Etisalat Group & Huawei hold first meeting on 5G and 40 GPON

ABU DHABI- Etisalat Group— the Middle East’s leading telecommunications operator and one of the largest corporations in the six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Huawei have charted the evolution of emerging mobile and fixed broadband technologies likely to define the region’s telecommunications industry in the year ahead.

Following the agreement made in MoUs signed during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year, the technology leaders from both companies met to discuss the standards and roadmap for coordinating the development, design and deployment of future ICT platforms such as fifth generation mobile broadband as well as fiber-powered GPON networks.

Fifth generation mobile broadband is promised to offer 10 gbps to end users which means Multi-user UHD Tele-presence, Real 3D, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality services can be used. The 40G PON system uses wavelength division multiplexing technology that allows a 40 Gbps downstream transmission rate and a 10 Gbps upstream rate. 40G PON technology will enable Etisalat to build a sustainable optical access networks that can evolve and grow into the future, also to provide premium high speed services in a fast changing world.

Attendees included Mr.Hatem Bamatraf, Etisalat Group CTO, Mr. Alan Wang, President of Huawei Etisalat Global Key Account, as well as nearly 70 other regional representatives from Etisalat Group’s various operating companies and Huawei global headquarters.

“As one of the world’s fastest growing telecom groups across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Etisalat is committed to using technological advancement to extend people’s reach and enhance our customers’ communication experience,” said Mr.Hatem Bamatraf, Etisalat Group CTO. “Through our collaboration with Huawei and forums like this one, we are all able to benefit from sharing best practices and identifying how together we can lead on the forefront of technological development.”

“Resonating with the revolutionary changes taking place in the Middle East information industry,Huawei continuously innovates to meet customer needs and advance our technological leadership,” adds Mr. Alan Wang, President of Huawei Etisalat Global Key Account. “We openly cooperate with industry pioneers like Etisalat recognizing a shared interest in building future-proof information pipes that create value for society at large. Based on these values, we see many opportunities to collaborate with Etisalat in the coming years to improve efficiency through a better connected world.”

Enhancing the user experience on mobile broadband was one of the key themes of the conference, in particular the opportunities opening up in 5G services and heterogenous network (HetNet) technologies. Earlier this spring Etisalat and Huawei announced joiningforces to conduct the region’s first ever trials of 5G mobile broadband services over the next five years.