12/01/2022
UAE – 12 January 2022
In 2021, the UAE achieved great leaps towards a comprehensive digital transformation, counting on the great development in the ICT sector, and leveraging the country’s technological infrastructure to respond to emergency challenges of various forms, and to provide the best advanced services, including applications of artificial intelligence, Internet of things and big data.
The results of most global reports issued in 2021 confirmed the UAE's leadership in digital transformation and digital services.
The UAE is an Arab, regional and global leader in digital transformation in 2021
During 2021, the UAE achieved top ranks in digital transformation at the Arab, regional and global levels, to join the top countries of the world in government digital transformation, and to be the only Arab country in this group, according to the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index 2021, which measures the maturity levels of digital transformation and reliance on modern technology in the in government work in 198 countries.
The UAE ranked 10th globally according to IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking Report 2021, to be the only Arab country among the top 10 digitally competitive countries. It also ranked first globally in the same report in 4 sub-indicators: Wireless broadband, net flow of international students, Immigration laws, and cybersecurity.
The UAE also ranked first globally in mobile broadband speed, and 14th globally and first in the Arab region in fixed broadband speed, according to Ookla®, an international leader in Internet speed analysis and testing.
TDRA’s long-term vision in future preparedness
Last year, TDRA introduced its new visual identity, which expresses clearly its long-term future vision. It reflects TDRA’s key role within the UAE’s directions for the next fifty years, which include accelerating digital transformation, creating a future based on advanced technology supported by AI and smart cities, and building a society and knowledge economy that achieve sustainable development, happiness and wellbeing.
During 2021, TDRA launched its new website and new digital services platform, with the aim of providing the best experience for customers, enriching digital content, and unifying the programming technologies used in its official websites and all its platforms.
Moreover, TDRA was recognized in 2021 as the first government entity to fully integrate its digital services with UAEPass, as upgrading the digital services platform allowed customers registered in the digital identity system (UAEPASS) to access all its digital services.
As the first entity in the region, TDRA announced in 2021 the application of the feature of displaying the caller ID from the private sector’s entities in the UAE, known as the "Kashif" initiative, and aims to inform the customer of the identity of the calling entity, even if the contact number is not saved on the customer’s device.
Furthermore, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and Digital Dubai, TDRA issued the "API First" guide, which was circulated to the concerned entities with the aim of broad application, as "APIs" are the ideal method for linking between various entities in order to provide services to customers from everywhere and in any time.
TDRA, in cooperation with du and Etihad Rail, carried out the first field measurements of its kind in the Middle East to determine the regulatory controls that can be applied to achieve compatibility between International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) and railway radiocommunication systems, which aims to ensure the quality of telecom services provided to individuals on board of trains and not affect the quality of other communication services on railway tracks.
Facts and figures of telecom and digital transformation in 2021
Digital government enablers statistics showed a great development in access to digital services, as the number of UAEPass registrants, one of the main enablers of digital transformation, reached more than 2.66 million people, benefitting from more than 8,400 services provided by around 370 service providers through 315 websites and applications. While FedNet provided a common digital infrastructure for about 101 government and private entities.
With regard to the digital trust platform (UAE Verify), which enables individuals and companies to issue and authenticate digital documents, the number of users reached about 1.2 million users who conducted about 1.5 million transactions, and 706,318 thousand digital documents were verified through 3,159 participations.
Additionally, the UAE Government official portal witnessed an annual increase of 45.7% in number of visits, as more than 17 million people visited the portal with more than 27.7 million visits, and the number of pages viewed reached 40.78 million.
Human Capital Development
As part of its efforts to develop ICT human cadres, TDRA organized the 4th edition of the "UAE Hackathon", with the participation of 8,556 contestants, who presented about 373 ideas, using 2,610 data sets.
TDRA Virtual Academy contributed to training about 80,000 trainees until the end of 2021, 50% of the trainees who obtained certificates enrolled in additional courses.
