The growing importance of smart city solutions and services were highlighted by Ooredoo Qatar Chief Executive Officer Waleed al-Sayed yesterday at the Arab Future Cities Summit.  
Speaking at the opening ceremony, he hoped more than two-third of the human race would  reside in the cities by 2050. As of now, it is around 54%, he said while mentioning that increasing number of people are moving into the cities these days.
This pace of urbanisation is creating significant problems, from rising congestion to increased pollution – which could only be addressed by the deployment of smart technology, he said.
Ooredoo Qatar CEO outlined how municipalities in the GCC region have the opportunity to learn from the successes and challenges faced by cities in Asia and the Americas, and apply these lessons in order to take a leadership position in the development of future cities.
In particular, Qatar is already moving to the forefront of these discussions, ranking number one among Arab nations on the World’s Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index, he said.
“As operators, we provide the fixed and mobile network assets that are the foundation for smart cities around the world. Ooredoo has strived to ensure these assets are among the very best available, providing 4G, 4G+ and nationwide Fibre across our markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia,” said al-Sayed
Al-Sayed demonstrated Ooredoo’s role at the forefront of building smart cities by providing the required network infrastructure and connectivity, and through signing strategic agreements with leading technology providers to jointly develop solutions.
In particular, Ooredoo is a key partner of the first-ever Smart City in Qatar – the state-of-the-art Lusail City – which will be supported by Ooredoo’s Supernet and Fibre network.