Together with Nokia, Etisalat is building an autonomous 5G network using Etisalat A3 platform to deliver best-in-class customer experience, as 5G’s ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency enrich service offerings and transform business models. Users will be able to deploy innovative applications in areas such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and various Internet of Things (IoT) use cases in areas such as energy, healthcare, education, transport and entertainment, providing new revenue opportunities. According to Haitham Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat: “As a true pioneer, we have always embraced the latest technologies to drive the Digital Future to empower society. Accordingly, we are building an autonomous 5G network and are very excited about how 5G can transform industrial and consumer services. The 5G services we have rolled out truly enhances lifestyles and delivers significant gains in productivity in the UAE, contributing to the national innovation strategy.” Nokia has deployed its AirScale radio platform, based on 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standards. The network uses massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) radio technology to improve network capacity, provide broader coverage and increase network speeds. Nokia AirScale Radio Access achieves runs all technologies in the same radio access, offering huge capacity scaling and market-leading latency and connectivity. AirScale Radio Access is an industry-first commercial end-to-end 5G solution enabling operators to capitalize early on 5G. AirScale Radio Access promises ultra-low latency, huge connectivity, extreme capacity and is highly versatile, able to change their architecture to support a vast range of services. In Kenya, Nokia and Safaricom are doing 5G trials in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kisii and Kakamega with speeds of up to 700 Megabits per second, with plans to offer than 1,000 Mbps speeds in the coming months. Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said:“With this deployment, Nokia is supporting Etisalat achieve its vision of driving the digital future. Along with consumers’ expectation to get the latest telecom services experience, the current period has also shone a spotlight on just how important networks are for people and businesses. With this next generation 5G network deployment, we are excited to continue our longstanding collaboration with Etisalat to deliver the full transformational benefits of 5G.”
