engaged in developing new customised products especially suited for du’s requirement of robust, cost-effective and efficient network development.

Sterlite has put its R&D might behind developing these innovative products.

5G

In early 2012, the ITU, the standardisation group of the United Nations, embarked on a programme to develop “IMT for 2020 and beyond”, setting the stage for 5G research activities that are emerging around the world. In September, 2015, ITU finalised its vision for a 5G mobile broadband-connected society. The technology will be instrumental to the UAE Government’s Smart City

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goals and is now beginning to attract investment attention globally.

“5G will provide multiple use cases and will utilise a set of new technologies, including new radio access technology.

However, it is important to note that 4G LTE will continue to evolve from now until beyond 2020 and will indeed be the mainstream technology by 2020 until the introduction and commercialisation of 5G at a later stage,” explains AlBlooshi.

These products have aided du in rolling out its network faster and reaching out to its customers aggressively. A trusted and reliable partnership has grown between du and Sterlite overxxxxxxxxx the years.

Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx This partnership has helped Sterlite to cater to 20-25 percent of the UAE market and become one of the major cable suppliers in the region. Sterlite and du are in talks for deeper engagements in terms of undertaking complete turnkey projects through its end to end telecom solutions, including software. With du further expanding to support smart city developments, we see a bright future together.

E communications@sterlite.com

www.sterlitetechnologies.com Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

To learn more about our optical fibre and optical fibre cable products, please visit our website www.sterlitetechnologies.com For any sales enquiries, write to communications@sterlite.com

CONNECTING LIVES Brazil I China I India I Nigeria I Russia I Singapore I Turkey I UAE I UK

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5G is set to serve three main types of ‘use cases’; namely massive mobile broadband, critical communications and massive IoT Massive Mobile Broadband To provide 1Gbps+ speeds (with a minimum guaranteed speed in the range of 10s of Mbps at the cell edge) in addition to wide area coverage with deep indoor penetration. The main target for this use case is to serve the ultra HD video streaming, 3D video streaming and augmented reality markets.

Critical Communications To provide extremely high reliability and ultra low latency.

The main target for this use case is to serve the future industrial automation, remote operations, robotics, automotive vehicle to vehicle communications and real-time traffic control.

Massive Internet of Things (IoT) To serve the billions of connected devices (things) on the condition of sustaining long battery life at a low cost. The main targets for this use case is to serve smart cities and the wearables market, as well as all the future IoT connectivity needs.

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“The ITU has set out a standardisation timetable in its IMT-2020 initiative and currently, we are at the stage of definition of technical performance requirements, evaluation criteria and methods, and submission templates.

The next phase will be the submission of proposals for evaluation.”

Corporate citizen

Apart from commercial focus, du believes that corporate social responsibility (CSR) should be built into the fabric of its organisation and implemented at every level, rather than an additional consideration or afterthought of investment. This is not just embedded in its vision to ‘do good’, but it is rooted in its strategy to

be a strong and sustainable business.

With its own sustainability team that actively seeks volunteering opportunities that align with the Company’s sustainability pillars – comprising education, environment, entrepreneurship and the UAE’s heritage, culture and society – du takes part in at least two CSR activities a month.

2015 marked the first full year of du’s official corporate volunteering policy, allowing all staff one paid working day to contribute towards community initiatives.

Last year, 315 du employees contributed more than 2,400 hours towards volunteering activities.

Furthermore, the Company’s Ramadan

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In 2015 315 employees contributed more than

2,400

volunteering hours towards community initiatives

Tree plantation volunteering as part of du’s sustainability activities

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WIPRO

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ipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services Company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better.

Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of “Business through Technology.”

By combining digital strategy, customer centric design, advanced analytics and product engineering approach, Wipro helps its clients create successful and adaptive businesses.

A company recognised globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has a dedicated workforce of more than 160,000, serving clients in 175-plus cities across six continents.

www.wipro.com

Taking an active role in CSR projects

Relationship with Sterlite Technologies ‘To meet the requirements for its substantial network investments, du partnered with Sterlite Technologies in 2012, who now account for more than 90 percent of its optical fibre requirements; representing another excellent example of a trustworthy partnership’

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project, Mawaed Al Rahman, engaged 933 of the UAE’s residents, who collectively contributed more than 3,100 hours.

Each year, Ramadan brings an opportunity to engage with the community and bring happiness to people’s lives. During 2016, du also committed to a donation of AED 3 million for the Ramadan ‘Reading Nation’ campaign as implemented

by H.H Sheikh Mohammed Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Taking an active role in this campaign is confirmation of the Company’s commitment towards upholding the values of religion as well as recognising the importance of reading for the future of the region to ultimately secure a better future for the youth of tomorrow.

Each year, Ramadan brings an opportunity to engage with the community and bring happiness to people’s lives...

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This year, du donated AED 3 million for the Ramadan ‘Reading Nation’ campaign

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2020 and beyond

Considered a core player on the road to achieving the UAE’s Smart City initiatives, du is keen to constantly develop its network and portfolio of products and services to better address the customers’ needs while identifying the vast opportunities that will grow its market share.

Committed to not only creating career opportunities for all, but also providing staff with a working environment that allows individuals to reach their full potential, du prioritises the wellbeing, progression and engagement of its colleagues while supporting the wider undertones of the UAE’s vision.

Further bolstered by the Gallup Great Workplace award for the second consecutive year, the telecoms outlook

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for the remainder of this 2016 is an exciting one for du. 5G will remain at the forefront of research and development for telcos around the world.

With the UAE witnessing an ongoing technology-driven development, du is multiplying its efforts to avail the latest and most developed products and services to one of the most tech-savvy societies in the world.

AlBlooshi concludes: “We have

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This year we made a successful contribution to the ITU Study Group on 5G, and we believe that it cements our objective to be the first in the market with pioneering technologies - Saleem AlBlooshi

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focused on forming a strategy and constantly developing the network to march in line with the progress towards defining and achieving 5G. This year we made a successful contribution to the ITU Study Group on 5G, and we believe that it cements our objective to be the first in the market with pioneering technologies. Our investment in infrastructure will be the key to driving future progress.�

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EMIRATES INTEGRATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY (du) Al Salam Tower Dubai Media City PO Box 502666 Dubai, UAE T: +971 4 360 00 00 E: care.business@du.ae

www.du.ae