Fifty years ago, a telephone call took place that was perhaps the most important in local telecommunication history.
The date was January 31, 1974. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, who at the time was President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, spoke on the phone to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai.
The telephone call officially inaugurated a direct telephone service between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Taking place just over two years after the formation of the United Arab Emirates, the phone call was the foundation of a national telecommunication service that set out to be the equal of the world’s finest.
Two years after that phone call, the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, better known as Etisalat, was founded with its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The state-owned group would be the exclusive provider of telecommunication services in the country for the next three decades. Its office buildings spread across the UAE and were notable for the golf ball-like spheres that crowned the structures.
In 1982 it launched the Middle East’s first mobile network. The feat would be one of many firsts as just over a decade later, it would again be a forerunner of the second-generation digital cellular network GSM, and in 1995 it became the region’s first to introduce internet services. That same year, it opened its sim-card factory. By the turn of the century, Etisalat would have more than one million subscribers to its mobile data service. The number represented about a third of the country’s population at the time. These accomplishments, in retrospect, signalled Etisalat’s ambition to be a leading regional player, and today the group has services extending to 16 countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, catering to a whopping 155.4 million subscribers.
In 2007, another telecommunications group entered the local market, effectively ending Etisalat’s monopoly in the country. Between du and Etisalat, the local internet and telephone services gained traction to stay up to date with global technologies. Most recently was the 5G revolution, with the technology becoming available in the UAE in 2019. The UAE thus became the first in the Arab region and fourth globally to introduce and use the fifth-generation cellular wireless network.
Over the past few years, the UAE has consistently been named as one of the world’s most connected countries. A 2023 factsheet by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority provides some insight into this. According to the government body, more that 99 per cent of the country’s population are internet users, accessing the web with everything from smartphones and computers to gaming consoles, smartwatches and VR headsets.
To consider that in a period of 50 years the UAE has gone from a telephone conversation between leaders in two emirates to having its entire population plugged in to the latest telecommunication technology illustrates the country’s advances perhaps better than most other examples.
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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
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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