Telecom Review Mobility Report 2015

LiFi: The future of
high speed data
Internet of things is
increasingly connecting
us to our cars
Reflecting on the
mobile industry and
looking to the future
Reflecting on the
future of mobility
MOBILITY REPORT 2015/ S67

2CONTENTSMOBILITYREPORT2015
4
18
8
20Reflecting on the mobile industry
and looking to the future
LiFi: The future of high speed data
Internet of things is increasingly connecting us to our cars
The development of advanced
preventive cyber-security

4EDITORIALMOBILITYREPORT2015
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he year 2015 has been a remarkable year in terms of technology
and mobility. As we look to the future, we can expect to witness
the emergence of next generation robots, connected cars, the
beginnings of artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT).
Our world is rapidly transforming into a scene from a science
fiction movie.
The fast spread of mobility around the world has influenced
many prominent topics throughout 2015; such as increased data
consumption and more smart devices. It has also driven the development
of the IoT, the notion that everything around us – from our cars, to our
mobile devices, to our kitchen appliances – will be wirelessly connected and
controllable, propelling us into an age of unprecedented connectivity.
Increased mobility has led to the emergence of 4.5G and eventually 5G.
Although it isn’t expected to be implemented until 2020, 5G has caused a
buzz of excitement because it promises improved coverage, better signal
efficiency and data rates of several tens of megabits per second.
Our world is speeding toward connectivity like never before. As Africa, a
continent with a billion people, begins to slowly catch up and connect to the
rest of the world, it will mean millions more mobile subscriptions and will
drive the need for better infrastructure.
Improved cyber-security is also a paramount mobility issue as we adopt
smartphone-dependent lifestyles. More and more sensitive information is
uploaded to the internet every day, as businesses continue to move to digital
platforms. Even though cyber-security is constantly developing, we still hear
about many successful cyber attacks.
Mobility is increasing faster than ever, and all of these developments are
proof of connectivity efficiency around the world, and the growth of the
mobile industry. For a full perspective of mobility in 2015 and a prediction of
the years to come, read on!
TelecomReview
MobilityReport2015
T
Toni Eid,
editor in chief
Telecom Review International

6FEATUREMOBILITYREPORT2015 7FEATUREMOBILITYREPORT2015
to the ability to monitor interactions
with the vehicle. For example, the
vehicle will have a punch sensor
where the user can control sensitivity.
If someone touches the car, the owner
will receive a notification. The owner
can also set a perimeter limit for the
vehicle, and if it travels out of the
perimeter, the owner will receive a
notification.
Furthermore, the owner of the vehicle
is able to run the car remotely for a
scheduled amount of time, and can
also automatically turn on the car
when the vehicle interior reaches a
certain temperature, which will cool
it down. This is ideal for a pet, or if
there are groceries in the car – and
of course, for overall comfort. The
Nissan SmartCar application is set to
help communities stay connected and
offer greater levels of control using
its innovative technology. So why was
Etisalat chosen by Nissan to develop
the concept?
“We have been working to develop
this technology with an undisclosed
supplier, and they advised us
to partner with Etisalat from a
technology point of view, because
at Etisalat they have the only M2M
control center across the region,
which was a major requirement for
this project,” said Ismail Makhlouf,
regional manager, Cross Carline and
Corporate Marketing at Nissan Middle
East. He spoke highly of the final
product and assured us that as long
as you have connectivity anywhere
in the world, you can access your car
with the app. “Basically, all you have
to do is download the application,
go through a configuration process,
which the dealership will help you
with, and then you will get a six digit
pin number and from there you can
start controlling your car.”
What to expect from connected cars
As vehicle owners are now able to
source their own exclusive data
and driving behavior thanks to
smart systems, connected cars will
begin to hold a grasp over drivers
because of never-before-experienced
convenience. Internet of things is
driving the combination of all of our
favorite convenient concepts (cars,
mobile phones, internet) eliminating
the need for multiple devices. Instead
of having a car to drive, a mobile
phone to call people and internet to
surf the web, they are all combined
into one smart car concept.
For instance, a direct relationship
between the dealer and a repair shop
will allow drivers to maintain and
service their car, and data sharing will
eventually allow shops and dealership
companies to develop the way they
interact with their customers. This
will help to diminish the traditional
mistrust between mechanics and
car repair will subside. Because of
the internet of things, apps will be
able to provide drivers with the best
resources and even enable them to
predict what costs to expect before
taking any steps to make repairs.
Smart cars will also provide us
unprecedented safety on the roads.
Monitoring devices can provide
insight into unfavorable driving
habits by marking when there is
rapid acceleration, hard braking, and
speeding – using the information to
provide practical advice for the next
excursion. With this new technology,
drivers will no longer have to worry so
much about dangerous drivers and
police will be able to relax a bit. It will
ultimately flip perceptions, utilizing
car data to offer meaningful rewards
and put consumers in control.
Not only that, connected vehicles will
also ultimately provide a new means
to save on costs. New technologies
will help consumers significantly
reduce owning a car due to improved
driving (safety), more cautious
maintenance and the management of
fuel consumption, which will also help
to reduce CO2 emissions. Imagine a
vehicle that will remember the last
route you took to a destination and
advise you on a more fuel-efficient
route? The potential to save on costs
is significant thanks to increased
connectivity to our cars, not to
mention the environmental impact.
Now that connected cars are on
the rise, they will soon become the
standard in the automotive market.
But it’s too soon to say that every
single car will be connected by the
internet of things because some
drivers prefer to integrate technology
into their lives at their own pace.
According to Tim Kelly, CEO at Zubie,
for those who prefer and employ older
vehicles, “The need for interoperability
will also be key.” He believes that
circumstance or preference should
not be a deterrent for the future of
driving. But as a result, aftermarket
devices could become popular as
everyone, regardless of their car,
would want to experience the general
benefits such as cost saving, location
sharing and maintenance alerts at an
accessible price point. Kelly feels that
“everyone should be able to drive into
their future.”
he idea of connected
cars has been high
on the agenda for the
automotive industry
and consumers alike
in 2015. Advanced
technology has set the stage for
incredible vehicle capabilities and
a luxurious in-car experience.
Manufacturers and technology
companies have been racing to
come up with the best solution that
will usher in the internet of things,
with vehicles as a central part of the
infrastructure.
In fact, according to Wired, a recent
report revealed that by 2020, 90
percent of vehicles will have built-
in connectivity. Prepare for a future
of cars that can almost think for
themselves! In 2015, Microsoft,
Google and Apple – the three
major players in the tech industry
announced their forthcoming
‘connected car’ concepts. Apple has
already introduced CarPlay, Google
has Android Auto and Microsoft
has introduced ‘windows for the
car’. CarPlay, like the iPhone, has
a flat organizational structure that
presents all of its apps and functions
as large icons on a scrollable home
screen, which is convenient and
accessible. The Windows in the car
concept essentially extends the
functionality of a Windows Phone
directly into a built-in car display. All
of these concepts aim to bring the
functionality of mobile devices right
to a vehicles center consul. There
is a new market emerging full of
infotainment, apps for cars, digital
diagnostics, monitoring services for
new drivers and enhanced navigation
systems (just to name a few), which
is estimated to grow to nearly $270
billion by 2020.
