Friday, June 10, 2011

Etisalat gears up to launch LTE services in the UAE



Hosts second session of the ICT Media Seminar: “LTE Technology and

Influence on the Media Industry”

Commercial launch of the new service planned in 3rd quarter of 2011

This technology will boost the UAE’s ranking in ICT capabilities globally

More than 800 base stations have been developed in the first phase, providing service to

Dubai, 9 June 2011: Etisalat announced that it began the final phase of trials on the advanced Long

Term Evolution (LTE) network, in order to commercially launch the service in the third quarter of this

year. The corporation conducted its second session of the 3rd Annual ICT Media Seminar titled “LTE

Technology and its Influence on the Media Industry”. The seminar, which took place in Dubai,

discussed the benefits of Etisalat’s ongoing strategy for continuous development the ICT sector to

ensure the UAE remains on par with developed nations around the world.

The session was conducted for English and Asian media in the UAE and follows the success of

the first seminar this year, which was attended by more than 100 Arabic media representatives. A

platform to discuss and provide explanations of the latest developments in the telecommunications

sector, the seminar specially focused on the advanced 4G technology, and how it will revolutionise

Etisalat also showcased its ongoing strategy to boost the nation’s telecommunication infrastructure

in the UAE. The launch of LTE services will position the country amongst the world’s firsts in

introducing this groundbreaking technology.

In his opening speech, Ali Al Ahmed, Chief Corporate Communication Officer at Etisalat, said that

Etisalat is a pioneer in deploying world-class technologies to meet the needs of its customers. The

corporation is proud of being the first country in the Middle East to launch the LTE service in the

UAE. The first phase will cover all key Emirates in the UAE through 800 base stations.

Al Ahmed also emphasised Etisalat’s long-term investment strategy to continue providing the UAE

with competitive advantage on a global level and propelling the nation’s ICT sector, making it one

of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Furthermore, Al Ahmed highlighted

the role of these investments which will pave the way to a new era of communications. Etisalat has

recently completed the fiber-optic network deployment covering the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the first

capital city in the world to be fully covered by such an advanced network, along with launch of LTE

technology that will enhance the economic and social development of the country and helps offer

services which can meet customer’s demands.

LTE is one of the latest innovations in mobile broadband technologies in the world, with a

peak downloading speed of up to 150MBps. Simply put, LTE is a natural evolution from earlier

generations of mobile broadband that will deliver users the benefits of faster data speeds and new

LTE loads data at super high speeds reaching more than 150 Mbps, making it a revolution in mobile

phone applications. Mobile communication began with pre-GSM technology, followed by GSM

(2G) which was introduced in the early 1990s. It offered better quality and more security, therefore

becoming instantly and extremely popular amongst users.

Third generation network (3G) paved way for

new technologies in the data sector, providing

speeds of up to 7MBps. During the last

quarter of 2010, Etisalat made the latest

high-speed

HSPA+ technology that delivers customers

data downlink speeds of up to 42.2 Mbps.

Ali Al Ahmed concluded: “LTE, the fourth generation mobile technology, has been implemented by

Etisalat in the age of the popularity of smartphones and tablet devices to meet customers’ ever-

increasing demand for richer services and connected lifestyles. Etisalat’s 4G services will bring

significant benefits and opportunities to customers and businesses alike with higher throughput and

efficiency. In addition, it will bring limitless broadband access to customers anytime, anywhere.”

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