The UAE is determined to play a pioneering role in the development of the sixth generation of mobile communication networks by ramping up research investments and developing local talent, a senior official at Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute (TII) said.
The upcoming standard, known as 6G, requires a collaborative effort, with the UAE capital in particular planning to lead more industry events to gather the best minds to accelerate its development, said Merouane Debbah, chief researcher for artificial intelligence and telecom system at the TII.
"Abu Dhabi is already playing a very important role in gathering industry players from different countries" to accelerate the development of 6G standards, he told The National at the inaugural Abu Dhabi 6G Summit on Thursday.
"There is a massive investment being done in R&D for this," Mr Debbah said, without providing any figures.
Aside from the summit, which is intended to become an annual event, Dubai is also set to host the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) next year.
The WRC, held every four years, is a forum for crucial policy and technical regulatory discussions. But its most important mandate is to update the Radio Regulations — the sole international treaty governing the use of the radio frequency spectrum and the geostationary satellites and non-geostationary satellite orbits.
The ITU is a specialised agency of the UN responsible for matters regarding information and communications technologies.
The Cop climate change summits, which will be hosted by Egypt this month and the UAE in 2023, will also be used as a forum to promote next-generation networks that adhere to sustainability goals, Mr Debbah said.
6G promises even faster speeds and efficiency compared with the latest 5G technology.
It would enhance the capability of today's 5G networks by 100 times, according to industry studies.
Furthermore, latency, which is the delay between sending and receiving information, will be reduced by a factor of 10 to 0.1 millisecond, and energy efficiency of networks will drop by a factor of 100.
Abu Dhabi and the UAE are in the midst of a major digital transformation programme, which seeks to transition the Emirates from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based one.
"The investments we are doing today in R&D go within the vision of this roadmap," Mr Debbah said.
The government, which seeks to position the UAE as a global technology hub, has introduced several initiatives for this purpose, which in turn have attracted interest and investment from major technology players.
The UAE was also ranked first in the Middle East in the 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index, cementing its status as among the world’s leading countries in adopting the latest technology.
The country's two telecom operators, e& and du, are also "moving big" when it comes to 6G, Mr Debbah said.
Having a pioneering role in the development of 6G is also an opportunity for the UAE to develop local talent and encourage patenting technologies "to show the capabilities" of the country, he said.
Abu Dhabi is already playing a very important role in gathering industry players from different countries' to accelerate the development of 6G standards
Merouane Debbah,
chief researcher for AI and telecom system at the Technology Innovation Institute
"We’re bringing and forming the best talents here in the UAE, not just in 6G but other technologies. We are encouraging a lot of Emiratis to get PhDs and to dig more into research," Mr Debbah said.
The industry is also seeking to avoid a repeat of last year's chip shortage — largely caused by a spike in consumer electronics demand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and most recently by geopolitical issues led by the Russia-Ukraine war — which resulted in massive supply chain disruptions and delays in the adoption of 5G.
The UAE also seeks to address the challenges in communications, including reducing fragmentation to close the gap between the users of newer standards and those stuck in older networks.
"Fragmentation happens between people who are pro-technology who are moving extremely fast in adoption and those who are laid back because they are not able to understand [how to adopt]," he said.
"The way to solve that problem is to make cost-effective products and make the user experience easy."
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The%20specs
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
