Abstract
Dubai Wi-Fi is an important project expected to improve the quality of communication within the Dubai setting significantly and make the city particularly attractive for tourists and visitors. While, at present, Wi-Fi connection is present in several areas, the quality and security thereof is poor, which calls for an existing WLAN system redesign.
The project is aimed at installing Wi-Fi devices in the public areas of the city, including beaches, restaurants and cafes, libraries, parks, and other public areas. Thus, one will be able to meet the need of modern citizens and tourists, who demand Internet connection of high quality for numerous purposes, including communication, ordering services, and other needs.
Therefore, the project aimed at changing the quality of connection in public places is bound to have a positive effect on the quality of customers’ lives. The project also implies outlining a total of 50 steps for implementing the selected goals and building a strong WLAN within the city.
Objective
Dubai Wi-Fi is, perhaps, one of the most ambitious projects of the year. It encapsulates the key ambitions of contemporary society by supplying people with the tools for instant and effective communication. The project is aimed at delivering network services of the finest quality to all possible public areas of Dubai, thus making people’s access to Wi-Fi services immediate and uninhibited (Willis, 2015; Spacey, Muir, Cooke, Creaser, & Spezi, 2017).
Although the project is quite ambitious, its feasibility is quite evident once the risks associated with its accomplishment are analyzed. With the support of Du and Etisalat as the local network providers and the use of routers such as Cisco, it will become possible to instigate massive change in the Dubai social and technological environment by enhancing the communication process and making Internet connection available instantly.
Given the general goal of the project, the associated objectives include locating the public places where Wi-Fi connection will be provided and locating the activities for the feasibility study that will prove the potential of the project and its significance, including business-related and social prospects. The latter include defining a total of 50 activities associated with the project and linked directly to the introduction of Wi-Fi services to the Dubai public setting. Furthermore, possible areas for further improvements have to be identified in order to maintain the continuity of services and ensure that the target population remains satisfied.
Consumer Need
The significance of the constant, high-quality Internet connection in public places has grown over the years, with more people demanding Wi-Fi services in large cities. In fact, most companies operating in public service areas, such as shops, cafes, and similar organizations, understand the importance of the Internet connection and tend to offer free Wi-Fi to their customers (Kunachagaran, Govindaraju, Ramakrishnan, & Hishan, 2017).
Therefore, the consumer need for Wi-Fi has increased systematically. According to a recent report, there have been significant problems with delivering the required services to Dubai residents (Sohall, 2018; “Use free Wi-Fi in the UAE? Here’s a warning,” 2018). Specifically, the 2018 announcement made by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Dubai warned citizens that they will be exposed to data theft when using public Wi-Fi: “When using your devices in public areas, do not leave your data visible to those around you,” the TRA said on Twitter. “While you are in public areas, beware of your personal information” (Maceda, 2018, para. 5).
Therefore, while a large number of Dubai residents need the Internet connection to maintain the quality of their communication high, people also need enhanced security of their information, which defines the current attitudes toward publically available Wi-Fi in Dubai. Although being rather optimistic about the opportunities of receiving Internet services, the general audience remains cautious about the effects that the specified services will have on their safety and the security of their data.
Statement of Work (SOW)
In the course of the project, Wi-Fi services will be provided to key Dubai public locations, including cafes, public libraries, parks, and other areas where people may need the Internet connection. A multidisciplinary team involving connection providers, technical assistants, marketers, and suppliers will be included in the project (Vidal, 2018; Phillips, 2018). Thus, the goal of the project will be to create premises for making Wi-Fi connection in Dubai public places ubiquitous and readily available to all people, including citizens and visitors.
The scope of the work included identifying key public places where the Wi-Fi connection has to be provided, locating the types of activities that will need to be performed in the designated settings, and determining the strategies for implementing the project successfully. Specifically, an in-depth risk management framework had to be designed for the project to reduce the threat of failure.
To complete the project, several milestones will be identified. These included the design of a coherent plan, the creation of a multidisciplinary team, the collaboration with Etisalat, Du, and Cisco, and the identification of the public places that required installing Wi-Fi tools (Cisco, 2015). Furthermore, 50 activities will be determined prior to the implementation of the project as the steps that needed to be accomplished.
