e& UAE has announced the commercial launch of what it says is the world’s first mobile network operating on Upper 6GHz using 256TRX Giga-MIMO technology, capable of delivering peak download speeds of up to 10Gbps.
The technology has moved into live commercial service over e& UAE’s existing 5.5G network as the telecoms operator develops infrastructure intended to support the country’s eventual transition towards 6G.
The network is engineered to deliver single-user peak throughput of up to 10Gbps for downloads and 1Gbps for uploads, according to e& UAE.
It can also provide total single-cell throughput exceeding 50Gbps when combined with commercial TDD bands.
The operator described the deployment as a world first and said it would provide fibre-like broadband performance over a mobile network.
The network uses the Upper 6GHz spectrum between 6425MHz and 6775MHz, providing up to 350MHz of continuous bandwidth.
It combines the additional spectrum with 256TRX Giga-MIMO technology, significantly increasing antenna transceiving capacity compared with conventional 64TRX 5G deployments.
The technology is designed to increase network capacity while providing more precise beamforming and interference suppression, particularly in densely populated urban areas.
e& UAE said the network’s beamforming technology can also address some of the coverage limitations normally associated with higher-frequency spectrum.
According to the company, the deployment can achieve site-for-site coverage comparable with existing 3.5GHz C-band infrastructure.
Marwan bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer of e& UAE, said: “The commercial activation of U6GHz 256TRX Giga-MIMO marks a defining milestone in e& UAE’s network evolution. We have moved from technical validation to a live commercial reality that significantly elevates the 5G-Advanced experience for our customers today, while operationalising the native architecture needed for 6G.
“This achievement directly underpins the UAE’s vision to remain the world’s most advanced digital hub, supported by world-class infrastructure and next-generation connectivity.”
The commercial launch supports the UAE’s national 6G roadmap led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.
However, the deployment is not itself a commercial 6G network.
Instead, e& is using Upper 6GHz spectrum over its existing 5.5G network as part of an evolutionary path towards the technologies expected to underpin future 6G services and the IMT-2030 framework.
The additional network capacity could eventually support applications including artificial intelligence-native network operations, extended reality, autonomous industrial systems and smart-city infrastructure.
e& UAE said the commercial deployment would also allow it to gain operational experience with technologies expected to play a role in future network generations.
The operator said the launch would expand high-capacity mobile connectivity across the United Arab Emirates while supporting the country’s wider digital economy ambitions.