Nissan’s SmartCar app
Focusing on apps in particular,
UAE telecom operator Etisalat
recently announced the region’s
first connected car deployment
in coordination with Nissan. The
agreement has the two giants
working closely together to deliver
secure, interoperable and intuitive
connected experiences to customers.
Powered by the Etisalat network and
M2M Control Center platform, the
new Nissan SmartCar application
is compatible with GPS, GLONASS
and SGM M2M technology. The app
represents the strong move toward
the connected cars market which
Nissan has embraced. According
to forecasts from SBD and GSMA,
the connected car market will be
worth €39 billion in 2018. The global
launch of the Nissan app marked
the beginning of the connected-car
ecosystem in the Middle East.
“We are extremely excited and proud
with the result of our cooperation
with Nissan Middle East in developing
the region’s first connected car
which will be available in the all
new Nissan Maxima 2016 as well
as the Nissan Patrol MY16,” said
Salvador Anglada, chief business
officer at Etisalat at a Nissan press
conference. “Keeping with the
evolution of the IoT era, it underpins
Etisalat’s commitment to support
the nation’s long-term strategy in
promoting digitization initiatives and
developing the connected ecosystem
of the UAE, including transportation.
Through planned investments in our
advanced M2M and IoT platforms,
Etisalat is well positioned to help the
transportation industry realize their
M2M strategies.”
Some of the basic features that the
app offers include mobile operated
starting and stopping of the car,
locking and unlocking from anywhere
in the world (great if you realize you
forgot to lock your car whilst on
holiday), opening of the trunk and
switching the headlights on and off.
The app also provides the opportunity
to locate the vehicle on a map, and
track the history of the vehicle, which
is a great security feature, in addition
With the internet of things promising a world of hyper-
connectivity, like with most industries, vehicles are now
becoming much more than what we traditionally knew
them to be. No longer just providing a conventional
means of transport, with the introduction of smart apps,
vehicles of the future are set to become highly efficient
wirelessly connected machines, even more comfortable
and convenient than your living room.
Internet of things is
increasingly connecting
us to our cars
T TheNissanSmartCar
applicationwillhelp
ourcustomersstay
betterconnected
withtheirvehicles,
offeringavarietyof
controltoolsthatwill
makedrivingmore
convenientandsafe
Samir Cherfan, Nissan’s managing
director for Middle East.

ccording to Ying
Weimin, in the next
five years, the user
experience enabled
by mobile will become
much more immersive. From laptops
and smartphones, to a wide variety of
innovative gadgets that will continue
to emerge, devices will increasingly
diversify. Technologies like virtual
reality and new applications such as
smart metering and drone technology
will also begin to enter into people’s
regular environments.
Particularly in the Middle East, our
world is increasingly city-centric.
Cities of the future will thus need
to become more intelligent through
connected infrastructure. A better
connected Middle East will see the
convergence of the virtual world and
the real world as learning and working
over networks will reinvent the concept
of schools and offices, and web-
based commercial transaction will
surpass traditional methods. Huawei
believes that mobile broadband is
the foundation for these smart and
connected cities of the future.
In fact, all of these trends are
impacting today’s mobile broadband
industry in significant ways. Since
the first LTE network in 2009, Huawei
sees that LTE has taken over as
the standard of choice for mobile
connectivity - both globally and in the
Middle East. Huawei is already building
infrastructure that can support
unthinkable amounts of data and
support tens of millions of enterprise
applications and hundreds of millions
of individual applications.
But still, the public’s data demands
continue to trek higher. In the latest
“State of Broadband Report” issued
by The Broadband Commission,
authorities note that governments,
policy-makers and regulators have
The commercialization of 4.5G, according to Ying Weimin, president of Huawei R&D
Wireless Network, Huawei, will open up new revenue streams for operators resulting
in a healthier and more profitable mobile broadband ecosystem. The new technology
is set to become a prominent agenda item for the mobile broadband community and
as 2016 rolls around, Huawei is prepared for the 4.5G movement, which represents
the necessary enhancement of the mobile network in terms of capacity, more
connection requirements and latency.
A
made broadband a policy imperative
based on the impact of broadband on
national goals. Much of the growth
in mobile broadband has occurred in
the developing world, which accounts
for 82 percent of global net additions
of total new internet users since early
2010. In fact, the Commission outlines
specific ways in which broadband
-and especially mobile broadband-
is improving the lives of people
by helping to end poverty, achieve
universal education and increase
energy efficiencies.
To address the challenges brought
about by this digital deluge, networks
must be able to provide broader
capacity, all online capability and
instant connections. It is with this
ambition that Huawei welcome the
advancement of 4.5G.
A natural evolution
Many operators and enterprises have
already started contemplating what
the 4.5G movement actually means for
them, their customers and the industy
at large.
In short, the standard of 4.5G
represents the necessary
enhancement of the mobile
network in terms of capacity, more
connection requirements and
latency making more intelligent and
automated applications possible.
It is a natural evolution of LTE, and
supports new business opportunities
and an improved user experience
through enhancement of the mobile
network‘s capacity and capability.
Upgrading current 4G base stations
can, for example, increase rates and
lower latency to 10ms, meaning
network responsiveness from the
end user perspective will be limited
to just a few milliseconds. 4.5G
also seeks to increase the present
capacity supported by about 50
times.
Being well received by the industry,
4.5G is already starting to appear
as a new brand name. The 3rd
Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) has had several discussions
about 4.5G standards, device vendors
are promoting the concept of 4.5G,
and some operators, particularly
those in Asia - are also showing keen
interest in commercialization.
This year alone has seen prototype
base stations of 4.5G being
researched and exhibited to the
public. 4.5G’s core technologies are
being tested, such as massive MIMO
technologies that are currently being
trialed in Asia. Joint research on 4.5G
standards has further been started
between companies like Huawei, NTT
DOCOMO and LG UPlus, with narrow
band M2M and D2D being carried
out by the likes of UK Vodafone and
Deutsche Telekom.
Moreover, 4.5G is the technology that
will bridge LTE to full 5G. Expected to
be commercialized in 2016, Huawei’s
own 4.5G research starts with the
ongoing 3GPP releases for LTE and
LTE-Advanced. 4.5G standardization
is expected to be completed in 3GPP
releases 13 and 14. At the same
time, the formal review of 5G will
likely begin in 3GPP release 14 or 15
-becoming commercialized starting
in 2020.
Driving the market forward
The momentum behind 4.5G’s
development is clearly building.
As operators look to the future of
their mobile offerings, there are a
number of strategic objectives that
they will be able to achieve through
4.5G architecture, and which will
ultimately facilitate the evolution of
telecommunications to the 5G era over
the next five years.
Creating immersive high-definition
experiences
The public’s appetite for virtual
reality and high definition mobile
experiences is only increasing. This in
turn is elevating operator’s Giga-level
throughput requirements. Nowadays,
80 percent of mid- and high-end
smartphones are already supporting
1080P (1K) video. Current 4G networks
essentially meet the requirements of
1K high definition experiences, but
it will not support the development
of 4K/8K ultra-high definition. It is
predicted that 4K screen technology
will start to become main stream as
early as 2016. Smart devices with the
function of 4K video recording have
already come into the market and the
100Mbp peak rate supported by 4.5G
will help meet those requirements.