Company Background
The organizations selected for collaboration and the accomplishment of the project will be admittedly large and well-known, which implied both higher security rates and the emergence of new risks. Etisalat is a UAE telecommunication corporation that ahs established a large presence in the UAE market, thus cementing itself as tone of the largest Internet hubs in the Middle East (Etisalat, n.d.). Therefore, collaborating with Etisalat will be the first step toward ensuring the quality of connection and the efficacy of the provided services.
In addition, using Etisalat services implied enhancing the security of users’ personal data since the organization will be known for its security enhancement strategies: “Our approach comprises of four pillars: assessing and defining your security requirements, predicting risks specific to your organization, preventing and detecting attacks with minimum business disruption and quickly responding to incidents” (Etisalat, 2019, para. 1).
As Figure 1 shows, there is a vast range of public places that are frequented by large numbers of people in Dubai (“Interactive map of Dubai,” 2019). Most of these places are tourist attractions and beaches, although others include schools, universities, recreation areas, and other venues that need Internet connection for improved communication. Therefore, the support of a company as large as Etisalat is needed to ensure that Wi-Fi connection convers all of the requested areas.
Similarly, collaboration with Du as the second largest provider of the Internet connection in the UAE should be seen as a necessity (Smith, 2017). In addition, the project will need the support of local suppliers. Cisco should be considered a possible vendor for modems and Wi-Fi routers since it also has a rather impressive background as the organization that has established a presence in the UAE technological market (Smart Care Systems LLC, 2019).
Project Initiation
Project Charter
The rationale for the project is the necessity to meet the needs of numerous Dubai residents and tourists, who require Internet services in public places. While Wi-Fi opportunities exist in the Dubai public setting, they lack efficacy, are not very numerous, and could use an improvement in security levels.
Therefore, the current Wi-Fi project in the Dubai setting is likely to satisfy the needs of a vast number of tourists and local citizens (Caso & DeNardis, 2017). For this purpose, an array of job openings for experts assisting with the creation of Internet opportunities in the Dubai settings have to be created.
Thus, the objective of the project is to locate the areas in Dubai that require the introduction of Wi-Fi connection, determining the expert services that are needed to establish the proposed services in the target environment, and locate the activities that are to be performed in order to implement the project (Wang, Jiang, Han, Ren, & Hanzo, 2016).
By establishing the objectives and locating the key milestones, one can define the extent of success of the project (Arbia, Alam, Attia, & Hamida, 2015). Moreover, further opportunities for improving the current situation can be delineated. Therefore, the objectives of the project include determining the needs of target customers, which include citizens and tourists of Dubai, selecting the most frequented public places, and outlining at least 50 activities that lead to the successful introduction of Wi-Fi services to the Dubai urban environment.
It is expected that the project will lead to a rapid increase in the integration of Wi-Fi services into the Dubai public setting. Moreover, it is believed that the project will encourage the economic growth within the city due to the creation of new job openings and the rise in the quality of Internet services, which will attract tourists and impress local residents.
However, to implement the project, one will need several essential conditions, the need for managing risks being the key one. A comprehensive risk management framework for addressing possible issues should be designed. Furthermore, a strategy for reducing costs will have to be designed. Finally, the support of local suppliers, Internet providers, and authorities is critical to the efficiency of the project.
Project’s Request for Proposal (RPF)
As stressed above, the goal of the project is to improve the quality of Wi-Fi services in the Dubai setting to meet the needs of its citizens and attract tourists. Therefore, areas of Wi-Fi services location and possible tasks that will need to be accomplished have to be outlined. Afterward, Wi-Fi services need to be established in the selected locations with the help of Internet providers such as Etisalat and suppliers such as Cisco.
The key customer requirements include high speed and consistency of connection and the availability of Wi-Fi services. While being rather basic, the specified requirements may take time to deliver due to the need to embrace a vast range of areas and ensure that the key tasks are accomplished respectively. Thus, it will be critical to determine key tasks and create jobs for managing these assignments within a short time limit. Moderate to high quality, at least 60 Mbps connection, and presence of Wi-Fi at key public locations such as shopping malls, cafes, beaches, parks, and libraries are the key deliverables that customers expect (Khan et al., 2016).
