The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has granted Starlink Satellite Communications LLC a 10-year General Space Services License, authorising the company to establish, operate and manage a public satellite communications network and provide broadband satellite internet services in the UAE.

The license marks an important milestone in the UAE’s regulatory framework for satellite communications, adding a space-based layer to the country’s digital infrastructure and complementing existing terrestrial fibre-optic and 5G networks, a WAM report said.

The move is expected to diversify internet access options, enhance the resilience and continuity of the national network, and support critical sectors including maritime and aviation transport, energy, logistics and emergency response.

License opens services to businesses and government

The license reflects TDRA’s flexible and forward-looking approach to regulation, supporting the adoption of emerging technologies while expanding connectivity choices and promoting competition.

Read more: Starlink rolls out satellite internet offering in UAE with plans from Dhs230

Its scope extends beyond individual consumers to businesses and government entities, as well as satellite connectivity services for the maritime and aviation sectors, in accordance with the UAE’s approved regulatory and technical frameworks.

Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, director-general of TDRA, said, “This license represents a significant addition to the UAE’s telecommunications sector and reflects the country’s commitment to adopting advanced technologies and fostering a flexible regulatory environment that supports innovation and investment.”

“The introduction of advanced satellite internet services will expand connectivity options, enhance network resilience and business continuity, and support the UAE’s ambition to strengthen its position as a regional and global hub for telecommunications and the digital economy,” he added.

Al Mesmar said TDRA remains committed to ensuring that emerging technologies deliver tangible benefits to customers while supporting service quality and sector competitiveness.

Security and consumer protection remain key

The licensed services will remain subject to the UAE’s approved regulatory and technical frameworks, including requirements covering security, information infrastructure protection, service quality, reliability and continuity, consumer rights and data privacy.

The license is also subject to spectrum-use regulations and technical coordination with relevant authorities.

TDRA said these requirements are an essential part of licensing decisions of this nature. Its regulatory approach aims to balance access to advanced technologies with a robust framework that safeguards network security, consumer rights and the continuity of telecommunications services.

The license is expected to support the UAE’s digital transformation, strengthen connectivity solutions for vital sectors and areas requiring additional options, and enhance the country’s readiness to respond to emergencies and crises in line with its national strategies.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will open a 5-kilometre expansion of Emirates Road on August 30, adding two new lanes for traffic travelling from Sharjah towards Wadi Al Amardi Area.

The improvement is part of RTA’s ongoing efforts to enhance Dubai’s road network and improve its operational efficiency through long-term traffic solutions designed to support smoother mobility between Dubai and the Northern Emirates, a WAM report said.

Read more: Back-to-school traffic in Dubai: RTA completes major road upgrades at six locations

The project reflects RTA’s strategic vision of developing Dubai’s key road corridors through proactive planning informed by traffic studies and aligned with population and urban growth.

Capacity to rise to 16,000 vehicles an hour

The expansion aims to improve road network efficiency and provide a safe and sustainable mobility system that keeps pace with the continued increase in daily travel between Sharjah and Dubai, while also meeting future growth requirements.

As part of the traffic solutions on Emirates Road, the number of lanes will increase from six to eight, raising the road’s capacity from 12,000 to 16,000 vehicles per hour.

The expansion is expected to enhance traffic capacity and efficiency while reducing journey times by up to 25% during peak hours, giving road users a smoother and more efficient travel experience.

Key corridor linking Dubai and Northern Emirates

Emirates Road is one of the UAE’s key strategic traffic corridors, linking Dubai with the Northern Emirates and carrying high volumes of private vehicles and trucks.

The road serves more than 240,000 vehicles daily in both directions and connects Dubai with several major roads, residential communities, and industrial and logistics areas. This makes it a vital artery supporting mobility and economic activity across the emirates.

In recent years, Emirates Road has undergone several development projects and traffic improvements, including the opening of a new access point to Al Awir 1 and its connection to the road, traffic solutions at several locations along the corridor, improvements to entry and exit points, and enhanced connectivity with Al Amardi Street and surrounding development areas.

According to RTA, these improvements are designed to enhance quality of life while reinforcing Dubai’s position as a leader in delivering seamless and sustainable mobility.

Tetr College of Business has launched a one-year graduate programme that will take participants through Shanghai, London and Dubai while they develop and build their own business ventures.

The Graduate Program in Entrepreneurial Leadership (GPEL), whose inaugural cohort is scheduled to begin in March 2027, combines entrepreneurship and business education with venture building across the three cities.

