20 October 2015
• In line with HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart City Initiative

• Collaboration will allow integration of smart building technologies within hi-tech park

Dubai, UAE: Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), in collaboration with du, today announced that they have successfully installed the UAE's first smart street lights and smart building technologies within the integrated free zone technology park. These initiatives are great additions to a previously introduced Internet of Things network by Dubai Silicon Oasis - where sensors are placed in everyday objects to become 'smart' and interact with their surroundings.

Using motion sensors provided and programmed by du, the smart street lights will provide 25 percent visibility, until triggered to full power by approaching vehicles and pedestrians, allowing for less energy consumption that will prolong the life of electric bulbs and reduce operational costs and carbon impact. Additional sensors can be added to the street lights to collect and share information and data on the surrounding environment, such as pollution and weather conditions - or even relay CCTV, advertising messages and/or safety warnings.

Furthermore, the smart building technologies that include installing high-tech sensors within the DSOA headquarters, use du software to allow energy and cost saving through managing electricity consumption and allowing automatic regulation of temperature throughout the headquarters. The high tech sensors will send real time data to insure comfort and safety at all times.

Commenting on this initiative, Engineer Muammar Khaled Al Katheeri, Executive Vice President - Engineering Management at DSOA, said: "Through all such initiatives - great and small - DSOA is proud to contribute to achieving the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of making Dubai the smartest city in the world. We have launched several smart initiatives in DSO that went through Proof of Concepts testing ahead of large scale implementation such as DSO smart waste management that proved to be very successful for reducing waste collection cost and environmental footprint."

"DSO has demonstrated its ability to be the destination of choice for public and private entities as the centre of excellence for smart city initiatives. We are committed to researching and implementing smart city technologies on a sustained basis within our premises that will benefit DSO and the wider UAE. We look forward to increasing our collaboration with du on the installation of more smart street lights and smart building technologies around DSO," Eng. Muammar added.

Carlos Domingo, Senior Executive Officer of New Businesses and Innovation at du, said: "We are proud of our record in bringing smart city capabilities to the UAE and join hands with Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority that shares our passion for innovation and smart technology. We are committed to advancing such collaborations to improve urban services and contribute to creating smarter cities throughout the UAE."

The service is part of a growing list of smart city technologies brought to the UAE by du, including the Middle East's first successful Internet of Things network and Wi-Fi UAE.

A wholly-owned entity of the government of Dubai, DSO operates as a free zone technology park for large enterprises, as well as medium and small companies looking to set up their offices in Dubai.

-Ends-

[1] A proof of concept is a demonstration, the purpose of which is to verify that certain concepts, theories and/or practices have the potential for real world application.

About du
We started operating in 2007, offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services. Today, we serve more than 7.5 million individual customers and over 80,000 businesses in the UAE. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.

We won the Gallup Great Workplace Award. Our recruitment strategy aims to provide fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment where more than 60 nationalities work 35% of which are Emiratis. We are the first telecom company in the world to release a Sustainability Report based on GRI-G4 comprehensive guidelines. Among our other laurels, we also have the credit of being the first in the UAE to be awarded with prestigious LEED Platinum certification for 2 of our green retail outlet.

du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.08 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining by public shareholders. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the company trades under the name 'du'.

For further information, please contact:
Saugat Chatterjee
PR Lead (B2B)
Brand & Communications
du
Mobile: +971559367045
Email: Saugat.Chatterjee@du.ae
Paramita
Chakrabarti
LeoComm PR
Tel: +971 4 367 6159 
Mobile: +971 55 6088674
Fax: +971 4 367 2615
Email: paramita.chakrabarti@leocommpr.com 

© Press Release 2015