UAE telecoms regulator embraces new identity in line with digital shift

By Ashika Rajan, Trainee Reporter
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UAE
Representational Image

The UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has announced its rebranding to stay relevant in changing times. 

The new identity is the result of a decree issued in September of last year that modified the authority’s name to reflect its wider remit. At a board meeting in December, the authority’s board voted to accept the new name.

Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori Image
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori
Director-General
TDRA

We are witnessing a full digital transformation. electronic government was started before 2000, the mobile government was started in 2013 and today we are talking about a digital government supported by data and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 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 the private sector as they are working more remotely due to the pandemic.”

Rising telecom usage

The use of telecoms and digital services in the UAE and around the world has increased dramatically in the last year as companies gradually turned to remote working to combat the pandemic’s spread. To facilitate remote working, the Emirate briefly lifted a ban on voice-over-internet protocol applications and other video conferencing tools.

According to the TDRA, the total number of internet subscribers in the UAE reached nearly 3 million in December, nearly the same as in November. In the Emirates, there were almost 33 broadband internet connections per 100 residents.

Mr. Mohammad Al Zarooni, Chief Executive of Policies and Programs added that the TDRA’s 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.”

The TDRA, which oversees the UAE’s telecom sector and offers smart transition frameworks to government agencies, is also tracking the effect of its reforms on consumers and gathering feedback to enhance services.

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

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