Expanding vertical market services
Operators’ requirements for expanding
vertical offerings and entering the
internet of things ecosystem are
increasingly prominent. The first
kind of requirements for the internet
of things relate to services of many
connections with a small amount of
data and low power consumption.
Current 4G networks cannot support
these kinds of requirements. The
second requirement relates to real-
time services of large bandwidth.
Current 4G networks have large
bandwidth but can still face long end-
to-end time delay, which cannot meet
requirements of real-time services
such as e-health, self-driving cars
and e-education. 4.5G’s low latency
requirements will, for example, help to
introduce more applications such as
drone-based applications and industry
control and safety applications.
Developing an intelligent channel
Operators desire a pipe that can be
intelligent and aware of services,
thus providing differentiated service
experiences to increase competitive
advantages. New NFV and cloud
technologies can drive LTE network
architecture, combining wireless
resource control coordination and
service-awareness function modes
to the base station side. With 4.5G,
networks will also possess the ability
of service-oriented architecture (SOA).
Integrating and simplifying network
architecture
How 4G evolves before 5G
commercialization is one of critical
issues considered by the industry
today. In recent years, operators’
requirements and market rhythms in
different regions were often different.
The birth of 4.5G is a milestone in the
evolution of LTE, which gives clear
direction to operators and vendors.
From the perspective of operators,
most have multiple-mode and multi-
band. Massive carrier aggregation,
MIMO, U-LTE and T+F CA brought by
4.5G can help operators to efficiently
integrate resources and simplify
network architecture.
Huawei recognizes the innovative
advantages of 4.5G

vidence & predictions
In their 2015
Mobility Report,
Ericsson predicts
that smartphone
subscriptions are set to more than
double by 2020, which means that 70
percent of the population will have
one. Ericsson also predicts a growing
number of connected devices,
driven by an increasing range of
applications and business models,
supported by falling modem costs,
forecasting 26 billion connected
devices by 2020. So how does this
compare to GSMA’s Mobile Economy
Report 2015?
For those of you who are unaware,
GSMA is an association of mobile
operators and related companies
devoted to supporting the
standardizing, deployment and
promotion of the GSM mobile
telephone system.
GSMA reports that the mobile
industry is growing rapidly with a
total of 3.6 billion unique mobile
subscribers at the end of 2014. Half
of the world’s population now has a
mobile subscription – up from one
in five ten years ago, according to
GSMA, who further report that an
additional one billion subscribers
are predicted by 2020, which will
bring the global penetration rate to
approximately 60 percent.
In addition to reports by Ericsson
and GSMA, we also looked at
statistics provided by ITU, the
Telecommunication Development
Sector (ITU-D) which fosters
international cooperation and
2015 has been and was always expected to be a significant year for technology.
The mobile industry, for example, has rocketed forward with the potential of internet
of things as a hot topic, along with the potential of 5G - not to mention the huge
increase in global smartphone distribution. We gathered information from the 2015
mobility reports by Ericsson, ITU, GSMA and McAfee Labs, covering subscriptions,
mobile traffic and security, to predict the future of the mobile industry, based on their
findings and predictions.
E
solidarity in the delivery of technical
assistance and in the creation,
development and improvement
of telecommunication and ICT
equipment and networks in
developing countries.
ITU generated statistics for key
indicators for developed and
developing countries around the
world from 2005 to 2015. The results
are fascinating, and show a steady
increase in telecommunications in
both the developed and developing
world. So which has grown faster?
On a global scale, ITU found that
from 2005 to 2015, individuals using
the internet grew from around one
billion to three billion. But what
was truly fascinating was their
subscription findings.
Subscription findings
In terms of mobile subscriptions,
ITU formed a chart that depicts the
progression of the developed world in
comparison to the developing world.
According to ITU statistics, fixed
telephone subscriptions from 2005 to
2025 fell from 570 to 491 (millions) in
the developed world. A similar decline
was recorded in the developing world
which fell from 673 subscribers to
572 (millions). However, this was a
stark contrast from mobile-telephone
subscriptions which in the developed
world grew from 992 to 1,517
(millions), compared to the developing
world where subscriptions rocketed
up from 1,213 to 5,568 (millions) from
2005 to 2015.
Further information suggests that
households with internet access
grew significantly from 2005 to 2015
with an increase from 44.7 percent
to 81.3 percent in the developed
world, compared to an increase of
8.1 percent to 34.1 percent in the
developing world.
In Q1 2015, Ericsson reports that the
total number of mobile subscriptions
was 7.2 billion, including 108 million
new subscriptions, adding that global
mobile subscriptions are growing by
1.5 percent quarter on quarter and
around 5 percent year on year. India
has shown significant growth in
terms of new additions, according to
Ericsson, with +26 million, compared
to China with +8 million, Myanmar
with +5 million, Indonesia +4 million
and Japan +4 million.
Ericsson further reports that global
penetration reached 99 percent in Q1
2015, and smartphones accounted for
close to 75 percent of all mobile phones
sold, compared to around 65 percent
during Q1 2014. Clearly the mobile
industry is steadily growing, which
could be attributed to the continued
growth of LTE, which according to the
report has reached around 600 million
subscriptions, with approximately 105
million additions in Q1 2015.
Further to their subscription data,
Ericsson reports that by 2016,
smartphone subscriptions will
undoubtedly surpass those of basic
phones. Why? Because smartphones
make up the majority of mobile
broadband services today, and
subscriptions are expected to have
more than doubled by 2020.
According to the report, this is due to
greater affordability in the Middle East
and Africa. Ericsson also notes that
the number of subscriptions exceeds
the population in many countries,
mainly due to inactive subscriptions
and multiple device ownership.
This means that the number of
subscribers is lower than the number
of subscriptions – the current figures
according to Ericsson are around 4.9
billion subscriber’s versus 7.2 billion
subscriptions.
In addition to this, statistics from
GSMA report unique subscriber
Reflecting on the mobile industry
and looking to the future
0
200
600
800
400
1,000
Mobilesubscriptions,MiddleEastandNorthEastAfrica,splitperdevice(million)
Basicphones Smartphones MobilePCs,tabletsandrouters
2016 2018 2020 20212013 20172011
Note: A mobile subscription is defined as a SIM card (or equivalent) with a device capable of using the technology, in a network that offers the service
2012 2014 2015 2019
ofmobilephonesubscriptions
aresmartphones25%
ofmobilephone
subscriptionswill
besmartphones
50%

penetration in the developed world is
very high and approaching saturation,
standing at 79 percent at the end of
2014, further predicting that this will
climb modestly to around 81 percent
by the end of the decade.
They contrast this to developing
markets where less than half of the
population has a mobile subscription,
with the penetration rate at 44.6
percent at the end of 2014, which
leaves room for growth, with the
penetration rate expected to rise by
about 11 percentage points by 2020
to 56 percent.
The major challenge facing mobile
operators and other industry
stakeholders, according to GSMA,
is to connect the still unconnected
populations in developing regions.
GSMA predicts an eventual slow
down in global subscribers due
to the increasing level of maturity
in developed markets, combined
with recent strength in developing
markets like Africa.
Increasing mobile traffic
Ericsson reports that mobile data
traffic in Q1 2015 was 55 percent
higher than it was in Q1 2014, which
is a testament to how the mobile
industry is moving away from calling
and texting, and entering a world of
LTE. By 2020, Ericsson predicts that
80 percent of mobile data traffic
will be from smartphones. This isn’t
exactly shocking. Just take a trip on
your local Metro and it is more than
likely that you will witness just about
every single person staring into a
smartphone screen.
