Comm. Smart Cities and IoT supplement Smart Cities and IoT | Página 7

Regional developments
n e t w o r k o p e r at o r s

Zain Group
invests in third
venture capital
fund in rapid
succession
At the start of August, Zain Group announced its third foray in the field of venture capital investment through a strategic
participation in Luxembourg-based Digital
East Fund that is managed by venture
capital specialist Earlybird.  The fund has
raised US$150 million since its inception
in 2013 and invests in early-stage and
growth-stage digital companies in Central
and Eastern Europe, as well as in Turkey.
Investors in this fund include the World
Bank’s International Finance Corporation
(IFC), and the European Research and
Development Bank (EBRD), as well as a
number of prominent family offices and
entrepreneurs from the region.
The investment in the Digital East Fund
is the third venture capital announcement
in recent months by Zain, further building
on the establishment of the Zain Digital
Frontier and Innovation (ZDFI) business
unit in 2014, which is charged with launching Zain into the digital space with the
view to growing the company through the
development of new innovative business
streams that add to the company’s valuation and customer service offerings.  ZDFI
focuses on the areas of innovation; digital
services; corporate venturing; and smart
cities.

n e t w o r k o p e r at o r s

Du and Nokia employ drones for
network testing
Nokia Networks and Du have employed drones carrying smartphones with network testing
applications to analyse Du’s network. The test was carried out at the Dubai International
Stadium, Dubai Sports City, which has a seating capacity of 25,000 people. The proof of
concept gathered network data and provided key performance indicators for a speedy performance test and efficient network optimisation actions. Telco drones were also used for
tower inspections, radio planning, and line of sight testing between radio towers.
Automated testing and analysis is more efficient than traditional manual walk tests, as
drones can cover the desired area quicker. Additionally, the test data is collected automatically and sent to a server so that it can be instantly processed at Nokia Networks’ Global
Delivery Centre for immediate reporting and any necessary actions to improve network
performance.
n e t w o r k o p e r at o r s

MTN partners
with ZTE for
pan-African IoT
platform
MTN Group has partnered with ZTE to
launch an Internet of Things platform, providing a dedicated network to connect devices and systems, as well as a global M2M
SIM card in Africa.
The platform, already live in South Africa,
claims to adopt “cutting-edge technologies
suited to developing markets, bringing flexible connectivity for devices in the region”,
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while the SIM card provides customers with
a blanket rate for M2M activity across MTN’s
African network.
The operator believes IoT and M2M technology will drive business growth in the Middle East and Africa in sectors such as banking, transportation, and energy through
smart cities and says it has “developed a
clear strategy to contribute to this growth”.
MTN also believes the platform and its
associated integrated network environment
will enable it to introduce application services with the potential to enhance the socio-economic environment in the rest region.
MTN  is working with a number of organisations to support the development of
smart cities.