overall but don’t deliver the same data
experience people are used to once
they clock off is becoming frustrating
for some users, so there’s certainly some
movement within public safety to
embrace the technologies that can get
you closer to that ease of exchange
of information,” Whyte says, before
highlighting Sepura’s work in this regard
with AppSPACE (see page 26).
Airbus’s Forbes highlights the clear
convergence that has taken place
between the IT and communications
sectors in most of the large Middle
Eastern markets, together with the
growing security demands from cities
and urban areas and the pressure for
them to become smart and safe cities.
“Through the Internet of Things (IoT),
things are becoming more connected.
People’s demands are growing and
evolving quickly and they want to be
connected on a permanent basis to
those capabilities – these changes also
apply to the professionals like the police
and the fire service as well. And data
and messaging are becoming more
important or equally as important as
voice alone,” he adds.
“Agencies in forward-looking cities
such as Dubai have been embracing
new working practices and better ways
of interacting with the public,” says
Clemons. “One of the real advantages
of moving away from closed solutions
to more open ones is the opportunity to
The region is very advanced in terms
of homeland security and comms
technologies. It is home to some of
the most advanced smart cities
develop new, more effective operational
models, although security must never
be compromised.”
Forbes says: “ The region is very
advanced in terms of homeland security
and communication technologies. It
is home to some of the most advanced
smart cities. As a matter of fact, the
region as a whole is pushing towards
extremely integrated and innovative
solutions. To demonstrate this, some of
our key innovations and latest products
were actually born and developed
together with our customers in the
region – like Tactilon Dabat. The region
is a trailblazer in many areas, and we are
proud to be part of this evolution.”
He adds that Airbus, which has
been active in the Middle East’s critical
communications market since the
1970s, has seen its “revenues increased
over the past couple of years”.
Market conditions
Now that we have got a feel for the
major trends, let’s move on to current
trading conditions. Clemons says: “It’s
been a difficult last 12-18 months for
many, but conditions appear to be
improving as 2019 progresses. There
appears to be a growing willingness to
consider major investments as legacy
systems begin to reach end of life.”
Sepura’s Whyte says his company has
seen steady business from its regular
customers “who still need to maintain
and keep their critical communications
fleet modern and up to date. We’ve
also seen aggressive pricing from our
competitors in some countries.” He
adds that this tends to happen where
there is strategic value in winning a
particular project.
However, “the Middle East is not a
market purely driven by price; business
is also hugely influenced on whether
you did it before, as promised, provided
great after-sales service and given a
customer an experience that gives them
confidence and peace of mind in reinvesting
in you”.
Speaking of after-sales service, Whyte
says customers expect service requests to
be dealt with quickly “and we’ve adapted
to suit that culture”, either through
having a repair centre in the country in
question or encouraging customers to
have a buffer stock of terminals, so faults
don’t result in downtime.
Turning back to mission-critical
broadband, Quixoticity’s Clemons
says it can’t be denied that it has taken
longer than might have been expected
for the region’s public safety agencies to
embrace it. “Many agencies decided in
2017 to upgrade or renew their TETRA
Adobe Stock/S.Gvozd
Cities such as
Dubai are leading
the charge when
it comes to
embracing smart
city technologies
September 2019 @CritCommsToday 11