But what are people looking at?
Mobile data consumption varies a
lot between different user segments,
according to Ericsson’s report, stating
that in mature mobile broadband
markets, 20 percent of subscribers
consume around 50 percent of all
data traffic. In terms of content, video
continues to be the key growth factor,
with 60 percent of all mobile data
traffic forecast to be from online video
by 2020. It’s strange to think that ten
years ago watching a video on your
mobile was a thing unheard of.
According to the GSMA report, they
confirm that on-demand video
on mobile devices has become
increasingly popular. It is what has
driven mobile data growth, with a 66
percent annual increase through to
2019 compared with 57 percent for
data as a whole.
Cisco estimates that smartphones
generate 37 times more data traffic
than feature phones, while 4G
smartphones generate almost three
times as much data traffic as 3G
smartphones. This massive increased
use of mobile broadband-enabled
smartphones will, according to GSMA,
generate an “explosion” of data
traffic, with volumes forecast to grow
at a CAGR of 57 percent out to 2019 -
an almost ten-fold increase.
Security issues
In early November 2015, Intel Security
released its McAfee Labs Threats
Predictions Report, which predicts
key developments on the cyber threat
landscape in 2016 and provides
unique insights into the expected
nature of that landscape through
2020, in addition to the IT security
industry’s likely response.
Their report reflects the informed
opinions of 22 Intel Security thought
leaders’ short and long-term trend
implications for organizations
working to keep pace with business
and technology opportunities and
the cybercrime community that
threatens them.
The threats that Intel Security
have predicted for 2016 include
attacks on all types of hardware and
firmware, in addition to attacks on
wearable platforms which could be
targeted by cybercriminals working
to compromise the smartphones
used to manage them. According
to the report, the industry will work
to protect potential attack surfaces
such as operating system kernels,
networking and WiFi software, user
interfaces, memory, local files, and
storage systems, virtual machines,
web apps, access control and
security software.
In addition, the report predicts that
cybercriminals could seek to exploit
weak or ignored corporate security
policies established to protect cloud
services. Home to an increasing
amount of business confidential
information, such services, if
exploited, could compromise
organizational business strategy,
company portfolio strategies, next
generation innovations, financials,
acquisition and divestiture plans,
employee and personal data.
Looking toward 2020, the McAfee
report predicts that with an increase in
new devices, we may see new attack
surfaces. While there has not yet been
a surge in IoT and wearable attacks,
by 2020 we may see install bases
of these systems reach substantial
enough penetration levels that they
will attract attackers. Thankfully,
the report indicates that technology
vendors and vertical solution providers
will work to establish user safety
guidance and industry best practices,
as well as build security into device
architectures where appropriate.
Telecom Review’s prediction
The mobile industry is complex and
clearly growing faster than we ever
anticipated. Therefore, it is crucial to
look ahead to build an understanding
of what we can expect in the future.
Based on the information we have
sourced from Ericsson, GSMA,
ITU and McAfee Labs, the mobile
industry is only going to continue
to grow rapidly, especially with the
emergence of Africa - a continent
with over a billion people – slowly
joining the connected world. Africa’s
growth will spell huge growth in the
mobile industry if infrastructure in
the continent improves. This will offer
more potential mobile subscriptions
for operators.
The mobility reports we have looked
at clearly indicate that the mobile
industry is moving away from calling
and texting and embracing apps
and increased data usage. This
transition has happened very fast,
with the increased acquisition of
smartphones. The future of mobile is
definitely headed to app usage and
we believe that regular calling and
texting is going to steadily decrease.
As we look toward 5G, there is plenty
to be excited about. It will offer
unprecedented speeds, combining
an estimated 10 gigabytes per
second data rate with a significant
decrease in latency. However, the
industry’s goal is to begin rolling out
5G technology by 2020, but it would
be foolish to expect widespread
availability until a few years later.
According to a report by TCS, 5G
networks (like the one currently
underway in South Korea) will be able
to download a full-length movie in just
over one second. There are further
reports that telecommunications
companies will have the ability to run
neuro-science-based applications
over the 5G network, bringing the
internet of things together in ways
previously unheard of. Excited yet?
It’s clear that video downloading will
continue to grow rapidly, as reported
by Ericsson and GSMA, so the need for
efficient downloading is paramount.
As smartphones spread across
the globe, the regularity of them
will eventually lead to a drop in
price. Therefore, we predict that
smartphones will, without a doubt,
become the dominant device – in
some cases eliminating the need for
other devices. Furthermore, perhaps
with increased efficient technology,
people will not require so many
devices because everything will be
accessible from one device, therefore
reducing the huge amount of device
ownership as reported by Ericsson.
However, with more and more smart
devices on the rise (such as smart
watches and smart cars) this scenario
could play out quite different. The
internet of things is likely to determine
this outcome, as we are still yet to see
what new connections it will bring.
The most anticipated outcomes are
driverless vehicles and personalized
healthcare monitoring.
Finally, without a doubt, in the coming
years there will be a strong need
for cyber-security because of our
reliance upon cloud. Confidential
information is being circulated back-
and-forth online in huge amounts, as
most businesses have now adopted
an entirely digital platform.
Built-in security, as mentioned by
the McAfee Labs report, is now
essential for businesses to remain
functional, efficient and safe. Cylance,
for example, is revolutionizing
cyber-security with products and
services that proactively prevent,
rather than reactively detect, the
execution of advanced persistent
threats and malware. This technology
is exactly what we need as more
devices become available and more
information is shared, thus vulnerable.
As we look to the future, there are no
guarantees of what is to come. But
from what we have gathered from
Ericsson, GSMA, ITU and McAfee
Labs, our world is undoubtedly going
to experience increased connectivity
with more smartphones and devices,
growth in the developing world, the
emergence of 5G and IoT and the rise
of apps.
GLOBALMOBILEDATATRAFFIC
(permonth,PB)

Turgut Erkul,
Engagement Practice
Head for MBB EL
RAN Solutions,
Ericsson, Middle East
ise of the
smartphone
Look around you.
Without a doubt,
someone nearby
will be holding a
smartphone, navigating their way
through an endless selection of apps
designed to connect us, assist us
and entertain us. As the smartphone
concept has commercialized
since the initial release of the first
iPhone in 2007, it has transformed
the way we live, allowing us to do
things at an unprecedented level of
convenience. What has drawn people
to smartphones the most? Is it apps,
or video or something else?
Smartphones are more than just
gadgets that provide basic voice and
data services while on the go. They
can take photos, connect us to social
networks, entertain us with mobile
gaming and help us follow breaking
news, conduct business from around
the world and perform anything that
can be done on the internet like a
PC. Smartphones also have GPS,
sensors and actuators which count
our steps, wake us up at the right
time and suggest the most efficient
way to reach a destination.
While video has the largest share
of total internet traffic, it is not
what users spend the most amount
of time on. In fact, social media
interactions are at the top of the list:
the likes of Facebook, Instagram and
Snapchat. There are 2.7 billion likes
on Facebook, according to Ericsson
– growth only made possible by our
smartphones that are essentially
powerful mobile computers we carry
in our pockets.
