Ooredoo showcases vision for smart cities at Arab Future Cities Summit 2016

Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, has delivered a keynote speech on the importance of smart city solutions and services at the Arab Future Cities Summit taking place in Qatar.

Around the world, an increasing volume of people are moving into cities, with the United Nations estimating that more than two-thirds of the human race will live in cities by 2050. This pace of urbanisation is creating significant problems – from rising congestion to increased pollution – which can only be addressed by the deployment of smart technology. During his speech, Ooredoo’s CEO outlined how municipalities in the GCC region have the opportunity to learn from the successes and challenges faced by cities in Asia and the Americas, and apply these lessons in order to take a leadership position in the development of future cities.

In particular, Qatar is already moving to the forefront of these discussions, ranking number one among Arab nations on the World’s Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index. Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “As operators, we provide the fixed and mobile network assets that are the foundation for smart cities around the world. Ooredoo has strived to ensure these assets are among the very best available, providing 4G, 4G+ and nationwide Fibre across our markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.”

“However, we need to take the next step, and build platforms that integrate the network assets and the data produced in order to provide the actionable intelligence that makes the smart city experiment a living, breathing reality,” he added. Al Sayed demonstrated Ooredoo’s role at the forefront of building smart cities by providing the required network infrastructure and connectivity, and through signing strategic agreements with leading technology providers to jointly develop solutions.

In particular, Ooredoo is a key partner of the first-ever Smart City in Qatar – the state-of-the-art Lusail City – which will be supported by Ooredoo’sSupernet and Fibre network. The Arab Future Cities Summit 2016 runs until 12 April, 2016 at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha. More than 400 global and regional industry leaders are sharing insights on topics such as Smart Connectivity, Smart Transportation and IoT driven mobility technologies. 

As a Title Sponsor, Ooredoo is showcasing some of its next generation technology at the event, including smart infrastructure, mega-city and municipality services management, intelligent transport and smart stadiums.

“Smart technology is interconnected with our vision to become the leading integrated ICT provider in Qatar and the region. We are building best-in-class capabilities to ensure the development of smart technology and we are engaging with innovative partners at events to deliver an enhanced digital lifestyle in our cities,” Al Sayed concluded. More information on the Arab Future Cities Summit Qatar is available now at http://www.arabfuturecities.com/. Follow the summit on social media with the hashtag #AFCS2016.