UAE’s telecoms regulator adopts a new identity

The UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has broadened its remit

The total number of internet subscriptions in the UAE totalled almost 3 million in December. Reem Mohammed / The National

The UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has rebranded, the entity announced on Monday.

Its new identity follows a decree in September last year which changed the authority's name, reflecting its broader remit. The authority's board voted to adopt the new name at a board meeting in December.

“We are witnessing a full digital transformation … electronic government was started before 2000, mobile government was started in 2013 and today we are talking about a digital government supported by data and [the] Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TDRA’s director general, told an online roundtable on Monday.

“Digital government is a completely different concept, as it goes beyond providing services. It seeks to enhance the quality of life … employ digital data and technologies supported by artificial intelligence in people's transactions, relationships and lives,” said Mr Al Mansoori.

Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TDRA’s director general (C), at the launch of UAE National Cybersecurity Strategy in June 2019. Courtesy TDRA

Usage of telecoms and digital services in the UAE and across the world soared over the past year as companies increasingly switched to remote working to stem the spread of the pandemic. The Emirates also temporarily lifted a ban on voice-over-internet protocol applications and other video conferencing tools to help remote working.

“We think digitally, interact digitally, design digitally, work digitally and present our products digitally. This becomes an integral part of the daily life of individuals in the government or in the private sector as they are working more remotely due to the pandemic,” Mr Al Mansoori added.

The total number of internet subscriptions in the UAE totalled nearly 3 million in December, almost the same as in November, according to the TDRA. There were almost 33 broadband internet connections per 100 residents in the Emirates, it added.

The TDRA said its strategy has been aligned with the country's digital transformation, and that it has set six new objectives that "aim to build a strong infrastructure to connect government agencies towards providing high quality digital services”, Mohammad Al Zarooni, chief executive of policies and programmes, said.

The TDRA, which regulates the UAE’s telecom sector and provides frameworks to government entities in the field of smart transformation, is also monitoring the impact of its changes on users and collecting feedback to improve services.

“We are closely monitoring how our latest efforts are transforming users' experience,” Mr Al Zarooni said.