The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulation Authority has announced the initiation of IMT2020 technology – commonly known as 5G – which is expected to be deployed across the country from early 2018.
According to state news agency WAM, licencees from mobile operators in the UAE will start the deployment of 5G networks in several phases from early in the new year, helping to develop the ICT infrastructure.
This development will help to facilitate the implementation of the UAE’s top strategic directives, added WAM, naming the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, smart city and the Internet of Things among these leading priorities.
The new technology will also help to handle big data transfer between machines, expand the speed and capacity of multiple folds of gigabits per second, and provide new services that meet the requirements of the digital transformation and smart government.
The TRA’s director general, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, said, “We are proud to be among the first countries that apply 5G technology in telecommunications, which is in line with our leadership’s directives and the UAE Vision 2021, placing our country in its deserved position among the top countries of the world.
“In the last few years, the telecommunications sector has been the main driver of all the progress in all development sectors. However, rapid global developments and the transition of humanity to the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have enhanced the status of this sector, making it the main nerve of major digital transformations, and the incubator of evolution on all tracks including science, economy, education or other vital fields.”
As part of its initiative to launch 5G, the TRA has formed three committees working under the supervision of the UAE 5G steering committee. These committees will work in the fields of spectrum, verticals and network aspects. –ME website
