The project, dubbed “5G-A Country”, seeks to accelerate the digital transformation of the Arab country
MWC Barcelona–Chinese vendor Huawei and Emirati-based telco du signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The project, dubbed “5G-A Country”, seeks to accelerate the digital transformation of the Arab country, according to Huawei.
Under the strategic cooperation, announced during Mobile World Congress 2024 taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain, the two parties will work together to build a 5G-A experience network with full city-level coverage in Dubai based on the 5G-A commercial network in Dubai’s core CBD area and build the UAE’s “5G-A Country”.
Huawei and du will also establish a 5G-A joint innovation center to realize 5G-A technology innovation and expand the commercialization of new services for consumers, homes and enterprises, and accelerate the incubation of 24K XR, FWA, holographic conferences and enhanced 5G private networks, among others.
Fahad AI Hassawi, CEO of du, said: “This cooperation with Huawei is a key milestone for the commercialization of du’s 5G-A network. Huawei’s technologies will support the realization of du’s strategic vision, play an important role in 5G-Advanced business innovation and industry digitization and jointly accelerate and deepen digital transformation in the UAE.”
Liu Jiawei, chairman of Huawei UAE, said: “With the 5G-Advanced network, innovative applications such as 24K AR&VR, 1Gbps FWA services, passive IoT and enhanced 5G private networks will become a reality. We believe that the signing of this memorandum will accelerate the implementation of 5G-Advanced technology and commercial application incubation, and strengthen our strategic partnership with du.”
In March 2023, both entities signed a MoU centered on 5G-A technological innovation, application exploration and ecosystem development. The two companies partnered to cover the entire area with advanced Fixed Wireless Access technology.
In October 2023, du had launched a 5G-A, or “5.5G” villa in Dubai in partnership with Huawei, where the two companies showcased some of the benefits of this technology.
The new offering, supported by Huawei’s latest 5G-Advanced FWA technology, will enable residents in the villa, located in Jumeirah Islands, to immerse themselves into naked-eye 3D videos, 8K UHD streaming and XR games, the partners said. These services are currently enabled by du’s “5.5G” Experience Carrier, providing subscribers with real-time peak speeds of 10 Gbps.
During a keynote session at the Huawei’s 14th Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) held last October in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Karim Benkirane, chief commercial officer at du noted that “5.5G” networks will help carriers overcome challenges that exist in deployment of fixed wireless access.