Reports and Coverage

BAI Communications has announced that global wireless communications executive Igor Leprince has been appointed to the role of Group Chief Executive Officer commencing 1st May 2020.

Orange Business Services, a network-native digital services company, has announced the appointment of Osama Shwaihat as Managing Director for the UAE and Arabian Gulf. He is based at the company’s Middle East & Africa regional headquarters at Dubai Silicon Oasis.

Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information unveiled that total fixed telephone lines rose by 5.7% to 592,196 by the end of December 2019, from 560,326 subscribers until end of December 2018. Analogue fixed telephone declined by 0.8% to 321,501 during the period under review. 

Dr. Imad Hoballah has taken office as industry minister in Lebanon’s new cabinet formed by prime minister H.E. Hassan Diab. Dr. Hoballah was the provost and chief academic officer at the American University of Dubai which he joined in 2017.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has launched a first-of-its-kind advanced digital platform for pharmaceutical public and private facilities as well as health practitioners to store their data.

Lebanon’s new prime minister, H.E. Hassan Diab formed a new council of ministers with H.E. Talal Hawat as minister of telecommunications succeeding H.E. Mohamed Choucair.

Tougher UK and EU rules restricting Chinese 5G network supplier, Huawei, could be a golden opportunity for competitors, Nokia and Ericsson, to take back the reigns. However, analysts are also warning that the companies may struggle to meet the increased demand.

MEF announces that Aamir Hussain, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Verizon Business Group, has rejoined the MEF Board of Directors. Hussain previously served on MEF’s Board in 2018, during his tenure at CenturyLink.

A Los Angeles jury ordered Apple and Broadcom to pay $1.1 billion to a university in California for infringing on four Wi-Fi technology patents. Apple was ordered to pay $837 million and Broadcom must pay $270 million to the California Institute of Technology, in what is thought to be one of the largest patent verdicts ever.

Augmented and virtual realities are among the most cutting-edge technologies in today’s tech landscape. According to a ‘Seeing is Believing’ report by PwC, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) could boost the global economy by 1.8% to $1.5tn by 2030. AR and VR are now not only useful in gaming. The report shows it has the potential to transform industries including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, retail and training and development.