INTERVIEW: Etisalat’s chief business officer predicted IoT will deliver vast improvements in productivity and GDP in the MENA region, but cautioned operators must be well prepared in order to reap the benefits.

Describing IoT as “the new engine of growth,” Salvador Anglada (pictured) said the role of operators in the space depends on their readiness. He explained Etisalat is prepared to not just provide connectivity, but is also working on a range of IoT services and “trying to manage all of them end-to-end”.

Anglada highlighted Etisalat Digital, a unit the company launched in 2016, as an example of the benefits operators stand to reap by preparing for IoT. He noted the division is already generating 5 per cent of Etisalat UAE’s revenue and said the company aims to grow the contribution to 10 per cent “very soon”.

The unit provides digital solutions in areas including IoT, cloud and payments.

As Mobile World Live previously reported, Anglada believes the addressable market for IoT will be around $11 billion. At the recent GSMA Mobile 360 MENA event he told delegates IoT holds the potential to unlock up to 11 per cent in incremental GDP in the next decade, with every $1 spent on IoT producing $14.50 of additional GDP.

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