Smart Dubai has announced the completion of the first phase of the UAEPASS initiative — its nation-wide program for digital identity — integrating seven leading government entities to date.
This smart city initiative allows citizens, residents and visitors to access the entities’ services via smartphones, without the need to visit service centres and with a single set of login details. The seven government entities are the Dubai Department of Economic Development, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Police, Dubai Courts, Dubai Land Department, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Dubai Civil Defense.
UAEPASS is a national digital identity platform launched in October 2018 in partnership with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions and Services Authority, Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC) and the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
Smart Dubai is in charge of integrating local government entities with the platform, which is being conducted in consecutive phases. The program’s main goal is to have all local and federal government entities fully integrated with UAEPASS.
“The Directorate General of Civil Defense Dubai is committed to becoming a pioneer in its smart digital services, which have a direct impact on protecting lives, property and the environment, through implementing state-of-the-art technologies in all services to ensure customer satisfaction,” said Director General of Dubai Civil Defense Rashid Al Matrooshi. “Digital integration with other government partners under the Dubai Smart Government umbrella aims to place Dubai in the forefront of smart cities worldwide.”
“The ambitious national programme for digital identity is a key pillar in the process of enabling many digital transformation initiatives at the local and federal levels,” said Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment. “It also supports the objectives of the Dubai Paperless Strategy to create an advanced paper-free future for government services — an important element of transforming Dubai into a smart city.”
In terms of future 5G commercial launches in the UAE, the TRA supports initiating 5G technology before 2020 in the 1427-1518 MHz, 3300-3800 MHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz bands. In addition, the 40 GHz range will be considered for 5G technology beyond the year 2020.
The regulator said that 5G deployments will allow the Arab country to enter the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart cities and the internet of things, among others.
Middle East telco Etisalat recently signed a strategic partnership with Chinese vendor Huawei to deploy an end-to-end 5G network in the United Arab Emirates in 2019. As part of the agreement, Huawei will deploy its network solutions including 5G wireless, a 5G “service oriented core” and 5G-ready transport network. Etisalat plans to build around 300 5G sites in the first half of this year, according to published reports.
