The United Arab Emirates’ telecommunications regulator set an ambitious target of 100% 5G coverage in the country by 2025, in a bid to become technology leaders of the network standard in the Middle East.
Gulf News reported, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), said it expects all citizens to gradually be able to connect to a 5G connection in the next five years. Recent Relocation of new frequencies in the 24.25-27.5 GHz spectrum will be a part of the rollout out of the new technology.
The newspaper noted the UAE was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to allocate this band. The country’s second stage of its 5G plan will occur in Q3 2021 in which 1GHz will be allocated to each operator in the 25.5-27.5 GHz range.
Tariq Al-Awadi, executive director of the TRA’s Frequency Spectrum department, said: “The introduction of this category of frequencies will enhance the country's position among the indicators related to the readiness of the telecom sector and provide necessary resources for international mobile communications application,”
In July, the TRA announced it will switch off the country’s 2G network and retooled for 5G use, to take advantage of future technologies such as IoT, aid digital transformations and smart cities.