Tetr said the programme has academic partnerships with Fudan University’s School of Management in Shanghai and Imperial College London, with participants receiving a certificate of completion co-signed by Fudan University and Imperial College London.

The programme is not a degree, according to Tetr’s website.

Participants will spend the first part of the programme in Shanghai, focusing on areas including product development, artificial intelligence, supply chains and venture building.

They will then move to London, where the programme will focus on areas including branding, finance, capital strategy and preparing businesses for international growth, before completing the programme in Dubai.

Tetr said the Dubai component would focus on helping participants access investors, establish partnerships and prepare their businesses for expansion.

The programme is aimed at prospective and early-stage founders, creators, early-career professionals and people preparing to take roles in family businesses.

“The world does not need more people who understand entrepreneurship in theory; it needs more people who can build, adapt and execute in rapidly changing environments,” said Tarun Gangwar, co-founder of Tetr College of Business.

“The ability to navigate uncertainty, respond to changing market realities and build across different contexts is increasingly what defines successful founders and these are the capabilities we hope to develop through this programme.”

The programme will also include industry immersions, cultural experiences and applied projects in each destination.

A “Founder Reboot” component will focus on resilience, decision-making and personal development, while what Tetr calls “Perspective Projects” will involve participants working with local communities and industries.

Fudan University was ranked 26th globally in the QS World University Rankings 2027, while Imperial College London was ranked joint second.

Tetr, founded in 2024, has built its business education model around students developing ventures while studying in different international markets.

The college raised $18m in a funding round co-led by education technology investor Owl Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments in November 2025, with the funding earmarked for international expansion and new programmes.

Tetr said ventures created by students across its existing programmes have generated more than $1m in combined revenue and raised more than $500,000 in funding. Those figures were provided by Tetr and could not be independently verified.

The college lists student-founded businesses including AI influencer marketing platform Fluma, software company BluSpru, pickleball equipment brand ServeClub and consumer hardware startup Meridian among ventures created through its programmes.

Applications for the first GPEL cohort are open, with the programme scheduled to begin in March 2027.

As the UAE positions human capability at the heart of its next phase of growth, the workplace is emerging as unlikely economic infrastructure. At the centre of that shift is the Parent-friendly Label, a voluntary recognition programme launched by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) in 2021, which rewards organisations that go beyond legal compliance to genuinely support working parents. With government entities now joining in its fourth cycle and 2026 declared the Year of the Family, the initiative has moved from the margins of HR policy to a national workforce strategy.

Fatmah Alkaabi, advisor at the ECA’s Director-General’s Office, explains why the UAE chose to raise the ceiling rather than legislate the floor — and why organisations that invest in their people early will outperform those that wait for regulation to catch up.

What is the ‘Parent-friendly Label’ and why did the UAE launch a voluntary programme instead of regulating parent-friendly workplaces?

The Parent-friendly Label is a UAE-wide voluntary workplace recognition programme launched in 2021 by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA). It recognises organisations across the private, government, semi-government, and third sectors that go beyond legal compliance to create genuinely supportive environments for working parents.

ECA oversees the entire early childhood development sector, from birth to age eight. Within that mandate, we play five roles: policy influencer, knowledge hub, enabler, incubator, and impact navigator.

The Parent-friendly Label sits at the intersection of all five. It is not a standalone HR badge. It is a workforce strategy grounded in evidence, validated by UNICEF Gulf, and built through analysis of global research from institutions like the OECD and ILO.

The criteria are rigorous: 19 standards across five categories: parental leave, flexible work, family care, family wellbeing, and culture.

Assessment combines a detailed online application with an independent employee survey, reviewed by a third-party evaluation firm and an independent judging panel of senior UAE public-sector stakeholders. This ensures credibility without bureaucracy.

We chose a voluntary model because sustainable workplace culture cannot be legislated into existence. Regulation sets a floor; the Label raises the ceiling. It gives organisations a clear, research-backed framework to move from intent to implementation, while preserving the flexibility to adapt policies to their own workforce. The result is ownership, not compliance.

How does the label help organisations turn family support from a cost centre into a workforce stability strategy?

The label reframes family support as a workforce investment by giving organisations a measurable, evidence-based path from intent to implementation.

Retention is the clearest return. In the UAE, replacing a mid-career employee costs 50 per cent to 200 per cent of annual salary. Organisations with strong parental support see lower turnover and more resilient talent pipelines, which contribute to operational savings. The 57 per cent participation jump in the last cycle of PFL confirms that industry leaders see the program as an investment, not an expense.

