Ali Amiri

Etisalat’s smart practices

In an exclusive interview with Vijaya Cherian at the Smart Media conference in Dubai, Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President of Carrier & Wholesale Services at Etisalat, shares details about some of the telco’s OTT services as well as the concerns and challenges of delivering data-intensive services on behalf of broadcasters

What services do you provide to the broadcast community?

We service traditional broadcasters and provide the connectivity they require to broadcast regionally and globally. We also host both non-traditional media and content providers at our SmartHub in Fujairah. That includes Yahoo, Microsoft, the CDN networks as well as the big distribution companies. It is a great strategic point because all the regional and international cables converge there.

So, essentially, we have combined the content and the cables at one point. As a result, the content providers now have one point. They can set up distribution throughout the region with one simple contract with Etisalat, which allows them to distribute to KSA, Qatar and Bahrain.

At Smart Media, we were discussing the mix between traditional and internet broadcasting. For example, for traditional broadcasters, broadcasting has always been primarily satellite based while today, a lot of it is fibre based. This goes back to the hub in Fujairah, which is connected to international cables (intercontinental and regional). Intercontinental is typically split between the East and the West. The reason we do this is because we have different subsea cable systems and occasionally, one breaks and if it does, we can easily diversify and move the traffic one way or the other.

All those intercontinental cables, which are usually in consortium with a whole bunch of other major carriers, link into our regional cables. So we act as a distribution network for all those intercontinental cables entering the region.

Are you not competing with international carriers?

The interesting part about international carriers is that we compete and co-operate with the same players. For instance, I may not have a distribution network in the US and I might need to send my traffic to a carrier in the US like AT&T or somebody. So, in that sense, I am co-operating with them. But I may be competing in this region for other pieces of the business on a global basis with them.

What is the big challenge for operators such as yourself?

The challenge for operators is the need to invest in infrastructure to support increasingly high-speed services which support OTT video services such as YouTube. At the same time, the operators are looking for a share of the revenues earned by the OTT players. This is a global debate, which is being shaped around net neutrality discussions. Ultimately, there needs to be a fair distribution.

So, if we worked together with the CDNs and they pay us some money for capacity, hosting and so on, we provide them a service that allows them to distribute to the whole region and the other upside for us is that our customers have a much fresher experience because the content is localised.

Again, the challenge is that we can’t move fast enough – not just for broadcasters but for everybody. We have barely come up with 4G and everyone is going on about 5G.

On a consumer level, one of the key challenges is that although we have smart devices, most people do not use it smartly. So while on a business level, it’s important to monetise the content, on a consumer level, creating greater awareness is equally significant.

How well connected is the Middle East in terms of its subsea cable connectivity?

In general, the Middle East is well served with some countries playing pivotal roles as capacity hubs such as the UAE. We expect the growth to continue to meet the growth in broadband, cloud and video.

In recent years, we’ve seen several announcements of both regional and intercontinental systems.

We recently announced the BBG (Bay of Bengal) in 2013 and AAE-1, a massive undertaking.

The AAE-1 comprises 16 leading global service providers spanning 25,000km and will be one of the largest global submarine cable systems. It connects Hong Kong to Singapore, the Middle East, Africa and Europe with a design capacity of 40 terabits.

How important is the media and communication industry and are you launching solutions for this vertical?

It’s very important of course. We recently signed a strategic video contribution and distribution partnership agreement with Tata Communications that is specifically targeted at this segment. Etisalat, with its partner, has established a Video Connect node hosted in Dubai. This global video network is designed to help broadcasters, studios and production houses deliver video content flexibly and cost-effectively to media hotspots worldwide. Video Connect is designed with on-demand and customisation capabilities, enabling media personnel to deploy specialised feeds based on location and time zone.

Our infrastructure will ensure permanent availability of bandwidth and seamless video transmission, providing the impetus for better and more economical video transport solutions.

Tata’s strength in the acquisition and distribution of video for multiscreen OU (occasional use) such as sports events and live linear, coupled with Etisalat’s strong regional network makes it a compelling value proposition for media organisations. By offering end-to-end management, we are providing a platform for customers to gain new business opportunities in both, emerging and global markets.

Video Connect services enable both content owners and aggregators to transport content in high quality HD-SDI or even new 4k formats, which are commercially unviable over pure satellite. Etisalat’s extension of this global media delivery service to and from the Middle East reinforces the support we offer the region’s media industry.

How has the relationship between the IT companies and the telcos evolved and how would you define your competition?

The lines between IT and telecom companies have increasingly become blurred. The role of telecoms in the IT-telecoms convergence space will change from foe to friend. IT service companies and telecoms providers will work in a complementary rather than competitive manner. IT companies will be able build the reputation and technical capabilities of telecoms companies, according to industry analyst IDC. Traditional service providers like Etisalat are taking on cloud in competition with the likes of Amazon. However the international wholesale model is unique, where our competitor in one field can be our partner in another. On a global scale, we compete with all the major wholesale providers, yet we also partner with them to deliver end-to-end services.

OTT players are obviously competition for all operators, with the Middle East being no exception. Traditional voice now competes with so many different types of messaging platforms, but at the end of the day, these create more demand for our data bundles.

What does the Middle East telco market do better than other regional marketplaces across the globe?

I think you just look at how quickly the UAE has emerged not just as a regional, but as a global premiere business hub and you begin to get the picture of the strength of our leadership and financial capacity. We invest heavily in the future and adapt quickly to changing business conditions and seize opportunities. Our strength is in how quickly we adapt.

Abu Dhabi is the most connected capital in the world with 100% fibre to the home. The UAE has the highest penetration of smartphones in the world; it runs the fastest 4G network in the world and our regional and national infrastructure is second to none.

In relation to the rest of the world, the region is quick to adopt emerging technologies and use them to drive smarter business.

How well connected is the Middle East overall? Are there still a significant number of underserved areas and what are operators in the region doing to change this?

Recent studies point out that mobile penetration in the region has set global benchmarks with mobile subscriptions expected to cross the 300 million mark in 2014. At the same time, the telecoms retail market is expected to reach $96 billion by 2017, driven by mobile data and fixed broadband.

With the high penetration of smartphones and mobile broadband, data services are expected to be the fastest growth area in the region. Operators have made huge investments in laying out networks with the latest 4G technologies providing 24/7 network in the most remote places. In the Middle East, the number of 4G connections will grow to reach 42.6 million connections in 2017, representing only 9.6% of total mobile connections.

In the UAE, Etisalat rolled out the first 4G LTE network covering 80% of the populated area, providing high speed data transfer rates of 150mbps. Today, the country plays a major role as a connectivity hub for the region, similar to what Frankfurt is to Europe and Hong Kong is to Asia.

What do you expect to be a particular area of focus for the Middle East in 2014?

This year, our focus is on ‘Connected World, Connected Things’, where everything has a connectivity element setting the stage for M2M growth. With the global adoption of mobile devices continuing to rise, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will gain momentum. The mobile ecosystem will be expanded to accommodate the growing demand for high-bandwidth applications and services such as video and gaming, is keeping pressure on the industry to increase the availability and quality of broadband connectivity.

Moving forward, carriers will focus on providing a seamless LTE/M2M traffic delivery by handling the surge in data and signaling traffic, commercial agreements to meet peering challenges and inter-carrier billing models.

A seamless connectivity, with no interruptions, across networks and borders by developing a resilient, transparent and managed network ecosystem will be an area of focus for operators. This has to be delivered with assured QoS and security.