People are attracted to smartphones
because of their connectivity,
entertainment and all the apps
that improve users’ standard of
living. The faster the network, the
more people are drawn towards the
smartphone. In our current reality,
it’s hard to imagine people checking
any other consumer electronic
device more than 200 times on
average a day as they do with
their smartphones. As the price of
smartphones drop to below 100 USD,
Ericsson has a history rich with experience in
mobile technology. As a world leader in the rapidly
changing environment of communications –
providing equipment, software and services to enable
transformation through mobility – some 40 percent of
global mobile traffic runs through Ericsson supplied
networks. Therefore, who better to address the broad
issue of mobile growth in 2015 and beyond? Through
their 2015 Mobility Report, Ericsson provided extensive
coverage of the mobile industry for 2015. In this
article, with Ericsson, we go into further detail about
mobile growth, subscriptions, connectedness, security
and what to expect in the years to come.
R
more and more people will choose
them over feature phones. Ericsson
predicts that 2016 will be the year
where the global smartphone usage
will surpass feature phones.
Predicted swelling of mobile
subscriptions
We live in a world with 7 billion
people, eventually expected to
grow to 9.5 billion by 2050. There
are a number of implications that
accompany such rapid growth
– even for the mobile industry.
In Ericsson’s Mobility Report,
they predict that smartphone
subscriptions will more than double
by 2020. Where and how did they
obtain this information?
The subscription and traffic forecast
baseline in Ericsson’s Mobility
Report are based on historical data
from various sources, validated with
Ericsson internal data, including
extensive measurements in
customer networks.
Future development is estimated
based on macroeconomic trends,
user trends (researched by, for
example, Ericsson ConsumerLab),
market maturity, technology
development expectations and
documents such as industry
analyst reports, on a national or
regional level, together with internal
assumptions and analysis. Updates
to the subscription and traffic
forecasts are announced regularly.
Ericsson frequently performs traffic
measurements in over 100 live
networks in all major regions of the
world.
Detailed measurements are
made in a selected number of
commercial WCDMA/HSPA and
LTE networks with the purpose of
analyzing various mobile traffic
patterns. All subscriber data is
made anonymous before it reaches
Ericsson’s analysts, which helps to
keep records accurate. So from the
extensive data Ericsson obtained,
what other information were they
able to gather about subscriptions?
Interestingly enough, Ericsson’s data
pinpoints exactly which regions of
the world have increasing mobile
subscriptions, which then enables
them to make predictions about the
future.
Ericsson’s data indicates that
mobile subscriptions in the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) have
been increasing rapidly. Mobile
penetration passed 100 percent
in the more affluent areas of the
region, such as the Gulf States, while
less affluent countries with higher
populations (such as Pakistan,
Yemen and South Sudan) still have
much lower mobile penetration at 75
percent, 65 percent and 25 percent,
respectively.
The MENA region as a whole
had around 690 million mobile
subscriptions at the end of 2014.
Between 2014 and 2020, it is
forecast that mobile subscriptions
will grow at a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 6 percent,
amounting to around 970 million
subscribers by the end of 2020.
What about other regions such
as Asia and Oceania? Ericsson
reports that mobile subscriptions
are increasing globally, and in most
countries in Southeast Asia and
Oceania, mobile penetration has
already exceeded 100 percent.
These regions continue to
experience strong growth in new
mobile subscriptions, with Myanmar,
Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam
among the top countries globally by
net additions.
Mature markets such as Australia,
New Zealand and Singapore, where
LTE is widely available, have very
high mobile broadband penetration,
already exceeding 90 percent.
However, developing markets paint
a different picture. They still have a
long way to go, which offers a unique
opportunity for mobile operators
to enhance the mobile broadband
experience for users. Latin America
represents around 10 percent of
global mobile subscriptions.
The region reached 740 million
subscriptions at the end of 2014.
Between 2014 and 2020 it is forecast
by Ericsson that Latin America’s
mobile subscriptions will grow at
a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 3 percent, amounting to
900 million subscriptions by the end
of 2020.
Bridging the gap between developed
& developing
Ericsson’s data suggests a rapid
move toward an interconnected
world where we are increasingly
relying upon technology to live. But
with connectedness developing
so fast in the developed world and
much of the developing world being
left behind, how can we go about
bridging this gap before it gets too
big?
While connectivity is boosting the
standard of living of some societies,
along with the GDP of some
countries, on the other hand, some
countries do not have the privilege
of connectivity, resulting in widening
of the digital gap between the
connected and the unconnected.
To address this issue, Ericsson
is developing rural area coverage
solutions which are energy efficient
and easy to deploy.
As one of the founding members
of Internet.org, Ericsson has also
collaborated with Facebook on the
Internet.org Innovation Lab – a
live networking environment on
Facebook’s Menlo Park campus,
where developers can test and
optimize the user experience of their
applications under real-world mobile
network conditions.
Internet.org aims to provide internet
access to the remaining two-
thirds of the world’s population -
continuing to help more people reach
the internet through their networked
society vision.
The downside of increasing
interconnectedness
As 2016 rolls around, connectivity
is clearly set to increase – and
Ericsson is doing their best to
connect the developing world
to this new era of technological
Ericsson:
Looking ahead
Growth, subscriptions,
connectivity and security

convenience. But is the developed
world’s huge reliance upon
technology really what the
developing world wants? Are humans
of the developing world becoming
too reliant upon the digital world?
Are we becoming slaves to our
mobile phones?
Smartphones are an indisputable
convenience when it comes
to internet connectivity,
entertainment, banking, mobility and
communication in general. While
it is simplifying our lives in many
aspects, it is also forcing us to
multitask.
A source from Ericsson explains that
the human brain is not designed to
handle multiple actions at the same
time, and certain situations like
checking the stock market on your
smartphone while driving could be
a very dangerous act. But like any
tool, there are guidelines and safety
measures about when it is a good
time to use a smartphone.
The fact that we check our
smartphones more than 200 times a
day is an alarming figure. However,
being aware of the habit would
be a good start to keep it under
control, as Ericsson suggests. It is
true that we cannot stay away from
our smartphones, but everyone
benefits differently from them. While
spending an hour on a smartphone
doing business could be very
beneficial for a subscriber, an hour
of online gaming could be wasteful
for a nine-year-old. Every person has
to weigh the value they receive from
their smartphone to determine the
amount of time he or she needs to
spend on their device without being
a slave to it.
Another dark side of increasing
interconnectedness as we look to
the future is mobile security. Will we
see more cyber attacks now that
we continuously upload sensitive
information to the internet? Security
has been a strong concern for
both fixed and mobile connectivity,
according to Ericsson. There are
many solutions like firewalls and
antivirus software that are widely
used in the fixed broadband
connectivity.
In the modern domain, operators
and the over-the-top (OTT) players
are ensuring the safety of the
users’ data. However, as security
technology advances, so does the
cyber-attack technology. Ericsson
urges that we need to be aware of
the fact that any digital information
connected to the internet runs the
risk of falling into the wrong hands.
Therefore, extra precaution such as
passwords protecting files, using
VPN and encryption techniques
could be good ideas when
exchanging and storing sensitive
private information on the internet.
Tomorrow’s world of IoT & 5G
In the years to come, there’s much
more to expect than swelling mobile
subscriptions and security issues.