The program moves organisations beyond ad-hoc perks toward integrated policies embedded in culture and monitored for impact. Policies such as six months’ parental leave, dedicated support for parents of Children of Determination, return-to-work programs, and nursing facilities are structural enablers that strengthen both workforce stability and long‑term performance.

The framework ensures continuous improvement, not one-off recognition. Every applicant receives a customised feedback report with actionable recommendations. Label earners join the PFL Connect Community for cross-sector knowledge sharing. The goal is sustained progress, not a plaque on the wall.

Is parent-friendly policy adoption in the UAE a genuine cultural shift, or still largely a compliance exercise?

It is a cultural shift, but only where leadership treats it as one. The data from the PFL Impact Report, Thriving Through Talent: How Parent-Friendly Policies Drive Balance, Growth, and Global Competitiveness, which captured insights from more than 11,000 employees across 83 organisations in the last cycle, reflects this clearly. Seventy-one per cent of employees reported improved daily productivity as a result of parent-friendly policies. 68 per cent said these policies influenced their decision to extend their job tenure by at least 2 years, while 77 per cent would recommend their employer as a parent-friendly workplace. These are not compliance metrics.

They are indicators of whether employees feel genuinely supported or simply accommodated.

The demographic signals reinforce this shift. 88 per cent of mothers felt supported to take their full maternity leave, while 65 per cent said flexible arrangements and nursing breaks made returning to work easier. Among fathers, 74 per cent said their managers actively encouraged paternity leave, a meaningful sign that shared caregiving is becoming more normalised.

Among the employees surveyed, 73 per cent also viewed the UAE as a parent-friendly place to work, showing how workplace culture can strengthen both employer reputation and the UAE’s competitiveness as a destination for talent.

What separates organisations that move the needle from those that don’t?

Accountability. The label assesses not just what policies exist, but how employees experience them. The mandatory Parent-friendly Experience Survey conducted by an independent third party captures whether employees understand their options, feel comfortable exercising them, and believe their managers apply support consistently.

Organisations that excel in survey outcomes share three traits. First, leadership visibly champions the agenda through structured manager training and regular policy review. Second, they measure and act on employee feedback, using data to refine support rather than simply report it. Third, they recognise that parent-friendly practices are workforce practices, not HR initiatives. They tie flexibility to career progression, ensure job evaluations account for flexible working arrangements, and protect employee benefits and roles during parental leave. These elements close the gap between policy intent and lived reality, and that level of accountability is what truly drives impact.

In Cycle 4, government entities are joining the label. How does it change the competitive landscape for private organisations?

The UAE treats family support as national infrastructure. The UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has consistently reaffirmed the country’s commitment to family stability and cohesion, and the declaration of 2026 as the Year of the Family reinforces that at the highest level. National frameworks such as The National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 and We the UAE 2031 place strong families, healthy childhoods, and human capability at the centre of long‑term progress.

The Parent‑friendly Label program sits within that ecosystem, a mechanism designed to embed positive institutional culture across organisations, especially those that drive economic growth. In simple terms: organisations safeguard the economy, and we safeguard their people.

With government entities entering the pilot phase in Cycle 4, a new baseline for the entire labour market is being set. It signals that parent‑friendly practices are no longer optional differentiators; they are gradually becoming an expected standard for operating in a future‑ready UAE. The country is transitioning from a growth model built on capital and infrastructure to one built on human capability. In that shift, the organisation, be it public or private, that invests in its people early and consistently will outperform those that do not.

The UAE has declared 2026 the Year of the Family. For an organisation still on the fence, what’s the business case for acting now rather than waiting for regulation to catch up?

We encourage organisations to act now, because when regulation eventually follows, the talent you want will have already committed to those who led first.

The UAE’s future development model is explicit: every system, from the workplace to the community, should be intentionally designed around the wellbeing of children and families from the very beginning of life. The Year of the Family is not a commemoration. It is a policy accelerant. Organisations that align now will be positioned as partners in national progress, not followers of mandates.

The economic case around this is already clear. The PFL programme has benefited over 163,000 employees in the UAE, with more than one million employees globally positively affected through international organisations operating here.

Cycle 3 data shows that 68% of employees say parent-friendly support influences their decision to stay beyond two years. In a market where nearly 90 per cent of UAE-based employees prefer hybrid or fully remote work arrangements, organisations that delay are not maintaining neutrality; they are actively ceding ground to competitors who have already moved.

The Parent-friendly Label offers a structured, low-risk entry point. The application process is designed to support improvement, not just reward perfection. Every applicant receives detailed feedback. The two-year Label validity includes a 12-month check-in with assessors to guide continuous progress. The PFL Connect Community provides peer learning from organisations that have already navigated the same challenges.

