Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 44 | Page 17

NEWS CITRA announces completion of experimental operation of the 5G networks in Kuwait A 5G pilot operation in Kuwait has been completed by a CITRA executive. Eng Salem Al-Ozainah, Chairman and CEO of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), completed the pilot operation of the fifth-generation mobile operator networks in anticipation of the launch of the 5G commercial service by mid-June. The organisation said in a press statement that the provision of this service comes as CITRA seeks to develop the telecommunications sector in Kuwait to keep abreast of the modern technological development of communications. He added that this step also comes in line with the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and international organisations specialised in setting the technical standards for this technology, which has been adopted for more than two years. This has occurred in co-ordination with the mobile telecommunications operators in the country allowing them to conduct experiments with this technology. The authorisation confirmed that the activation of this service is in line with the announcement of the special frequency banding for this service with a bandwidth of 3.5 GHz in Kuwait and allowing mobile operators to test their networks to launch the 5G service. He added that the activation of the service comes to be one of the first countries in the world and the region that organises and operates this new technology, which will benefit the telecommunications sector in the country. ///////////////// Batelco delivers a comprehensive multi-access technology solution for Ithmaar Bank B atelco, Bahrain’s leading digital solutions provider, has expanded its wide portfolio of network back-up solutions for MPLS and dedicated Internet service with the deployment of a fully-redundant MPLS network with active backup capabilities for Ithmaar Bank. This project positions Ithmaar Bank, a leading Islamic retail bank, as the first bank in Bahrain to deploy the service to ensure around-the-clock network resiliency even during network maintenance activities or any other causes that might result in network interruptions. Batelco’s backup solution is an integrated, secure and a fully-managed solution providing redundancy and automatic traffic fail-over, which allows Ithmaar Bank to mitigate any risk of data loss, ultimately protecting the bank’s online services, ATM connections, revenues and reputation. Batelco has successfully deployed the bespoke backup network for Ithmaar Bank while maintaining the bank’s online www.intelligentcio.com presence with no service disruption. This innovative solution meets the critical needs of Ithmaar Bank for highly available, reliable and stable network connectivity between its subsidiaries, branches and ATMS, providing the bank’s customers with the highest standards of services. While network backup is an ideal solution for the banking and finance segment, this fully-licensed and regulated offering is also suitable for all enterprises. In this regard, Batelco now provides a comprehensive suite of backup services available on multiple access media including fibre optics, Microwave, 4G LTE and ADSL. n INTELLIGENTCIO 17