The United Arab Emirates Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (UAE TRA) has co-ordinated the second phase of the Sada Al Barq exercise at its headquarters in Dubai. The exercise aims to reassess the current National Emergency Plan (NEP-T) in place for the UAE's telecommunications sector and to update procedures to ensure maximum effectiveness in times of emergency and crisis.
The UAE regulator has also focused on establishing the lines of responsibility and increasing levels of co-ordination between federal and local institutions.
"The safety and security of UAE telecommunications is a national priority. In order to safeguard telecommunications sector and its critical infrastructure, the TRA issued the National Emergency Plan in 2011. The plan informs strategy and contains an integrated action plan that outlines procedure behind a co-ordinated response in the event of a national emergency," said HE Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA director general
He noted that "the Sada Al Barq exercise is essential as it enables us to comprehensively review emergency procedure, assess the readiness of concerned parties, identify any weaknesses and ultimately, investigate ways we can improve the plan by leveraging international best practice".
The first Sada Al Barq took place on 25 June 2013. This year's exercise agenda focused on how to respond to sabotage attempts as well as discussing how to roll out procedures to ensure business continuity and the restoration of public services, should they be affected.