Waiting for regulation is a reactive posture. The organisations that will define the UAE’s next decade are those that recognise family support as a strategic economic lever now — supporting retention, productivity, female workforce participation, and employer competitiveness.

Read: Emirati women hold Dhs39bn in shares on ADX

The UAE’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 sets out a clear ambition: to become a global leader in AI, driving economic growth across priority sectors while building the data, talent, and infrastructure to sustain it. Alongside the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategy, this forms a single journey: the infrastructure choices that help organisations scale AI while supporting their sustainability goals.

Our approach at Amazon Web Services (AWS) is provide customers the abilility to drive both outcomes together. Whether it is to scale generative AI, run large-scale analytics, or train machine learning models, the same architectural choices that improve performance are those that improve efficiency.

Efficient Architecture, National-Scale Impact

Optimising an organisation’s digital estate for efficiency simultaneously reduces its environmental footprint too. Cloud-native architecture allows for capacity to scale automatically matching real-time demand, so organisations consume energy only when their systems are actively processing work.

Building efficient cloud workloads becomes easier with the sustainability pillar of the AWS Well-Architected Framework. It focuses on minimising environmental impact through energy consumption and efficiency, providing organisations with a structured process to right-size resources, modernise workloads, and refine their architecture.

AWS Graviton: Powering Sustainable Compute, Chip by Chip

AWS has taken this principle a step further by embedding it directly into silicon. AWS has invested up to AED 20.1 billion in its UAE cloud region, an investment expected to contribute AED 41 billion to the UAE economy by 2037, supporting the infrastructure and talent goals set out in the National AI Strategy. Central to that infrastructure is AWS Graviton, AWS’s custom-built processor for general cloud workloads. Over 120,000 AWS customers have reaped the benefits of Graviton, with many completing their adoptions in just hours.

Careem, the region’s Everything App, adopted AWS Graviton-based instances to power its cloud workloads, achieving up to 40 per cent better price performance and up to 60 per cent lower energy consumption for the same performance compared to x86-based instances. This let Careem scale its services across millions of users while cutting its operational carbon footprint, showing that growth and sustainability can move forward together.

Amazon Redshift: Turning Data into Insights

Data is the foundation of the UAE National AI Strategy’s ambitions, and how efficiently it is processed matters. Amazon Redshift, AWS’s data warehousing service, runs on AWS Graviton-powered instances delivering up to 2.2 times faster performance for data warehousing and up to 2.4 times faster performance for data lake workloads, at 30 per cent lower cost per compute unit than the previous generation. Redshift Serverless automatically scales compute up and down with demand, ensuring businesses use only the energy their workloads need.

Dubizzle Group is MENA’s largest Classifieds platform, serving over 20 million monthly users across dubizzle, Bayut, Property Monitor, and DriveArabia. Leveraging Amazon Redshift and Amazon Redshift Serverless to process 30 to 40 billion data records, the Group dynamically scales compute capacity based on demand, eliminating unnecessary always-on infrastructure and optimising energy consumption. This next-generation cloud architecture enables AI-powered personalisation and real-time insights at scale, advancing the UAE’s vision for sustainable digital innovation.

AWS Trainium: Accelerating AI Training, Sustainably

Training large AI models is one of the most computing-intensive tasks in modern technology, and one of the clearest areas where efficient hardware makes a measurable difference. AWS Trainium, AWS’s chip purpose-built for machine learning, uses approximately 25 per cent less total energy to train large AI models compared with equivalent accelerated cloud instances.

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of models, is applying this at scale. As AWS’s primary training and cloud provider, Anthropic has committed to securing up to 5 gigawatts of current and future generations of Trainium chips to train and power its advanced AI models – including through Project Rainier, one of the world’s largest AI compute clusters with nearly half a million Trainium2 chips. With over 100,000 customers running Claude models on Amazon Bedrock, this infrastructure enables organisations across the region and beyond to access frontier AI capabilities built on energy-efficient custom silicon, aligning performance at scale with more sustainable computing.

Why Efficiency Is a Business Decision

For leaders across the region, aligning IT strategy with national AI and sustainability goals is beyond an ESG reporting exercise. Every efficiency gained through better infrastructure decision making is a direct reduction in operating cost.

The UAE has a clear opportunity to demonstrate AI and sustainability leadership together. By building on custom silicon like AWS Graviton and Trainium, and cloud-native services like Amazon Redshift, organisations across the UAE are executing the National AI Strategy into measurable results.