Exclusive Interviews

You’re reading it here first: The licensing process in Ethiopia is reaching its final stage. Telecom Review Africa has learned from various sources that the Government of Ethiopia has released the final version of the tender documents today. A meeting was held end of last week with the companies that have shown interest to participate in the tender which will allocate two new telecom licenses in Ethiopia. Telecom Review Africa understands that the government, and the organisations supporting it in organising the tender, have provided interested companies with the main changes made to the draft Request for Proposals (RFP), as well as the progress made on the definition of the regulatory framework due to regulate the activities of the newly liberalised telecom sector. They also handled questions from investors.

umlaut is a global, full-service, cross-industry, end-to-end company that offers advisory and fulfilment services to clients all over the world. Telecom Review spoke to Hakan Ekmen, CEO Telecommunication at umlaut to know more about the company’s benchmarking activities and its plans for the Middle East region.

Bob Whitman, vice president of market development for carrier networks at Corning Optical Communications discussed, in an interview with Telecom Review, the company’s latest solution, Evolv™ Hardened Connectivity Solutions with Pushlok™ Technology.

In an increasingly hyper-connected world, the need to navigate through this transformational change with minimal friction seems to be everyone’s endeavour. Cisco has been at the forefront providing the latest in technology know-how and resources to give its customers the tools to thrive in the digital age.  In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Ali Amer, managing director, service provider sales, Cisco Middle East and Africa, talks about Cisco’s role in the digital transformation globally and regionally.

2020 has been very challenging year, however Ooredoo was up to the challenge and was capable of supporting its customers. Fatima Al-Kuwari, chief consumer officer, Ooredoo spoke to Telecom Review about the measures that the Qatari operator took during these difficult times and the role it has played. She also highlighted the challenges she faced as a woman in ICT.

In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Diane El Hachem, head of partnerships at Related Inc discusses the role of Related in the ICT industry and the importance of partnerships and rewards programs.

Telecom Review managed to secure an exclusive interview with H.E. Dr. Mohammed Altamimi, governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), following the publication of a follow up public consultation on CITC’s “Spectrum Outlook for Commercial and Innovative Use 2021-2023”, whereby it plans to release more than 20 GHz of additional radio spectrum.

The cybersecurity aspect of 5G networks has been at heart of many discussions and debates. Telecom Review spoke to Rupesh Chokshi, Vice President, Cybersecurity, AT&T to know more about the operator’s take on this subject.

Amid the pandemic that hit the entire globe, the need for high-speed internet has become a necessity since everyone, or the majority of people, are now working from home. In this context, Telecom Review had the chance to speak with Mohamed Salama, head of fixed networks, MEA, Nokia, about the fixed networks portfolio the company has offered.

Payments company Centili has been making waves throughout the last year and has started 2021 super-strong. It has rebranded, announced several new contracts and plans for 2021, which include expanding the product portfolio beyond the payments space in which it operates since founding in 2011. The company is focusing on the emerging areas of conversational commerce and monetisation platform-as-a-service. In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Centili Group CEO Zoran Vasiljev stated that he believes these trends will mark digital monetisation in years to come.