du, Huawei ink 3-year UAE mobile broadband network deal

du teamed with Huawei to construct what the pair said will be the most advanced mobile broadband network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Marwan BinShakar, VP of mobile access network at du, on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ying Weimin, president of wireless networks R&D at Huawei, covering joint development of a next generation network over the next three years, Trade Arabia reported.

The agreement will see Huawei provide insights into network usage and development, and technical and service assistance to enable du to meet growing consumer demand for mobile data services, The Chinese infrastructure company will also provide analysis expertise covering subscriber behaviour and migration, and recommendations on spectrum usage, the newspaper added.

Huawei and du previously collaborated on trials of LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation in the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands, albawaba noted in a related report.

In June Saleem AlBlooshi, du's EVP of Network Development and Operations, said the launch of LTE Advanced was a major step towards the deployment of 5G networks in the UAE. In a 5G-focused event hosted by the operator in Dubai, du predicted that the first trials of the next generation technology in the UAE could begin as early as 2018, as part of efforts to commercialise the technology from 2020 onwards.

AlBlooshi said du aimed to be the first operator in the market to launch "pioneering technologies" during the event.

BinShakar echoed that goal during the Huawei MoU signing, telling reporters that du aimed to launch the fastest, most innovative and most reliable mobile broadband network in the market, Trade Arabia noted.

Huawei's Ying added that future mobile networks must be "broader and smarter" to meet the growing demands placed on them by an "ever-expanding mobile ecosystem" albawaba added.

du aimed to establish its credentials as a UAE technology leader in January, when it said it had completed the first trial of LTE Broadband Trunking in the Middle East.

For more:
- see this Trade Arabia article
- view albawaba's report

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