To accomplish the specified tasks, the approvals of the local authorities including the mayor, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, and the Dubai Health Authority are needed (International Telecommunications Union, 2017). The type of contrast on which the specified project is based implies that the payment should be provided on a monthly basis (Towey, 2017). It is expected that the process of locating the key areas in Dubai where Wi-Fi services will be provided and selecting the types of jobs and tasks that will have to be accomplished within the designated area will take a total of approximately two weeks.
The introduction of Wi-Fi services, in turn, will take around a month given the need to consider all possible risks and ensure that the equipment works properly. The evaluation criteria includes the quality and speed of connection and the area that will be embraced (National Institute of Standards of Technology, n.d.). The available funds include state resources and, possibly, investments from the concerned organizations. At present, the budget of the project is $10,000,000.
Project Proposal
It is believed that 50 following activities should be performed in the course of the project. As shown in Table 1, the key activities are associated with five primary goals, which include the study of target audience’s needs, the creation of jobs, the installation of the necessary equipment, the testing process, and the further maintenance (Hanes, Salgueiro, Grossetete, Barton, & Henry, 2017).
However, other issues such as the necessity to maintain communication with the target audience and the avoidance of the existing risks should also be integrated into the framework as critical stages of implementing the project. As long as all issues associated with the provision of Wi-Fi to the residents of Dubai are addressed, one will be able to create a setting in which online communication will remain uninhibited and effective (Güngör & Gözlü, 2017).
Table 1. Key Activities for the Project: A Work Breakdown Structure.
As the table provided above shows, the project will need a thorough and well thought-out management framework so that the introduction of Wi-Fi services into the Dubai public places could be performed impeccably.
Project Planning
Project Schedule
Ensuring that each of the required activities are performed at the required point in time and without major delays is critical to the successful performance. The issue will be especially critical for implementing the Dubai Wi-Fi project since it will be necessary to make the transition to Wi-Fi communication as seamless as possible. Therefore, each stage of the project had a set deadline that had to be met properly.
The phenomenon of scheduling is typically regarded as one of the critical aspects of any project for understandable reasons. Failing deadlines will entail a drop in the levels of customer satisfaction and the delivery of low-quality services. In order to maintain the consistency of scheduling, it will be decided to utilize the forward planning technique (Lester, 2017). The proposed approach will allow making realistic assumptions. As Table 2 shows, the current schedule of the project is rather tight, which is justified by the need to introduce Wi-Fi services into the Dubai setting within the shortest amount of time possible to meet the current demand.
Table 2. Project schedule.
Resources
In order to implement the Dubai Wi-Fi project, one will need to utilize a vast range of resources that range from financial ones to supplies and equipment for introducing the required services to the target population. The problem of using the available human resources adequately is another area for concern.
Due to the restricted number of financial resources that can be used to implement the project, it will be necessary to restrict the number of costs for human resource management (HRM). For this purpose, one will need to consider the strategy of outsourcing (Binder, 2016). Thus, the project will benefit financially, with a larger amount of money being saved for unexpected expenses.
Furthermore, one should consider using tradeoffs as the means of addressing the constraints of the time-cost-performance triangle. While the issue of costs can be coordinated by introducing the principles of sustainable management of available resources, reducing the time required for accomplishing the key goals (Niazi et al., 2016). For this reason, the principle of a tradeoff will be included in this project.
Costs
Table 3. Project costs.
As Table 3 shows, the project is likely to sustain a significant number of costs. The expenses that will be involved in the implementation are linked mostly to the management of quality and the focus on the consistency of services. In addition, the salaries of the staff will take a large portion of the total expenses (Heinze, 2017). However, it is expected that, by negotiating with Etisalat and Cisco, one will be able to obtain certain discounts to reduce the number of expenses.