Through TDRA Innovation Camp, which aims to enhance youth skills and build a passion for practical skills and technology among younger generations, 15,000 male and female students received technical training, and students were able to install and program 1,000 robots in home labs.
Digital figures
In 2021, the number of mobile phone subscriptions reached about 17 million, which reflects 171% of the population. The number of Internet users in the UAE reached about 9.94 million people, equivalent to 99% of the population. The surveys showed that the average time spent by UAE residents online is about 7.24 hours per day, of which 1.57 hours are the average time spent on news, and 2.55 hours are the average time spent on social media.
In comparison to the population, the percentage of individuals who own smart phones is 97.6%, while 40.1% of individuals own tablets, and 68.6% own desktop and laptop computers.
Regarding internet speeds during 2021, the average download speed on phones was about 177.52 MB, with a 104.6% increase in download speed using mobile internet compared to 2020, while the download speed using fixed internet reached 130.99 MB, with an increase of 44.6%.
The number of smart homes in the UAE has reached about 190,000 smart homes that adopt digital technologies, with an annual growth of 9.8% in the smart home sector.
Regarding online smart transactions, 21.3% of individuals managed their bank accounts through a mobile phone, and 59.7% of individuals used a mobile phone for online shopping.
A new milestone in comprehensive digital transformation
Federal Law by Decree No. (46) of 2021, regarding electronic transactions and trust services, inaugurated a new stage of comprehensive digital transformation in the UAE, which contributes to strengthening the digital economy, supports the achievement of national goals and indicators, and enhances the UAE’s leading position in digital service provision.
The law aims to improve the daily life of various segments of society, including individuals and companies, as well as digital transactions, as it set standards and mechanisms to enhance trust, increase awareness and introduce the use of UAEPass in the country, and support the legal authenticity of the digital signature to be accepted equally to the manual signature.
TDRA will implement the decree and raise awareness of its provisions, to ensure the regulation of the work and activities of entities covered by the law, and to issue mechanisms, procedures and standards related to the electronic identification system, verification procedures, digital identity, trust services and approved trust services, supervision, control and inspection, complaints, dispute resolution, and taking the necessary actions and measures in this regard.
International recognition and awards
TDRA’s efforts in enhancing the digital lifestyle in the UAE resulted in receiving several international recognitions during in 2021. TDRA won the Best Entity Award in procurement and supply in the "Best Response to Supplier Collaboration during COVID-19" criterion as part of CIPS Awards. TDRA won the Gold Stevie® Award in the category of Best Procurement Team Supporting Suppliers, as part of the 2021 International Business Awards®. TDRA was also awarded Best Entity for the “Best Procurement Team” and “Best Sustainable Entity in Services & Products” categories within the Best Business Awards (BBA), which is one of the highly recognized awards in the UK.
TDRA awarded the global professional ethics certificate in the field of procurement and supply from CIPS, and the best “Procurement Influencer” within the Middle East Procurement Awards 2021, in addition to the International Organizational Resilience Awards 2021 in the category of Supply Chain, Quality and Performance by Blackstone Resilience Project Management, after a global competition with 254 files submitted by more than 112 entities from 27 countries.
TDRA has been ranked among the top 3 entities in the field of innovation in the Middle East, according the Global Innovation Institute.
TDRA also achieved advanced results in The Global Star Rating System for Services in 2021, as both TDRA website and smart App received a four-star rating, according to the results that included, for the first time, the evaluation of digital channels and government call centers, and covered about 100 channels providing services for 28 entities.
TDRA’s National Telecom Equipment Lab had been awarded ISO 17065 certification for telecom devices accreditation system in 2021, from the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC).
Highlighting the competency of Emirati leaders, the ITU selected two Emirati women as ambassadors for the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme, namely Maitha Al Shaali, Information Security Analyst, and Aisha AlMarzooqi, Cybersecurity Capacity Development Analyst.
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15/08/2022 13:35
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