"We will try to connect the first land fiber cable from Israel to Dubai"

"We will try to connect the first land-based fiber optic from Israel to Dubai," said Cellcom CEO Avi Gabbay at the first Israel-Dubai conference of Calcalist, Bank Leumi, and Reshet 13. Gabbay spoke on stage with CTech’s Ron Friedman.

Gabbay spoke about the possibilities for cooperation between the countries in the fields of communications. "Cellcom has analyzed the opportunities that exist here in the UAE," Gabbay said. "We have several opportunities here, two of them in the cellular field that I can not expand on yet. Other opportunities are in the field of content. We want to bring content channels from the UAE to Cellcom TV. We have a large audience of Arabic speakers who will enjoy the content in the Gulf. We are looking ahead, we understand that many Israeli tourists will come to Dubai, they will experience the culture and the country, we think the new channels and the new content are not only for the Arab audience but also for the public who will come here and be interested in the culture here."

Gabbay revealed that he is trying to promote another technological connection between the countries. "Dubai, or the UAE, is an incubator and it wants to be a bigger incubator. We believe with the UAE we can connect the first internet cable that comes from the EU to Israel, via Jordan. It is cheaper and more accessible and will open up the world of internet surfing that is currently under heavy load. It is an existing fiber, which today passes from Dubai, through Saudi Arabia, to Jordan. It can be connected to Israel with minimal investment and low costs. I believe our friends in Dubai can help promote it."

Gabbay added that the joint business that can grow stems, among other things, from the business culture in the country. "One of the opportunities we have identified is that in Dubai the people are very focused on doing business," Gabbay said. "People in Dubai are constantly pushing forward and that makes the city smarter. We believe that together with businessmen in Dubai, who are very advanced in the fields of technology in general and IoT in particular, it is possible to bring solutions to countries in the UAE."