5G will offer fans a “rich and enhanced” sports experience at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, said Ooredoo Group’s managing director, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, during a panel discussion with Ericsson's President and CEO, Borje Ekholm at the Qatar Economic Forum powered by Bloomberg on Tuesday.
The panel, titled ‘Potential and perils of a hyper-connected world’, was moderated by Bloomberg anchor Emily Chang. Tackled topics included connectivity, cyber-security, 5G use-cases, and technological innovations that are helping pandemic-hit businesses transform into digitally-driven industries.
During the panel, both Fakhroo and Ekholm shared, among others, insights into the Covid-19 period, cyber-security, 5G and getting ready for the upcoming major sporting events.
Fakhroo spoke about the Ooredoo Group’s preparedness and swift response to the pandemic situation, as a result of years of network investments as part of its progressive strategy.
He highlighted Ooredoo's priority during this time to make it easier for customers to find, buy and use its services online and how resilient networks have helped maintain business continuity to support a faster economic recovery.
Ekholm commented that close collaboration with service providers was key to fulfil this shift in consumers’ demand with focus on upgrading network capacity to cater for these changes and deliver a strong customer experience for remote working, online education, gaming or entertainment.
Fakhroo also touched upon the importance of investing further in digital technologies to bridge the digital divide, citing as an example Ooredoo's mobile financial services that are helping unbanked communities access cost-saving digital platforms and benefit from a range of formal, reliable and secure financial services.
Both executives emphasised the vital role of cyber-security to overcome the risks that come with being connected.
They highlighted that 5G has been designed with security built-in from the start and that building a secure 5G network requires a holistic approach, a trust stack for networks is an example of that with multiple layers from standards to products and related development processes, network deployments, and network operations at the top.
Fahkroo and Ekholm then discussed preparations for the upcoming major 2022 sporting event being held in Doha, including the role of 5G and the Internet of Things, and their impact on the event experience for fans and visitors.
Speaking about it, Fakhroo said that the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup is going to be the best in history.
Another timely topic on the agenda was that of digital transformation, and the role the Covid-19 pandemic has played in acting as an accelerator across businesses, verticals and industries, with Fakhroo focusing on the telecommunications industry in particular.
On his panel participation, Fakhroo said, “I was delighted to represent Ooredoo Group at such a prestigious regional event, and to join with our longstanding partner Ericsson to share our insights into the hottest topics of this era. The core of our vision is to enrich people's digital lives by giving them access to opportunities and enable them to enjoy the great benefits of connectivity through our advanced networks.
“We are proud to be working with Ericsson to achieve this and to support our country’s progress towards realising the Qatar National Vision 2030. But also to facilitate an unrivalled event for Qatar and the world in 2022.”
Ekholm said, “As part of its National Vision 2030, Qatar has made substantial advancement in the digitalisation of its society. Going forward, technologies such as 5G, AI and IoT will impact even more lives and help address some of the most pressing challenges facing our planet.
“We are honoured to support Ooredoo’s ambition to deliver the best user experience, including powering all of the 2022 stadiums with our 5G connectivity solutions.”
Ooredoo Group’s Deputy CEO Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla al-Thani will be participating in a panel discussion from 2pm to 2-45pm today.
Along with other panellists, he will be exploring current opportunities enabled by connectivity and the social impact of 5G.
 
 
Related Story