2016 and beyond, it set to
offer an unprecedented level of
interconnectedness, thanks to the
development of the internet of things
(IoT) and 5G. With IoT causing
a buzz of excitement, how will it
change the way we live?
First of all, Ericsson predicts that our
cars will be connected to help us get
to our destination faster and safer.
Crop irrigation systems will also be
connected to weather forecasting
systems in order to efficiently deliver
water to fields in order to increase
yield.
Wearable health checking sensors
will be connected to continuously
monitor our wellbeing and to help
us perform at our peak. In addition,
our living environments will be
connected in order to give us the
best experience – with the ability to
be customized to our preferences.
Utilities, coal mines, livestock, trees
and anything you can think of that
would benefit from connectivity will
be connected.
This is in fact, Ericsson’s definition
of reaching the networked society
for optimizing efficiency and output.
Ericsson has released its first official
forecast, which points to 26 billion
connected devices by the end of the
year 2020.
It’s almost difficult to imagine
a world with more connectivity
than we already have, but as this
information suggests, our world
is about to get a whole lot more
connected in ways that seem almost
like science fiction.
5G is another highly anticipated
technological advancement
predicted to commercialize in about
five years. Is this prediction realistic?
Or should we expect to see 5G
further down the line? According to
Ericsson, 5G is the technology and
enabler of the networked society,
and will be an evolution of LTE
technology.
5G subscription uptake will be
driven to a large extent by new
use cases, especially machine-
type of communication. Ericsson
do not provide a firm figure for 5G
subscriptions, but indicate that 5G
is expected to become available for
commercial use by 2020.
5G is expected to have a faster
uptake than 4G (just as 4G had
a faster uptake than 3G). As a
comparison, 4G subscriptions
reached around 10 million
subscriptions the second year and
around 75 million the third year after
the first LTE network was launched.
Ericsson is a partner in 5G trials
for the Korean Olympics which will
be held in 2018, and similarly will
be during the Japanese Olympics
in 2020. They have a 5G test-bed
system which has reached speeds
higher than 10Gbs already.
With the introduction of 5G, will
4G fade away? Or will it remain in
existence for a while the same way
that 3G has? Just as how 2G and 3G
did not fade away when 4G arrived,
Ericsson does not expect 4G to
fade away when 5G arrives. 5G is
expected to operate at frequency
bands up to 100GHz, meaning that
the coverage ranges in some use
cases will be indoor-focused. For
larger coverage areas, perhaps
higher bandwidths can be used
which will require some modification
to LTE techniques.
Ericsson is also working on new
radio access technologies such as
LTE-NX for 5G, with the intention to
achieve seamless internetworking
with the LTE networking technology.
LTE light and LTE-M technologies
will create a large IoT ecosystem
which will survive well beyond the
introduction of 5G.
So what does the future have in
store for the mobile industry?
With the help of Ericsson, we can
safely expect to encounter a world
of cheaper and more available
smartphones, increasing amounts
of mobile subscriptions, a potential
connected bridging between the
developed and developing worlds,
and an exciting introduction to 5G
and the internet of things.
Strap yourself in for what will be
an exhilarating, technologically
advancing ride to 2016 and beyond!

S-based Cylance
is a cyber-security
company specializing
in next generation anti-
virus software.
The company formed in 2012, and
now has around 250 staff members all
highly experienced in cyber-security.
According to Fitzgerald, most of the
Cylance team in the past helped to
initiate some of the leading security
technologies that exist today; such
as TippingPoint Technologies, and
intrusion prevention systems now
called FireAMP, in addition to Fortinet
which is big in the Middle East.
The main founder of Cylance, Stuart
McClure, authored Hacking Exposed
in 1998. He was the CTO at McAfee
for their in-point security. The other
co-founder, Ryan Permeh, was
once the chief scientist at McAfee,
responsible for their security around
the world. McClure and Permeh both
left McAfee in 2012 to pursue Cylance,
because together they recognized
that security today is broken –
meaning, the signature concept of
protection is not working. Simply
put, there are many cyber-protection
companies operating today, but at the
same time there are also just as many
successful cyber attacks. Clearly
modern cyber-security technology
isn’t living up to its expectations.
According to Fitzgerald, the reason
why cyber attacks continue to threaten
our digital word, is because the “bad
guys” as he calls them, have figured
out how to circumvent the existing
security technologies. Signatures are
a concept that has been around for
about 30-40 years – a concept that
was to be preventive in recognizing
malicious software, and be able
to block it. So basically, if there is
a threat, and someone’s device is
attacked, researchers look at code,
searching for abnormalities in the
code that might indicate a malicious
threat. For example, it could be calling
out to a command server elsewhere,
or trying to steal information.
The researcher will then write a
signature, or “line of code” that
will block the threat. But there is a
problem with this system. The “bad
guys” have realized that they can
simply mutate the code and change
just a couple of things, and then
all of a sudden the code becomes
invisible to the security technologies.
Long story short: The bad guys have
figured out how to manipulate digital
security systems, which is why we
continuously witness cyber attacks.
“At Cylance, we realized that we
needed to change the entire game by
raising the bar for hackers, making
Cyber-security continues to advance every year. Because of this, one might expect
cyber attacks to be less frequent and less harmful. But that simply is not the case.
Cyber criminals continue to exploit weaknesses in security because security
software is not evolving fast enough. Having said that, one company is changing the
dynamics of cyber-security in order to prevent attacks from happening, as opposed
to simply cleaning up the mess. We spoke to Greg Fitzgerald, chief marketing officer
at Cylance, who shared his perspective on the evolution of cyber-security.
U
it harder for them to get around
security,” said Fitzgerald, explaining
the history of the company. “At the
time, in 2012, we saw that there were
cases where artificial intelligence,
such as machines that can learn
by themselves (a concept called
deep-learning around inspection
of code), was becoming a realistic
phenomenon. It was being practiced in
stock market trading, pharmaceutical
development and even in drones.”
Some drones are flown and controlled
by humans, but most of them are
simply given coordinates to go by.
They are able to react to terrain and
heat changes – all controlled by the
machine itself, which is what Fitzgerald
was referring to. “We thought that
we could apply the same principle to
cyber-security because we know what
good looks like, and we know what bad
looks like,” Fitzgerald explained. “There
are billions of examples of Trojans
and viruses of all sorts out there. At
Cylance, we came up with an idea to
extract the code, which we call DNA.”
How does this concept work?
Fitzgerald explained that humans
are only able to look at about 50-100
features of code and recognize when
it looks dangerous. But the reality is
that code has potentially millions of
features physically impossible for a
human to recognize. So what Cylance
did was extract the code, apply a
mathematical value and then teach it
to a machine, “to then take anything
it does, extract the code, apply values
and make a calculation – no humans
involved,” said Fitzgerald.
That was the premise of Cylance
Protect, which is the official name of
the software. Cylance also found that
they could perform this security at
an unprecedented volume, because
they use cloud services (close to
10,000 servers) combined with the
ability to make decisions in real-time
accuracy which is when the machines
come in and “discern the code when
looking at millions of objects with 6
million features and be able to very
accurately assess cyber threats.”
The concept has since developed
into a small piece of software that
has now been applied to phones,
laptops and desktop servers, “which
recognizes that we don’t have to
connect to the cloud anymore for
intelligence.” Artificial intelligence has
been shrunk to a point where it is only
40 megabytes in size, and can work
“independently autonomously” to
make 100 percent effective decisions
– and it’s all thanks to Cylance.
