The introduction of open radio access networks (O-RAN) in the telecoms industry may take time globally, owing to security gaps in the model, a top official at China's Huawei Technologies has said.
The system, known as O-RAN, allows operators to include different suppliers in their radio networks, which could in turn challenge the dominance of telecoms equipment makers such as Ericsson and Huawei.
Use of O-RAN has gained more traction in recent years. Its proponents, such as the O-RAN Alliance and the Facebook-backed Telecom Infra Project, say it would enable a more competitive and vibrant supplier ecosystem, with the ability to innovate faster, while the efficiency of mobile networks based on it will improve.
It is also seen as a way to lower the costs for managing infrastructure and operations.
While Beijing-based Huawei – the world's biggest maker of telecommunication gear – does not have a formal position on the topic, the company has tested O-RAN internally and found it does achieve operators' targets in terms of overall functionality, said Paul Michael Scanlan, chief technology officer of Huawei's carrier business group, in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
"However, the jury is still out on the security aspects of it. I haven’t seen multiple vendors providing an ecosystem of O-RAN and any discussions or white papers about the practical components of potential vulnerabilities or not," he told The National.
"It’s a very challenging question to answer because there is no formation that is freely available."
However, that hasn't hindered adoption in digitally advanced economies, particularly in the US and Europe, where several members of the O-RAN Alliance come from.
In July, five of the Middle East's biggest telecom groups – the UAE's Etisalat and du, Saudi Telecom Company, Riyadh-based Etisalat affiliate Mobily and Kuwait's Zain – signed an agreement to jointly press ahead with their plans to integrate O-RAN into their networks.
Seven operators from the Gulf are expected to jointly announce the deployment of O-RAN at this year's MWC, a source told The National.
The O-RAN concept is evolving as part of a natural progression of the network equipment ecosystem, promising greater interoperability for operators, lowering the cost of deployment and speeding up the pace of network roll-out, Krishna Chinta, programme manager of telecoms and IoT at International Data Corporation Middle East and Africa, told The National.
But "there is a risk that the threat surface area can grow with the involvement of a higher number of vendors in the O-RAN ecosystem. Network operators will be forced to step up their due diligence to ensure vendors are embedding the necessary security features", he added.
Standardised bodies and related consortiums, where providers are promoting O-RAN by creating new specifications and accomplishing interoperability testing, are also receiving government support, Pulkit Pandey, an associate principal analyst at Gartner, told The National.
"But current O-RAN solutions are not as mature as classic purpose-built base station equipment, and at least two to three years could be needed to be useful," he said.
In terms of managing vendors in an O-RAN system, having more than one suggests that the management of the process is more complicated, which goes against Huawei's goal of simplifying its services, Mr Scanlan said.
"From a practical implementation standpoint, you could ask 'how do I deploy it, who do I contract'," he said.
"I haven’t seen anything saying that it’s going to be secure as everyone might like it."
The MWC is the annual trade show dedicated to the mobile industry, organised by the GSMA Association.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
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Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Results
Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
Light Heavyweight: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) no contest Kevin Oumar (COM) Unintentional knee by Oumer
Catchweight 73kg: Yazid Chouchane (ALG) beat Ahmad Al Boussairy (KUW) Unanimous decision
Featherweight: Faris Khaleel Asha (JOR) beat Yousef Al Housani (UAE) TKO in round 2 through foot injury
Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
COMPANY PROFILE
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● Industry: M&A
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Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
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Rest
(Because Music)
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
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High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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