Comm. Smart Cities and IoT supplement Smart Cities and IoT | Seite 14

smart perspective

The network operator’s take on
the smart city opportunity
Saudi Arabia has been making headlines for its investment in greenfield economic and smart
cities for some years now. STC Group’s CEO, Dr. Khaled Biyari speaks of the role being played
by the incumbent telco in the Kingdom to foster these developments and explains why and how
there are gains to be made by network operators in the emerging ecosystem
What role do you believe network operators such as STC
should play in the shaping and development of smart cities
within their markets?
A smart city uses digital and ICT technologies to provide better
integrated services to urban dwellers; resulting in increased
engagement, better provision of services and cost optimisation. The
definition itself brings forth the role of STC on a multitude of levels of
intervention.
For starters, a traditional mobile network operator (MNO) is
able to provide base infrastructure for such a city to take shape.
However, STC is in a unique position compared with other operators
considering the array of services we can provide. This enables us to
be able to provide end-to-end solutions, including the infrastructure,
data centre solutions, civic services, and social service solutions with
the power of customised solutions that meet the demands of our
customers at both hardware and software levels.
Other than that, we are proud of the fact that we have been
working with the Saudi government as a stakeholder in the blue print
for the development of smart cities and are in the process of implementing many projects based on the vision set forth by the Ministry.

Dr. Khaled Biyari says STC
is currently working with a
myriad of partners towards
delivering the dream of services
such as fleet management,
energy and utilities, and traffic
management amongst others

services is the company offering and to which audiences
(government, commercial, and individual)?
We ventured into the field of smart cities at the time of conception
and now have a good number of deployments. We are working with
all kinds of customers including government, commercial ventures
and real estate groups. Again, the range of offerings for our solutions is wide and customisable to the need of clients. Our turn-key
solutions ensure that we work with the client from conception of the
project through to its implementation and beyond, ensuring that we
help fulfil the vision of the client.

How significant an opportunity do you believe smart city developments are to the network operator community, and how
can it best look to monetise and maximise the prospects?
We realised the importance of smart cities long before others
started even thinking about it. As mentioned earlier, the importance
and significance of the opportunity varies based on the internal
capabilities of the organisation itself. For STC, I can very safely say
that it is a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the vision of
the government, the socio-economic development of the country,
and to the diversification of the business portfolio and economic
contributors in the Kingdom.

What does STC estimate the size of the smart city opportunity
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be between 2016 and 2020?
The Kingdom represents an ideal opportunity for growth of smart
cities where economic, social and technological aspects combine
ideally. There are plenty of opportunities in the six greenfield smart
city projects as well as upgradation of existing cities to the level of
smart cities. In terms of actual size, I would not speculate on the
exact figure because I believe that there is an growing realisation

Specifically looking at STC’s activities in the smart city arena
in the Kingdom, what types of services and projects/products/
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