The Cylance team has basically
created a huge mathematical
security algorithm. It’s amazing how
technology keeps getting smaller and
more efficient. When the software is
planted in a device, it’s nothing more
than a small application where before
something malicious starts to run,
the software will suspend the activity
within 50 microseconds. It stops it,
opens up the code, then inspects
the code, applies the mathematical
values, makes a decision and then
decides whether or not it is safe to
run before it installs. This compares
to regular cyber-security software
which only fixes a problem once it
has been installed.
Having recently launched in Australia,
the UK, Europe and soon in the Middle
East, Cylance is making a profound
change to the market. “We have an
excellent chance to move forward
and capitalize on the security market
because Symantec and McAfee for
example are not innovating, and all
of their technology is still traditional
signature-based,” said Fitzgerald.
Cylance has recently announced
a major deal with Dell, to be a part
of their in-point security solution
product for every Dell PC. So from
now on, if you want security installed
in your Dell device, Cylance is the
only advanced threat prevention
product that Dell offers.
A name with meaning
The intriguing name of the company,
according to Fitzgerald, relates to
how the Cylance team wanted their
software to operate. He likened
the concept to how car alarms go
off, and nobody pays any attention
anymore. He associated true security
with a house alarm, which intruders
pay more attention to. This is how
the Cylance team wanted their
software to be recognized – effective
cyber-security software that hackers
are actually afraid of.
“We thought security should be
silent (hence the name), and non-
intrusive which is an interesting point,”
Fitzgerald explained. “We saw that
today most of the available technology
is very burdensome and requires you
to download signature updates very
often and to scan every day, which
chews up the CPU and slows things
down. Cylance software promises to
be quiet to the user. We specifically
designed it to be this way, which is a
huge competitive advantage relative to
any technology available today.”
A further advantage of Cylance
software is that it is not cloud
dependent. Often instead of
burdening a computer or phone with
too many files, most technologies
will store information on the cloud.
But the reality is you have to have a
cloud connection. If you’re in a hotel,
or an airplane, or your car, you may
have WiFi connectivity to the internet,
but that doesn’t mean that you can
connect to your cloud security.
Cylance recognized this gap. “If you’re
out and about, you can be attacked
while using the internet and have
no protection,” Fitzgerald explained,
further detailing how Cylance works
at a disconnected mode. Cylance has
been installing Cylance Protect at
various oil and gas plants across the
Middle East, because their systems
don’t have the capacity to take other
technologies like Symantec. When
these companies connect to a satellite,
they also don’t want to be burdened
with lots of signatures because that is
costly for them. Therefore, the great
thing about an algorithm is that it is
only updated when the algorithm gets
smarter, which according to Fitzgerald,
is about every six to nine months.
Cylance is actively changing the
scope of cyber-security, and will
undoubtedly grow as a company as
more businesses and individuals
recognize the benefits of preventing
cyber attacks rather than fixing
them once they have already done
damage. It is the way of the future.
The development of advanced
preventive cyber-security

arlier in 2015,
scientists achieved
speeds of 224
gigabits per second
in a lab using LiFi
- a technology that
transmits high
speed data using Visible Light
Communication (VLC). It has the
potential to change everything about
the way we use the internet. Now, for
the first time, scientists have taken
LiFi out of the lab and trialed it in
offices and industrial environments
in Tallinn, Estonia. A report by
Science Alert indicates that they can
achieve data transmission at 1GB
per second, which is 100 times faster
than current average WiFi speeds.
“We are doing a few pilot projects
within different industries where
we can utilize the VLC technology,”
says Deepak Solanki, CEO at
Estonian tech company Velmenni.
“Currently, we have designed a smart
lighting solution for an industrial
environment where the data
communication is done through light.
We are also doing a pilot project with
a private client where we are setting
up a LiFi network to access the
internet in their office space.”
LiFi technology was originally
developed by Harald Haas in 2011 at
As we enter 2016, an area that will require a lot of attention in terms of efficient
connectivity is that of high speed data downloading. Why? Because predictions
state that 60 percent of all mobile data traffic by 2020 is forecast to be from online
video alone, which illustrates just how important it is that we have capable, high
speed connectivity to allow for so much video download. The solution: Light Fidelity,
commonly known as LiFi, is a new form of wireless communication for computers
that is said to be 100 times faster than WiFi.
E
LiFi: The future of
high speed data
the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
He demonstrated for the first time
that by flickering light from a single
LED, one could transmit a lot more
data than a regular cellular tower.
The results were astounding. To give
you a perspective, the lab-based
record of 224 gigabits per second
amounts to 18 movies of 1.5 GB
each being downloaded every single
second. The process of Visible
Light Communication is likened to
an advanced form of Morse code
– much like switching a torch on
and off in a pattern that relays a
message. The LED light flicks on and
off at such extreme speeds that it
can be used to write and transmit in
binary code.
Researchers are developing a series
of smart LED bulbs called ‘Jungu’
that are able to transfer data through
visible light (invisible to the naked
eye). According to the Velmenni
website, the scientists transferred
serial data synchronously from a PC/
laptop screen to a micro-controller
board using visible light. A GUI was
developed in MATLAB and a receiver
circuit was made using Arduino and
photodiodes.
“We successfully transferred a
text file using this method,” the
scientists write. “We only had to
keep our micro-board in front of the
laptop screen (GUI) and the data
was transferred wirelessly using
VLC. Now, we are on our way to
implement this unique technology
in our smart LED bulb which can
transfer data to other bulbs, mobile
phones and internet.”
The team is also working on an
android app which would be able to
receive data from Jungu, the smart
LED bulb and would also transmit it
back to the app.
Pros & cons
Are there potential issues with the
technology? Nothing major. And
if you’re concerned about how
consistent flickering in the office
environment might be disruptive,
never fear, because the LED
technology used can be switched
on and off at speeds imperceptible
to the naked eye. The benefits
significantly outweigh any potential
negatives. One of the benefits is
increased security. How? Because
other than much faster speeds (the
primary advantage of LiFi), because
light cannot pass through walls, the
technology makes it much safer
and more secure than WiFi. Plus, as
Anthony Cuthbertson mentioned to
IBTimes UK, this also means there is
less interference between devices.
But the fact that the connection
is carried by light does present
a number of limitations, since
it suggests that connection will
be lost if a user leaves the room,
representing a major hurdle that
would need to be overcome if the
technology is to be successfully
implemented. However, if this issue
can be addressed, then the use of
the visible spectrum could allow
LiFi to send messages across a
wider range of frequencies than
WiFi, which operates between the
frequencies of 2.4 gigahertz and 5
gigahertz.
The benefits of this would be that
Li-Fi could provide the answer to
increasing frequency congestion as
internet usage continues to increase
across the globe. The Cisco Visual
Networking Index Global Mobile Data
Traffic Forecast reports that global
monthly data usage is expected to
exceed 24.3 exabytes by 2019 – a
heavy volume which current wireless
connections aren’t able to handle.
