Etisalat launches pre-commercial 5G in Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi-listed Emirates Telecommunications Group (Etisalat) on Sunday announced the launch of its 5G ultra-mobile broadband service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – the first in the Gulf region.

The pre-commercial service was launched in certain locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the operator said in a statement.

The launch comes a day after the UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority's (TRA) allowed local mobiles operators to start deploying 5G networks in phases from 2018.

Etisalat said it plans to deploy 5G services in major UAE cities during 2018 in preparation for the major planned events during 2018-2020 including World Government Summit, AFC Asian CUP, ITU PP-18 and Expo 2020.

The high-grade 5G services, which are said to allow download speeds of nearly 20 Gbps, are also being planned in Saudi Arabia. Last year, Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) signed separate deals with Sweden’s Ericsson to deploy 5G technology across the Kingdom.