Rafael Lavor has been appointed as the new Head of Strategy at VICE Media Group, emphasizing the company's dedication to fostering innovation and delivering cutting-edge content to its global audience.With over 18 years of experience, Lavor has developed expertise in creative strategy, in-depth qualitative research, consumer studies, service innovation, digital communication, and brand management and development.His extensive portfolio includes work with local innovation consultancies and global creative agencies, contributing to the success of brands such as du, NEOM, Nissan, KFC, Peugeot, Nokia, Mastercard, Smirnoff, Volkswagen, Ford, Chevrolet, Embraer, Stella Artois, Tang, Uber, Deezer, Amazon, McVitie’s, Hilton, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and more.Lavor's leadership on various teams and projects has garnered recognition at prestigious marketing awards such as the Brazil Effies, LATAM Effies, and MENA Effies. Tarek Khalil, Managing Director of MEA for VICE, expresses enthusiasm about Lavor's addition to the team, citing his extensive regional experience and ability to tackle complex brand challenges. Khalil is confident that Lavor's leadership will contribute to the creation of even more impactful content for VICE's clients and audiences across the Middle East and Africa.

Dubai: Nokia Bell Labs’ Head of AI Lab Research said today the massive opportunities brought by generative AI also bring with them new responsibilities for businesses and governments.Sean Kennedy, speaking at the Dubai Assembly for Generative AI, discussed the complexities of developing AI technologies that emulate human thinking: “We are living in an age of AI, and with this comes a host of new opportunities, but it also comes with new responsibilities – we have to deliver these technologies in the most responsible way possible.”In his keynote speech, ‘Testing AI's Limits: Mimicking Human and Analytical Thinking’, Kennedy touched on real-world challenges where AI systems have faced difficulties. Such instances underscore the need for AI systems to think "outside the box" and continuously improve their decision-making processes, he said.During a fireside chat, ‘The UAE Amidst the GenAI Revolution’, Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei, Executive Director and Acting Chief AI Researcher, Technology Innovation Institute (TII), shed light on the UAE's pioneering role in the generative AI industry and the significance of open-source models.Dr. Almazrouei shared insights into the development and impact of Falcon, an open-source Large Language Model (LLM) introduced in 2022. Falcon was designed to outperform existing models and make advanced AI technology accessible to a wider audience. Dr. Almazrouei highlighted the model's remarkable capabilities, placing it on par with industry leaders like ChatGPT and Google Bard.Dr. Almazrouei said: “Today, we are already at a global scale, and Falcon is a flagship generative AI technology around the world. Today, the UAE is in the frontier of generative AI industries.”In a panel titled ‘Can GenAI be a Catalyst for the Fourth Wave of Entrepreneurship?’, the founders of Humanism, Daniil and David Liberman, said innovation in the generative AI space will predominantly happen outside large corporations. However, collaboration with big organizations, particularly regarding capital and resources, will be essential, they said.