Risks and Risk Management
As stressed above, there is a range of risks associated with the project, the threat of increasing costs being the key one. In addition, there is a probability of failing to meet the security standards demanded by the target population. The risks linked to the quality control should be seen as the priority at present since the use of appropriate technology will define the efficacy of Wi-Fi connection and, therefore, the satisfaction of the target population (Allen & Loyear, 2017).
Thus, the enhancement of quality control will serve as the primary risk management approach (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). Risk avoidance will be used as the key tool in addressing possible issues, with a sizeable amount of financial resources to cover possible losses and address the development of potential threats (Hillson, 2016).
Project Implementation
The project will be executed based on the standards outlined above. With the focus on the consistency of service quality and the promotion of the integration of the appropriate equipment, one will be able to ensure the consistency of Wi-Fi connection and the satisfaction of the target population (Bissonette, 2016). Once the project is introduced to the Dubai public setting, improved communication will attract a vast number of tourists and cause a rapid improvement of the state economic growth.
Project Costing
Project Quality
In order to maintain the quality of the project consistently high, one will need to deploy numerous audits. Using audits as the means of verifying compliance with the project guidelines and following the set standards will be critical for the integration of Wi-Fi services into Dubai public spaces (Gaynor, Kelton, Mercer, & Yohn, 2016). Due to the necessity to control numerous spots of Wi-F connection, one will need to establish a rigid strategy for troubleshooting Wi-Fi connection issues or any other problems that may hamper the provision of high-quality services (Nandakumar, Velmurugan, Preetha, & Kumar, 2016).
Audits
Since there is a range of threats to which a WLAN may be exposed, it will be necessary to deploy a comprehensive tool that will allow embracing every aspect of Wi-Fi functioning. Specifically, the threats of not only passive and active attacks on the WLAN but also the possibility of a Rogue AP will need to be prevented.
Therefore, the solutions such as WEP key management strategies, the use of the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), and the adoption of the Message Integrity Checking (MIC) will need to be incorporated into the audit process (Bodhe, Masuti, & Umesh, 2016). The proposed tools will enable one to address emergency issues and check the progress of the project.
Acceptance
The key project acceptance criteria include the quality of connection, the speed thereof, and the availability of Wi-Fi zones in public areas. Therefore, the outcomes of the Dubai Wi-Fi project will be evaluated based on the specified criteria. It is expected that the introduction of the described services into the Dubai setting will lead to a rise in the quality of communication (Hornstein, 2015).
Payments
The task of paying the expenses associated with the implementation of the project will be accomplished by creating an elaborate contrast in which the details concerning the provision of salaries will be described. To document the payments that will be provided after the project is over, one will need to design the executed payment application, where key details regarding the salaries for the participants involved, benefits, and the related issues will be discussed (Blinder, 2016). The contract will incorporate a 60-day payment cycle.
However, there is also an option that involves offering certified payrolls to the participants. The suggested method of paying to the participants involved will require a more elaborate allocation of the available resources, yet it will also help to make the management of financial issues more flexible (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). Therefore, the specified method of payment to the personnel to be hired for completing the Dubai Wi-Fi project should also be considered as a possible option.
Finally, the use of electronic billing may be considered as a possibility. The application of the software for performing electronic billing is expected to make the process of paying the participants much easier, yet it will also imply reducing the time taken for performing the necessary financial operations (Turner, 2017). Thus, the proposed technique may also be used during the project to manage the payment process.
Conclusions and Lessons Learned
Critical Analysis
The creation of the Dubai Wi-Fi project and the design of the strategies for its implementation have offered a range of important lessons concerning project management. Designing the project has turned out to be an insightful process that has showcased the necessity to plan every aspect of an ostensible improvement carefully. Furthermore, it became evident during the design of the project that risk management involves addressing not only financial concerns but also technological, economic, environmental, and legal concerns.
Feedback
The project exemplifies the challenges associated with the modernization of an urban setting. While technological progress dictates the need to introduce enhanced opportunities for communication, the associated risks may imply significant difficulties and, therefore, cause delays in the implementation of a project. Thus, creating a coherent framework for handling time constraints and controlling the quality of a project are crucial for the successful management thereof.
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