Nokia Networks, Wednesday announced that it has enabled du, the Middle East’s fastest growing telecommunications service provider, to launch the first LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) services in the UAE. du leverages Nokia Networks’ advanced radio platform Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station and carrier aggregation software to combine the FDD-LTE bands 1800 MHz and 800 MHz.
The launch follows a series of trials conducted by du over the past year. At the GITEX 2014, du carried out an LTE-A demonstration, delivering a speed of 900 Mbps by combining three carriers using the MIMO 4x4 technology. In July 2014, du demonstrated a peak throughput of 300 Mbps on its commercial LTE-A network by combining FDD-LTE bands 1800 MHz and 800 MHz.
According to Nokia, combining the wide coverage of a low band with the capacity of a high band provides the most efficient use of frequencies and superb coverage indoors and outdoors – allowing higher performance everywhere with peak data speed of up to 225 Mbps for customers.
- Nokia Networks said that du has also successfully tested its VoLTE service on its commercial LTE network and will be launching the service by the second quarter of this year.
Saleem AlBlooshi, Executive Vice President, Network Development and Operations, du
This milestone underscores our global standing as a frontrunner in introducing latest mobile broadband technologies in the UAE. We timed it with the availability of CAT-6 smartphones* in the UAE, so that our customers can immediately enjoy higher download speeds with increased throughput and coverage. In addition, with this achievement we will be able to help the government realize its Smart City vision.
Tony Awad, Head of du Customer Team at Nokia Networks
This feat is a great example of how we help ambitious telecom service providers such as du address the ever-increasing demand for faster data speeds by taking advantage of existing spectrum. Our carrier aggregation solution helps du’s customers access wireless next generation data services across the UAE.
