Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Bahrain has become the first hub for the GCC’s new “one-stop” travel system, enabling travelers to complete all border procedures at departure and enter other GCC states seamlessly. The pilot begins with Bahrain–UAE travel in December. The announcement coincides with the opening of the GCC Pavilion and ongoing efforts to unify trade, digital services, AI ethics, and cross-border mobility ahead of the 46th GCC Summit.
Visit Qatar won six awards at the 2025 SMARTIES Saudi Arabia Awards, including two Golds and the top honour for Best Use of AI in Marketing. The wins recognise its advanced AI-driven campaigns powered by hyper-personalisation, real-time optimisation, and big data analytics. Supported by Mindshare Qatar and Smartifai, its recent global campaigns delivered highly targeted, high-impact digital experiences that boosted audience engagement and reinforced Qatar’s position as an innovative tourism leader.
Qatar has introduced a unified regulation for radio communications infrastructure to speed up 5G deployment and future technologies. The guidelines merge older rules into one streamlined framework, promoting site sharing, reducing redundancy, and enforcing updated safety and technical standards. The CRA aims to boost telecom quality, improve transparency, and align infrastructure development with international best practices and Qatar’s long-term digital ambitions.
At the Digital Government Forum 2025 in Riyadh, DGA Governor Eng. Ahmed Alsuwaiyan announced that Saudi Arabia ranks third globally and first regionally in digital government performance. Backed by Vision 2030, the Kingdom has evolved from digital transformation to AI-driven governance, achieving a Digital Content Efficiency Index score of 76.24%. The forum also recognized leading innovators through the Digital Government Award and GovJam Challenge, underscoring Saudi Arabia’s leadership in building a future-ready, human-centric digital government.
According to Opensignal’s October 2025 Saudi Arabia Mobile Network Experience Report, Mobily and stc have tied for the top spot, each earning seven awards. Mobily was named Best Network for overall quality and reliability, while stc dominated in speed and coverage categories. The findings come as Saudi Arabia advances its 2025–2027 spectrum strategy under CST to strengthen its position as a global digital leader.
Oujda leads Morocco in internet performance with 65.74 Mbps download speeds, while Maroc Telecom dominates both mobile and fixed networks, reinforcing Morocco’s regional leadership in digital connectivity and broadband development.
Vodafone Qatar won three awards at the Middle East Enterprise AI & Analytics Summit 2025 for leadership in AI, analytics, and customer experience, highlighting its data-driven innovation and contribution to Qatar’s digital transformation.
talabat celebrated excellence at Hospitality Qatar 2025 with its annual Choice Awards and launched interactive food kiosks featuring partner restaurants. The initiative reinforced talabat’s leadership in Qatar’s food tech ecosystem and its ongoing support for innovation and community engagement.
Vodafone Qatar won three major awards at the Middle East Enterprise AI & Analytics Summit 2025 for its AI-powered customer experience and analytics innovations, reinforcing its leadership in digital transformation and alignment with Qatar’s Vision 2030.
Zong 4G leads PTA’s Q3 2025 Quality of Service survey, ranking first in 4G coverage, voice quality, and broadband throughput, ahead of Jazz, Ufone, and Telenor.