Arabic hashtag: Dr. Ahmed Ghandour Al-Quraan: When we talk about artificial intelligence, our thoughts immediately turn to models, applications, and startups. We talk about ChatGPT, cloud computing, data centers, and chips. But there's a less visible but more important layer: the telecommunications network that underpins all of this.

Therefore, I believe one of the most significant transformations we should be monitoring in the coming years is the redefinition of the telecommunications company itself.

Telecommunications companies are no longer simply companies selling call minutes and internet packages. They are on their way to becoming part of the national infrastructure for artificial intelligence.

What happened in the UAE in August 2026 provides a clear example of this transformation.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the UAE Digital Government renewed the public telecommunications licenses of e& and du for twenty years, from August 9, 2026, to August 8, 2046. At first glance, the news might seem like a regulatory decision to extend the licenses of two companies. However, reading between the lines reveals a different vision for the future of the telecommunications sector.

From leading in connectivity to leading in intelligence, the TRA itself described the new phase as a transition from leading in connectivity to leading in intelligence.

This statement deserves attention.

The goal is no longer just to make the network faster. The aim is for it to become smarter, more self-managing, and capable of supporting an economy based on data and artificial intelligence.

The TRA expects the sector to gradually move from interconnected networks to smart, self-operating networks where artificial intelligence becomes part of the network's own intelligence.

Here, the meaning of digital infrastructure changes.

In the traditional model, the telecommunications network was simply to transmit data from one point to another. In the new model, the network itself becomes a platform for computing, intelligence, analysis, and decision-making.

This transformation didn't happen in a vacuum.

Fiber optic penetration to homes in the UAE has reached 99.7 percent, and the country has maintained its position as the world's leading provider of such technology for the tenth consecutive year, according to TADRA. Simultaneously, the digital economy strategy aims to double the digital economy's contribution to GDP from 9.7 percent in 2022 to 19.4 percent within ten years.

This highlights a connection that is sometimes overlooked in our Arab discussions about artificial intelligence.

There can be no AI economy without a digital infrastructure capable of running it.

A country can launch an AI strategy. Universities can teach AI. Governments can fund startups. But when applications begin operating on a large scale, they will need data centers, cloud computing, fiber optic networks, international communications, 5G and then 6G, edge computing, cybersecurity, and high service continuity.

Ultimately, AI needs a physical infrastructure that operates in the background. Therefore, the question we should be asking Arab telecommunications companies is no longer simply, "How fast is the internet?"

The more important question has become, "What can we build on top of this network?"

This is a significant difference.

When self-driving cars, smart factories, robots, digital healthcare, smart cities, and artificial intelligence systems become part of the economy, network latency will no longer be just a problem for watching a video or downloading a file. It will become an economic, operational, and security issue.

Resilience, therefore, takes on a new meaning.

Networks that support an AI-driven economy must not rely on single points of failure. They must have alternative routes, secure international connectivity, disaster recovery capabilities, and service continuity.

Here, we are moving from the concept of a telecommunications service to the concept of an economic infrastructure.

Jordan and legitimate questions, and this leads us to Jordan.