Maldives—Transformation from Honeymoon Destination to Global Smart Nation

I have been visiting Maldives for a number of years, and although it is insanely beautiful, the country has been witnessing a transformation over the last few years. Calix in conjunction with Housing Development Corporation (HDC), recently announced the launch of Asia’s first 100% Gigabit Smart City in Hulhumalé. President Abdulla Yameen ordained it the “Youth City”, and it’s been part of his long-term vision to transform the country with major infrastructure projects including;

• Sinamale bridge—the country’s first bridge inaugurated last week connecting the capital city of Male, with the new master planned urban development community Hulhumalé;
• The new Velana International Airport expansion; and
• The announcement of Phase 2, that extends Smart City services to the Youth City of Hulhumalé that is projected to have a population of 240,000 residents (a third of the current population of Maldives).

The Honorable Mohammed Saeed, Minister of Economic Development, recently stated that the Maldives has the fastest growing infrastructure in Asia, and the number of cranes that dot the skyline is a testament to the extensive development happening across the 1200 islands that make up the vast atolls of the Maldives.

Traditionally, visitors to the Maldives have been honeymooners and those attracted to the turquoise waters, stunning coral, and abundant marine life. Maldives economy reflects this with tourism, fishing, and associated industries making up the majority of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. However, even tourism is transforming in the Maldives, and it is beginning to be a hub for millennials due to new integrated leisure and entertainment resorts. The new multi-use Crossroads Project developed by Singha Estates is one example of a next generation hospitality, leisure and retail destination, currently under deployment that is utilizing Calix hospitality broadband solutions. Projects like this demonstrate how resorts have been transforming themselves to cater to more digital-savvy connected guests wanting not only premium spas, beach, and resort facilities, but also best in class Wi-Fi, Internet, and IPTV services.

Maldives has always been a magnet for hospitality tech. The resorts have a level of luxury, automation and guest experience that few international resorts have elsewhere. Despite the remoteness of these resorts, the requirements for satellite or microwave connectivity, and the needs of power generation, it has been amazing to see how advanced they are in new technology adoption, in room controls, and guest automation. Some of the first deployments of the Calix 802.11ac GigaCenter Wi-Fi were in these resorts, as the resort owners realized a very quick ROI, based upon the best guest Wi-Fi experience.

This technology uptake in hospitality solutions, is a great opportunity for Hulhumalé to capitalize upon as it begins creating the economic zones for investment that will attract these global tech companies to its shores to spur local development, testing and integration.