Telecommunications Regulatory Authority wins Middle East Smart Government & Smart Cities Excellence Award

UAE, 26 May 2016– The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been awarded with the 21stMiddle East Smart Government & Smart Cities Excellence Award under the smart e-services category, for its successful implementation of the UAE Government’s FEDnet project. The award was given by Middle East Excellence Awards Institute.

Abdelnasir Rahma Obaid Al Shamsi, Senior Manager for Infrastructure Management in E-Government Operations Department at TRA, received the award in behalf of the TRA during the awards ceremony, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre in the presence of top-level government officials from the region and industry leaders. The recognition event was held on the sidelines of the 22nd GCC Smart Governments and Smart Cities Conference. 

FEDnet is a digital infrastructure, which provides a joint platform for all federal government entities to connect electronically and access relevant information and technology services as well as monitoring and managing their services in a highly secure hub. 

The network has finalized the joining of 42 government entities, and has helped 36 of them migrate their services electronically, with the remainder to be completed by end of June 2016.

His Excellency Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA director General said: “The TRA’s award reflects the effectiveness and sustainability of the authority’s projects, achieving the highest global standards in quality and efficiency. The Middle East Smart Government & Smart Cities Excellence Award is one of the many global awards acknowledged by the authority.”

H.E. Al Mansoori noted that TRA’s participation in global events has successfully earned the Authority various awards, boosting the country’s reputation in international forums and confirming the importance of UAE’s smart transformation process, which has undergone rigorous evaluation from telecommunication experts. 

Al Mansoori attributed FEDnet’s success to the relentless efforts of the various teams implementing during the last two years, who worked to integrate the systems of different federal agencies. TRA has also partnered with local government entities to ensure all government smart services will be able to deliver the quality and speed customers and stakeholders expect from the government – and earn their happiness and satisfactions from such services, following the UAE’s strategic goal of promoting the electronic lifestyle in the country.

Abdelnasir Rahma Obaid Al Shamsi has explained that the Authority initiated in providing all the necessary details about the project for evaluation by a special committee handling the award.

“The most important achievement for the FEDnet project is interactive communication facility between different departments and systems in the organization, thereby promoting a smart and informative society and help them achieve national, regional and global development goals. The smart approach of using information and communications technology helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the government smart services as they lower the cost and speed up the services delivered to citizens. It also helps governments to keep high standards in serving their customers, as well as ensuring sustainability, while improving the skills of its Nationals,” Al Shamsi added.

The Middle East Smart Government & Smart Cities Excellence Award aims to encourage government and private entities to promote the culture of using smart technology according to the best global standards and achieve sustainable development in the region.

The Middle East Excellence Awards Institute has organized the award to recognize the achievements of regional governments and business organisations in advancing ICT and transform the delivery of government services in the region as well as their outstanding contribution to the development of regional competitiveness, and contribute positively in the economic growth.