Both du and Etisalat have tested the high-speed mobile wireless technology, indicating that a new range of LTE-A mobile internet products is likely to be released soon. Charles Crowell for The National
Both du and Etisalat have tested the high-speed mobile wireless technology, indicating that a new range of LTE-A mobile internet products is likely to be released soon. Charles Crowell for The NationaShow more

Business

Du test drives superfast mobile internet technology

LTE-A is a 4G benchmark standard that allows for very high speeds of data transmission. It is being widely adopted in developed markets.

Adam Bouyamourn

July 30, 2014

The mobile operator du has completed a trial of high-speed mobile wireless technology, meaning that new 4G products could be on their way.

The company said that it had completed a trial of Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) technology, which allows service providers to aggregate signals sent by multiple carriers to boost speeds.

The technology combines signals sent over 800Mhz and 1.8Ghz – radio frequencies that have been allocated to mobile internet transmission signals by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

LTE-A is a 4G benchmark standard that allows for very high speeds of data transmission. It is being widely adopted in developed markets.

Both du and Etisalat have tested the technology, indicating that a new range of LTE-A mobile internet products is likely to be released soon.

“Utilising the 800MHz band to provide 4G-LTE Mobile Broadband Services to the public is a pivotal technology vehicle we are planning to use to further enhance the user experience and significantly extend our state of the art 4G-LTE network coverage,” said Saleem Al Balooshi, a vice president at du.

Mobile users in the UAE have been slow to adapt to the possibilities of 4G internet, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, citing a lack of understanding, high costs and a limited number of devices that are compatible with the technology.

While iPhone 5 uses the UAE’s 1.8Ghz frequency for mobile internet transmission, LTE speeds on the iPad require a frequency that is not currently available in the country.

Around the world, telecommunications providers are hoping to launch a new range of 4G mobile products off the back of the higher internet speeds now achievable.

In February, the US service provider Sprint trialled an LTE-A wireless set-up that transmitted 2.6 gigabits per second – fast enough to download a 90-minute film in a few seconds.

abouyamourn@thenational.ae

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Age: 30

Favourite book: The Power of Habit

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Favourite exercise: The snatch

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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3

Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)

Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)

Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)

Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)