The main challenge telcos face today - the same as any enterprise - is changing their culture to adapt to the digital future, says Nizar Hneini, Managing Partner of Detecon, the consulting arm of German-based Deutsche Telekom Group, speaking to Telecom Review. Digitization is about simplicity, innovation, trust and transparency - traits that most enterprises try to promote, but it's much easier said than done, says Nizar.

Read more: Detecon implores telcos to rethink their culture in order to stay ahead

Following the completion of 5G technology standards, Huawei, collaborating with operators and industry partners, will commercialize full-fledged 5G equipment to cover all use cases, Dr. Mohamed Madkour, Vice President, Global Wireless Networks Marketing at Huawei told Telecom Review at 5G MENA. Dr. Madkour believes 5G will be the tool responsible for merging the digital world and the physical worlds - digital in terms of services and physical in terms of what we do every day.

Read more: Joint effort is helping Huawei to bring 5G into reality in the Middle East as early as 2018

The best regulatory solution is one that adapts legislation and innovations to new services and moves gradually towards a regulatory framework that is evolutionary in its approach whilst at the same time ensuring consistency across the national regulatory policy, says H.E. Mohammed Ali Al-Mannai, president of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) - State of Qatar, speaking to Telecom Review about the ever-changing and expanding role of regulators.

Read more: CRA president: The role of regulators is always changing and expanding

"Enabling 5G requires virtualization, cloudification and orchestration - all things that direct du towards 5G infrastructure," said Saleem Al Balooshi, executive vice president of Infrastructure and Technology at UAE-based telecommunications service provider 'du', speaking to Telecom Review about the operator's plans to develop 5G infrastructure to be implemented in time for Dubai Expo 2020.

Read more: Virtualization, cloudification and orchestration key pillars of du’s 5G strategy

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) held a working group meeting on May 3rd to open up discussions on spectrum issues and outline the 5G roadmap towards 2020. It was the second of three group meetings by the TRA held under the ITU's initiative "IMT for 2020 and beyond" (IMT-2020) setting the stage for 5G research activities that are emerging around the world.

Read more: TRA holds “IMT-2020” spectrum meeting to discuss 5G roadmap

Industry expectations are that the first set of 3GPP 5G standards will be finalized in time for first full-blown commercial 5G networks by 2020, says Aji Ed, head of Technology, MEA, Nokia, speaking to Telecom Review. Nokia offers the industry's first end-to-end 5G solution based on pre-standards and this is called 5G FIRST. Aji highlights the use cases for Nokia's 5G FIRST and how it can bring them closer to 5G commercialization.

Read more: Nokia’s first end-to-end 5G solution based on pre-standards: 5G FIRST

The success of German independent management consulting firm, goetzpartners, is its DNA, says Middle East Managing Director Erik Almqvist, speaking to Telecom Review, who strongly advocates for investing in society and empowering staff in order to obtain the best results for clients. Founded in 1991, goetzpartners has become a powerful ally for telecom operators around the world looking to streamline their services, reinforce their DNA and adopt a more digital approach.

Read more: Goetzpartners: Superior transformation results

As the world becomes ever more digitally connected, industries are experiencing an ICT-driven transformation. Because of this, traditional revenue streams are slowing for operators, says Ericsson's Wojciech Bajda, Head of Industry and Society Unit in Region Middle East, speaking to Telecom Review about Ericsson's latest '5G Business Potential' report.

Read more: Ericsson says traditional revenue streams are slowing for operators and 5G will enable new...

Kathrein, a leading international specialist for reliable, high-quality communication technologies, is "actively engaged in 5G discussions" in the Middle East, says CEO and managing director of the Middle East, Ayman Raba, speaking to Telecom Review. Mr. Raba shared fascinating insights about Kathrein's role in the Middle East, its vision in core connectivity areas such as 5G and IoT, and touched on Kathrein's 5G antenna solutions introduced at Mobile World Congress this year.

Read more: Kathrein is actively engaged with 5G discussions in the Middle East

More Articles ...