Commercialization
The question surrounding the new
LiFi technology is: Will it eventually
replace regular WiFi in the coming
decades? According to Cuthbertson,
it will not – but could be used with
WiFi to achieve more efficient
and secure networks. A majority
of homes, offices and industry
buildings have already been fitted
out with infrastructure to provide
WiFi, so taking it all out to replace
with LiFi technology would be like
taking a stepping backwards. It isn’t
feasible. Therefore, the idea is to
retrofit the devices that we have now
to work alongside LiFi technology.
Haas insists that household LED
light bulbs could be easily converted
into LiFi transmitters, thus providing
internet users with far more efficient
connections. “All we need to do is fit
a small microchip to every potential
illumination device and this would then
combine two basic functionalities:
illumination and wireless data
transmission,” says Haas.
As of now, research teams around
the world are working on the retrofit
process and the development of LiFi.
The technology is showing signs of
commercialization as LiFi experts
recently reported that Haas and
his team have launched PureLiFi,
a company offering a plug-and-
play application for secure wireless
internet access with a capacity
of 11.5 MB per second, which is
comparable to first generation WiFi.
In addition, the French tech company
Oledcomm is currently in the process
of installing its own LiFi technology
in local hospitals.
If such applications prove to be
successful, along with the Velmenni
trial in Estonia, we could be faced with
an awesome achievement - a dream
orated by Haas in his 2011 TED talk.
He envisioned a world where everyone
could gain access to the internet via
LED light bulbs in their home. In his
speech, Haas says: “In the future, we
will not only have 14 billion light bulbs;
we may have 14 billion LiFis deployed
worldwide for a cleaner, greener and
even brighter future.”
For now, LiFi remains a niche in
the market. It’s too early to say
whether or not it can feasibly be
implemented around the world.
However, VLC is already finding a
number of useful applications. For
example, IFL Science reports that
Disney is currently developing a
number of products that use the
LiFi technology, including a range of
toys such as a magic wand that can
activate light bulbs on a princess
dress. As we enter 2016, keep an eye
out for this revolutionary technology
– because at the rate at which
technology is developing, LiFi could
be in our homes and offices much
sooner than we might think.

22FACTS&FIGURESMOBILITYREPORT2015 23FACTS&FIGURESMOBILITYREPORT2015
55%growth in
mobile subscriptions in
Middle East and Africa
between 2014 and 2020.
On-demand video on mobile
devices is the key driver of
mobile data growth, with a
66% annual increase through
to 2019 compared with 57%
for data as a whole
Almost 80%of
smartphone subscriptions
added during 2015–2020
will be from Asia Pacific, the
Middle East and Africa.
Fixed-broadband uptake is growing,
with a 7% annual increase over
the past 3 years & reaching 11%
penetration by end 2015.
Mobile ad spend in China has reached $7billion,
increasing by 600% in 2014 alone – and accounting for
almost 16% of total global mobile ad spend
7.2billion was the total number
of mobile subscriptions in Q1
2015, including 108 million new
subscriptions
Global mobile
subscriptions
are growing
by 1.5%
quarter on
quarter and
around 5%
year on year.
$20
million
In 2015 Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg and
his wife Priscilla Chan,
donated $20 million to an
initiative called Education
Super to bring speedy
internet to all US schools.
around 90% of the
world’s population will
be covered by mobile
broadband networks
In 2015 the UAE ranked
second of all Arab
countries in terms of
having the largest
proportion of its
population online (88%)
90% of the world’s
population over 6 years
old will have a mobile
phone
More than 60 percent of total
online retail sales are expected
to be made via mobile by 2019.
By 2020,
137million
people in the
Arab world
were online by
the end of 2013
In 2015 there are more than 7 billion mobile cellular subscriptions
worldwide, up from less than 1 billion in 2000. Globally 3.2
billion people are using the internet of which 2 billion are from
developing countries. ICTs will play an even more significant role
in the post 2015 development agenda and in achieving future
sustainable development goals as the world moves faster and
faster towards a digital society
UAE has been a leading adopter of
technology in the world, and advancement
in the global technology sector means more
action in the local market. Over the next few
years, one does feel that significant share of
revenues will shift to data and other value
adding services.
Brahima Sanou, director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.
Sukhdev Singh, associate vice-president at market
research and analysis services provider AMRB
Online banking is increasing steadily in the UAE
ITU Predictions:
82% of customers use at least one digital banking channel
have in conducted online banking via a mobile device
of customers have used a mobile app
61%
57%
The proportion of the
population covered by a 2G
mobile-cellular network
grew from 58 percent in
2001 to 95 percent in 2015.
2014
2020
Total mobile
Subscriptions
(billions)
Mobile
broadband
Smartphones
Mobile PCs,
tablets & routers
7.1
9.2
7.7
6.1
0.4
2.9 2.6
0.25
Sources: ITU, GSMA, Ercisson, The Guardian, Khaleej Times.

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Vice President
and Head of Middle
East and Africa,
Nokia Networks
Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr
Deputy Director General,
Smart Dubai Executive
Committee
Ahmad Julfar
Group CEO
Etisalat
Charles Yang
President,
Huawei
Middle East
Osman Sultan
CEO,
du
Jay Srage
President,
Qualcomm
Middle East, Africa
and South East Asia
Marc Halbfinger
CEO,
PCCW Global,
Hong Kong
Hussein Rifaï
Chairman & CEO
MDIC
Karim El Khazen
Vice President, Business
Development &
Innovation,
Deutsche Telekom
Hassan Kabani
CEO,
Zain Saudi
Rafiah Ibrahim
President,
Ericsson, Middle East
Greg Young
CEO,
Ooredoo, Oman
Ali Al Amiri
Executive VP, Carrier
and Wholesale
Services, Etisalat
Marwan Hayek
CEO,
alfa
Mohammed Mourad
CEO,
Google MENA
Job Witteman
CEO, AMS-IX
(Amsterdam
Internet
Exchange)
Suvi Lindén
Chairperson of the
Board of NxtVn Finland
& Member and ITU´s
Special Envoy for the BB
Commission for Digital
Development
Khalifa Al Shamsi
Chief Digital
Services Officer,
Etisalat Group
Ghassan Hasbani
CEO Graycoats,
Digital Economy
Expert
Carlos Domingo
Senior Executive
Officer, New Business
and Innovation, du
Luigi Gambardell
President,
ChinaEU
Hatem Bamatraf
CTO,
Etisalat Group
Daniel Kurgan
CEO,
BICS
Orvar Hurtig
VP and Head of
business line Industry
& Society, Ericsson
Ghazi Atallah
Managing Director,
neXgen group
Bilel Jamoussi
Chief of Study
Groups, ITU
Amr Eid
CCO,
GBI
Rambert Namy
VP Business
Consulting
Director,
Sofrecom
Hernan Munoz
Group CTO,
Ooredoo Group
Dr. Mohamed
Nadder Hamdy
Director Wireless
Network Engineering,
Commscope
Vick Mamlouk
VP Wireless
Sales MEA,
CommScope
Ihab Ghattas
Assistant
President, Huawei
Middle East
Safder Nazir
Regional Vice
President Smart
Cities & IoT,
Huawei
Tony Wong
Head of FBB
Business
Consulting,
Huawei
Sami Boustany
CEO,
Yahlive
Mohamed
Ben Amor
President,
Aicto
Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Abdullah Al-Thani
CEO,
Oreedoo Kuwait
Khaled Sedrak
CEO,
NxtVn

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