Nokia today announced that it has been selected by Ooredoo Group to upgrade its existing radio access networks (RAN), as well as deploy new sites in Algeria and Tunisia. This will improve the network performance and help Ooredoo Group to prepare for a launch of 5G services in the future. In addition, Nokia will modernize Ooredoo’s IP network, and modernize and extend its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in Tunisia. These initiatives will transform Ooredoo Group’s networks by enhancing the mobile user experience thanks to better data speeds and capacity. Nokia will deploy its latest, energy-efficient AirScale portfolio including base stations supporting multiple generations of radio technology from 2G, 3G and 4G to 5G; massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas for urban and wide-area coverage; dual-band Remote Radio Heads (RRH); as well as AirScale indoor Radio (ASiR) small cell solution for seamless indoor coverage. These solutions will deliver an enhanced mobile user experience with high bandwidth, ultra-fast speeds and low latency.Under the deal, Nokia will replace the existing radio network for Ooredoo Tunisia, as well as expand the network with the addition of new radio sites. Nokia will increase its share in Ooredoo Algeria’s network to almost 50 percent, and in Ooredoo Tunisia’s network to around 40 percent.Nokia will also provide its AirFrame and CloudBand Application Manager (CBAM) solution for the network upgrade and deployment in Algeria and Tunisia. In addition, in Tunisia, Nokia will deploy its 7750 Service Router for the modernization of Ooredoo’s IP network and its GPON fiber broadband solution to upgrade the existing FTTH network, increasing its share in these domains to 100 percent in Ooredoo Tunisia’s network. Ahmad Al Neama, Group Regional CEO at Ooredoo Group, said: “Nokia has been our technology partner for many years and has been a part of our network evolution. Under this renewed partnership, we are taking our network to a new level of transformation to further improve our network performance and service experience for our customers. This will further empower our customers in Algeria and Tunisia for knowledge, business, entertainment and make competitive for a whole new lifestyle in the digital age.”Amr K. El Leithy, SVP, Middle East and Africa Market, Nokia, said: “Our vision is to create technology that helps the world act together. To realize this vision, we deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with valued operators such as Ooredoo Group to create the digital services and applications of the future. We are proud to be part of these large-scale network modernization and expansion projects with Ooredoo in Algeria and in Tunisia to unleash rich digital experiences and new value creation opportunities.”

Nokia has today announced that the company -- in collaboration with Etisalat UAE, branded as etisalat by e& -- demonstrated the fastest passive optical network (PON) speed in the Middle East and Africa region. Nokia Bell Lab’s PON proof of concept (PoC) demonstration achieved speeds up to 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s) on a single wavelength -- four times faster than the most advanced networks available today.In the long-standing partnership between both the technology leaders, they have achieved multiple industry-firsts, including the world’s first single-carrier terabit-per-second field trial, setting optical transmission capacity record over etisalat by e&’s fiber network in the UAE.To achieve 100 Gb/s on a single wavelength, Nokia Bell Labs used pioneering digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. Once advanced DSP is adopted, the steps to 50G and 100G are straightforward and 100G could be commercially available in the 2030s.The Nokia Bell Labs 100G PON prototype is the world’s first application of flexible rate transmission in a PON network. Flexible rate transmission works by grouping fiber modems (ONUs) that exhibit similar physical network characteristics (e.g., loss or dispersion) and makes data transmission more efficient. Using flexible rate transmission results in lower latency on a PON and cuts power consumption in half -- two essential characteristics for fiber networks that have a rapidly growing role in the massive delivery of fixed and mobile broadband services.The PoC is Nokia's most recent industry-first in fiber access, following XGS-PON, TWDM-PON, and 25G PON. 100G PON could be commercially available in the 2030s.Marwan Bin Shakar, Senior Vice President/Access Network Development, etisalat by e& said: “Fiber networks are fast evolving into becoming the backbone of the entire telecommunications sector as they play an important role in delivering any service to any end point, including residences, businesses, and cell sites. As their use case evolves, they must become quicker, smarter, and more cost-effective. We are thrilled to have showcased a working prototype for 100G PON with Nokia. Our partnership with Nokia is a demonstration of our commitment to maximise value for our customers and bring positive change to their lives in the age of digitalisation. Through our partnership, we are looking forward to continuing our efforts in bringing in the best-in-class solutions to our customers and enabling the adoption of innovative technological solutions within the UAE and the region.”Samer Makke, Head of the Customer Team for etisalat by e&, UAE, at Nokia, said: “etisalat by e& is a pioneering operator in the region and we are proud to have demonstrated our industry-first prototype technology with the company. Fiber broadband continues to evolve and will play a critical role in enabling services for enterprise customers, premium consumers, and supporting 5G rollouts. 10G XGS-PON is now mainstream; the first 25G city is a reality; and 50G and 100G are being developed. This just shows the unlimited potential of fiber broadband.”Resources25G PON media gallery: Images and videoFiber for everything webpage. One fiber broadband network, many opportunities