Life & Style | People
Changing face of communications
Communications industry is undergoing rapid development in the region, including such phenomenon as hyperconnectivity, making life easier for both the user and service provider. It's exciting but challenging for the network. Gulf News spoke to Ramin Attari, CEO of Nortel, Middle East and North Africa, about the new developments and Dubai's communications industry in general.
- By Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:47 March 3, 2008
- Ramin Attari, Nortel's Chief Executive Officer, Middle East and North Africa.
- Image Credit: Press Release
Gulf News: What does the term hyperconnectivity mean to the user?
Attari: A new phenomenon that we're experiencing now is the concept of hyperconnectivity, a term coined here at Nortel. And what that really means there's a phenomenal number of new devices being connected to the network all the time. For example, I have a blackberry, a mobile phone, a laptop, even my car. Every time I go through the Salik system the car gets connected to the network. If you look at the number of devices compared to the number of people actually getting connected to the network, the numbers are phenomenal. Recent reports say around 1.9 million new wireless devices are connected to the network every day. It's not just about human-to-human, it's also about human to machine.
Gulf News: What is it that Nortel is trying to do to improve communications for all?
Attari: New devices need to do something and be productive. We need to make life easier for both the user and service provider. But also the network has to be able to cope suddenly will all the new devices. People want an experience of true broadband. I want the same experience irrespective of where I am and irrespective of the device. That again places requirements on the service provider to do that. From the days of pure voice telephony, we go to the next phase of a blackberry of 2.5 G and then to true broadband. We want access to the network wherever you are at high speed and this is through fourth (4G) generation technology. WiMAX is where we have significant engagements going on, not just in this region but globally. It's at the heart of what Nortel is doing. A key thing with WiMAX is that it allows you to provide wireless broadband in larger geographies. We're getting tremendous traction across the region on this type of technology.
Gulf News: How would you describe Dubai's communication industry?
Attari: We have world class technology and we're engaged with the operators here in the UAE and across the Middle East region. Now these operators clearly understand that service differentiation is very important as it enables more competition and more competition allows even better service. The Middle East is now seeing the emphasis on service providers moving to service differentiation and that's a great thing for everybody.
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