UAE telecommunication sector achieved many accomplishments during 2015 which reflected the comprehensive development framework that UAE is adopting and implementing. These achievements also shed the light on the vital role that this sector plays in positioning UAE as a pioneer in ICT. These accomplishments are new milestones that the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunication Sector (TRA) achieved in its journey towards elevating the sector’s competitiveness. This year also represents a big leap in the qualitative development that TRA is aiming to achieve in UAE’s ICT infrastructure.

“The Centre of Digital Innovations” (CoDI) in UAE Mobile Government' (mGovernment) was announced winner of one of the most important awards of The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).  This win came within the category C4 for Capacity-building which witnessed strong competition between 30 projects from many countries around the world. TRA also led the UAE delegation to 4th edition of the GCC eGovernment Conference and Exhibition, where they reaped 5 significant awards and two certificates of appreciation that reflected the technological advancement that UAE achieved in ICT generally and mGovernment and eGovernment specifically.

TRA’s mGovernment Lab also received “The Best Smart Mobile App for Information Security” award by the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference.

TRA also won the Best” Middle Eastern Regulator Category” award at the Telecom Review Summit Award 2015 in recognition of " Coverage " project, a smart and innovative system developed by TRA for field scanning, testing, measuring, and analyzing the performance of operators’ networks, in addition to stimulating user experience.

In this context, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, UAE TRA Director General, stated: “We eye 2015 with satisfaction as we achieved the key milestones that we set out for it, but our appetite is still hungry for more achievements. Our wise leadership taught us that true achievements push you to achieve more, and that before we embark on a new journey towards achieving the 2021 goals, we should always look back at our past to get inspired from our previous experiences.”

“2015 brought us closer to achieving our wise leadership’s goals, as we launched a multitude of initiatives that aimed at building a knowledge based economy that is led by young Emiratis who are characterized by knowledge and innovation.  We also participated in numerous prominent international events and conferences where we demonstrated the pivotal role that UAE is playing in enhancing education and ICT in the region and the world. TRA also exerted immense efforts to highlight UAE’s commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals through utilizing technology in serving humanity and improving all life aspects.” H.E. added.

Commending the joint efforts demonstrated by TRA employees and governmental entities, H.E. Al Masnoori also stated that: “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all governmental entities that collaborated with us in making 2015 a fruitful year. The mGovernment transformation that we achieved this year proved to the world that UAE is an ambitious country and that the sky is the limit of its excellence. I would like also to seize this opportunity to thank all TRA employees and affirm that they are the pillar of our success and development. I would like also to acknowledge their ability to embrace change and adopt more creative and innovative working methods. I want to thank them for tireless efforts they exerted to improve our services with the aim of achieving customer happiness. I am also proud of all the innovative minds that had the courage to communicate their ideas this year and who showed great ambition and desire to lead the nation’s future.” 

In terms of international rankings, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) classified UAE as one of the world’s top 10 dynamic countries in ICT development. UAE also acquired the first position in ICT use and Government efficiency. It also ranked first in mobile network coverage, in terms of the percentage of the population covered. UAE also came first worldwide in the impact of ICT on access to basic services. It ranked 2^nd worldwide in Government success in ICT promotion. Regarding Government procurement of advanced technologies products, UAE acquired the second position worldwide. According to the Global Competiveness Index (GCI), 2014-2015, UAE ranked 3rd globally in quality of overall infrastructure, and in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and technology transfer (Investment bringing new technologies), UAE ranked the third.