During the first day of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit 2024, the panel entitled “World First 5G-Advanced Region Sets Sail,” will commence on stage. Representatives from leading carriers and vendors as well as governmental and non-profit industry organizations will convene to share their 5G-Advanced innovations, expand on the fast progress being made in business incubation, and offer insight into the increased commercialization of 5G-A in the Middle East.
5G-Advanced Success in 2024
Over the span of one year, the Middle East has made its mark in paving the way for the second phase of 5G technology. So far, 5G-Advanced has successfully enhanced wireless capabilities, expanded connections, and introduced game-changing services for different sets of customers.
5G-Advanced network features are driving the rapidly-growing category of differentiated connectivity use cases such as video calling, streaming, digital humans, AI assistants, and etc., which would impact the revenue generation potential for CSPs as they transition to performance-based business models.
In a wider context, bridging the digital gap demands improved networks that are enhanced by bandwidth and broader coverage, which is now available as a result of 5G-A. Moreover, compared to earlier network generations, 5G-A is more energy efficient and is poised to accelerate the step towards reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
In summary of the efforts made throughout 2024, here are some of the 5G-A industry’s greatest milestones and achievements:
- In line with the establishment of a 5G-Advanced country in the UAE, du has recently inaugurated its Innovation Center, setting to explore commercial opportunities in the 5G Advanced era including fixed wireless access (FWA), immersive XR, and B2B applications. Along with the plans to deploy thousands of 5G-A base stations, du has already made various 5G-A network milestones such as successfully boosting uplink (UL) performance by 70%; deploying a large-scale three carrier aggregation (3CC) in TDD Massive MIMO at its base station; and being the first to successfully deploy Huawei’s 5G LampSite X ‘Digital Indoor Solution’ using 3CC technology in the Middle East.
- TDRA UAE stated its intention to develop a national plan for the 5G-Advanced network and is committed to promoting the planning and allocation of abundant spectrum to further advance mobile network development.
- With 5G-Advanced’s ‘Above 10 Gbps’ application, RedCap, and passive IoT, stc Group is reshaping the landscapes of telecommunications, home entertainment, and supply chain management. The telco has successfully implemented and commercially introduced the latest 5G advanced solutions, covering four multiple layers of the NR (New Radio) network.
- e& UAE successfully aggregated multiple carriers across high-band and low-band over simplified architecture, achieving the fastest aggregated 5G-Advanced speed of 62 Gbps. This is done by utilizing cutting-edge hardware and sophisticated algorithms like MU-MIMO. Moreover, the introduction of L4S time-critical communication technology marks a significant milestone in e& UAE’s 5G-Advanced journey, as L4S is an essential network capability that can be used for differentiated connectivity.
- Ooredoo Oman’s successful 5G-Advanced tests positions the company at the forefront of telecom innovation, paving the way for a hyper-connected Oman. This year, it achieved a single-user peak rate of over 4.6 Gbps, setting a new record for the fastest network speed in Oman.
- Preparing for the 5G-Advanced era, Ooredoo Qatar is dedicated to empowering the future of connectivity in Qatar by upgrading the core networks to a next-generation, service-based architecture that enables ultra-high-speed, low-latency connections for advanced applications in industries such as healthcare, transportation, and fintech.
- Ooredoo Kuwait completed its 5G-Advanced mmWave technology testing in close collaboration with the Communication & Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA). Kuwait’s ICT authority also introduced new frequencies to prepare for 5G-Advanced network rollout in the country.
- Through 5G-Advanced, high-band network testing, Vodafone Qatar has successfully demonstrated peak speeds exceeding 10 Gbps due to the utilization of advanced technologies such as mmWave frequencies, Massive MIMO, beamforming, and advanced modulation techniques.
- The automated upgrade of Vodafone Oman’s core network applications and cloud infrastructure is paving the way for the deployment of the operator’s 5G standalone and 5G services for its consumer and enterprise customers.
5G-Advanced Leadership and Ambitions
On December 10, 2024, the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit will highlight the progress and success stories of 5G-A’s commercial deployment, focusing on large-scale network construction and user experience assurance.
Toni Eid, Founder of Telecom Review Group, will deliver the opening speech while Issam Eid, CMO Africa, Levant, KSA & Qatar, Telecom Review Group, will serve as the moderator of this exclusive 5G-Advanced panel.
The distinguished panelists include:
- Fayez Abu Awad, Policy Director, MENA, GSMA
- Khalid Al Awadi, Manager Broadcasting and Space Services, TDRA UAE
- Hicham Siblini, Chief Technology and Infrastructure Officer, Ooredoo Qatar
- Ramy Boctor, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Qatar
- Stelios Savvides, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Oman
- Dr. Ayman Elnashar, VP/Technology Strategy, Architecture & Innovation, e&
- Hasan Alshemeili, Head of Technology Planning, du
- Allen Tang, President of ICT Marketing & Solution Sales Dept, Huawei MECA
- Zoran Lazarevic, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson MEA
- Mohamed Samir, VP Middle East Market, Nokia MEA
The exclusive 5G-Advanced panel will be followed by a launching ceremony, showcasing the commitment and collaboration among all industry players in the Middle East in accelerating the global commercial use of 5G-A.
Watch the 2023 Panel: Middle East Joins Hands in the First Year of 5G-Advanced
