Etisalat today signed a partnership agreement with Pacific Controls in Dubai to mark the beginning of a collaboration which will see them tackle connectivity challenges in the developing world.
Etisalat and Pacific Controls, both local UAE companies, have committed to pursuing machine to machine (M2M) solutions and innovating smartcities in order to significantly reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint.
At the signing today, Chief Digital Services Officer for Etisalat, Khalifa Al Shamsi, described the joint venture as a way of creating great end user products which will serve a consumer driven demand for smart technologies.
“Everything is smart now – smart phone, smart TV, etc. So we need to evolve and become smart too. This is the new area of focus for us now – machine to machine devices which can be controlled automatically, reducing energy consumptions in homes. Simple things like leaving lights on and not reducing the air conditioning. These are the things we all forget,” he said.
The telecoms giant said it will be moving beyond its traditional sector and venturing into other verticals in order to provide more innovative services for the developing areas.
“Our new areas of focus will cover so much more,” said Al Shamsi.
“We are focusing on digital advertising, eCommerce, video services, cloud, and others.”
GSMA were also present at the agreement signing, a company which pools together the world’s telecoms companies in order to increase speed and widen the reach of connectivity to poorer areas.
Lawrence Yanovitch, President of GSMA Mobile, said that mobile technology is the driving force behind changing the world.
“People will look primarily to mobile for things that far outstretch the traditional use of the device. Now we want health updates, economical updates, things like this. It’s the flexibility of mobile which is driving the explosion of innovation in these sectors,” he said.
“We live in an area where natural resources are limited, this programme addresses those issues. We want to be more efficient and more eco-friendly,” added Dr Shane Rooney, VP, Machine to Machine, Etisalat Group.
“Pacific Controls are the ideal partner for us. Eco technology is in their DNA and their services are state of the art. Together, with our technology and communications, we have the ability to get these services to our customers.”
Dilip Rahulan, Executive Chairman, Pacific Controls, described the agreement as a historic day for the company.
“From a home-grown company in the UAE in 2000 with just a vision of contributing to mankind, to this day, is a dream come true. Etisalat are the perfect partners for us in order to achieve our dreams of helping sustainability and changing lives,” he said.
“It’s an amazing thing, we’re talking about making buildings communicate. These smartcities will change the world. It sounds like an alien technology at the moment but the best technologies all started that way. I wish to thank Etisalat for helping us bring this change to mankind.”
Etisalat described the partnership as love at first sight, and pledged to commit to the programme and invest heavily in order to fulfil the visions of both partners.
