The telecommunications industry is at a crossroads, with strategic opportunities ready to reshape how operators generate revenue and compete. From network APIs, to GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), to moving networks to the public cloud, telcos are weighing big bets that require capital and focus. The real challenge isn’t identifying opportunities—it’s knowing which ones to pursue and which to walk away from.
In this episode, I’m talking with Harrison Lung, group chief strategy officer at e& (formerly Etisalat). We’re going to dive into e&’s four strategic pillars, Harrison’s take on the big strategy ideas in our industry, and how the operator is applying AI behind the scenes.
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Harrison Lung is the group chief strategy officer at e&. He was appointed in May 2023 and oversees corporate strategy and planning, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital, Group transformation, ESG and sustainability. With over two decades of experience in the telecom and technology sectors, Harrison is directly collaborating with e&’s management team and board of directors to develop the overall business strategy, set the direction of the Group and develop plans to achieve e&’s business objectives.
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e&’s 4D strategic framework guides its evolution from regional telecom to global technology company through four key pillars. First, “double down on core” maintains its telecom heritage and expertise. Second, “diversify the portfolio” expands into technology assets like STARZPLAY, Careem, and e& money, plus geographic expansion into Eastern Europe. Third, “digitize and transform operations” enhances customer experience using AI and automation for straight-through processing. Fourth, “deliver sustainably” encompasses environmental net-zero commitments, bridging the digital divide, ensuring financial inclusion, and strengthening people and culture across their ecosystem. Check out Harrison Lung’s 2024 year-end wrap up of e&’s transformative progress.
Harrison views network APIs as a genuine opportunity, particularly through industry collaboration. e& joined 14-15 leading operators and Ericsson to form Aduna Global, a joint venture enabling third-party customers like McDonald’s or MasterCard to access telecom network capabilities through one interface. The key is establishing common protocols through initiatives like GSMA Open Gateway and CAMARA, ensuring proper pricing and regulatory frameworks across different geographies. Unlike traditional players like Vonage or Twilio, this operator-led collaboration creates a one-stop shop for global enterprises to seamlessly interface with multiple telecom networks.
e& deploys AI invisibly throughout its network and services to enhance customer experience. On the telecom side, AI is embedded in the network to screen and filter spam SMS messages, phishing attempts, and fraudulent calls with reinforcing feedback loops—customers simply notice fewer unwanted contacts. Within the Careem super app, AI optimizes food delivery by dynamically adjusting areas for delivery personnel based on demand patterns, restaurant popularity, and order history. This ensures food arrives hot within 20-30 minutes while also providing restaurants with demand insights for better ingredient and staffing planning.
Harrison Lung emphasizes that strategic discipline lies in knowing what to say no to, not just what to pursue. With capital allocation decisions around opportunities like GPU-as-a-Service or AI-RAN requiring significant investment, companies must work with management teams, finance, and boards to determine whether to build, buy, partner, or defend. He stresses that linking the big picture strategy to the execution engine is critical, especially for publicly traded companies focused on shareholder value. Operating discipline means making focused bets where the entire leadership team rows together in one direction, rather than spreading resources across too many initiatives.
In the takeaway segment of this episode, Danielle Rios breaks down each of these three opportunities distinctly. For network APIs, she argues the real challenge isn’t the APIs themselves but building developer communities—Twilio has 10 million developers, so telcos must focus on building developer relationships to monetize network APIs. For GPU-as-a-Service and AI-RAN, she believes telcos lack the energy capacity and executional capability to scale effectively—telcos can’t simply buy GPUs and expect revenue. However, moving networks to the public cloud is a clear “do it” recommendation, as underscored by successes from Telefónica Germany, DISH, and Ericsson’s new 5G SaaS cloud-native core. Is your telco ready to drive strategic success? Check out these blogs from Danielle Rios for tips: So, you want to be a tech-co? and Telco’s shift to the public cloud gets real.
e& launched a comprehensive transformation starting in 2021-2022 with three major changes. First, it rebranded from Etisalat (meaning “communications” in Arabic) to e& to maintain heritage while supporting global expansion beyond Arabic-speaking regions and into services beyond communications. Second, it restructured into a group-holding structure with distinct operating units: UAE Telecom (home market), international operations across 19 countries, e& enterprise (B2B technology solutions), and e& life (digital consumer services). Third, it staffed each vertical with specialized leaders suited to different strategic needs, positioning the company to execute its eight-year plan.
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