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TDRA’s spectrum strategy, industry collaboration and commercial deployment are positioning the UAE to expand next-generation connectivity and prepare for an AI-driven digital economy.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is taking a lead in transitioning from 5G-Advanced (5G-A) towards 6G by focusing on the commercial deployment of Upper 6GHz (U6GHz) spectrum, which offers wide contiguous bandwidth to expand network capacity, support data-intensive applications and lay the groundwork for the next generation of connectivity.
Earlier this year, etisalat UAE announced that it was awarded a contract to an infrastructure partner to roll out the world’s first commercial mobile network using U6GHz 256TRX RetinaMIMO technology. Early commercial deployment of U6GHz positions the UAE at the forefront of next-generation network development. Reflecting on this progress during the 20th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, Dr. Ayman EInashar, Vice President of Technology Strategy, Architecture & Innovation at etisalat UAE, noted that the operator began its U6GHz journey two to three years earlier with the first prototype in the UAE.
Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has played a key role in accelerating the transformation of the networks in the UAE by bringing together spectrum planning, research and industry collaboration.
The economic potential of U6GHz was also highlighted by Jawad Abbassi, Head of MENA at GSMA, who cited research indicating that licensed use of the band for mobile broadband could deliver seven times the economic benefits of unlicensed use.
The UAE has taken key steps to establish the regulatory and technical foundations for this transition. For instance, it updated its National Frequency Plan about two years back and identified the 600 MHz and 6 GHz bands for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), providing a framework for the development of advanced mobile networks.
“The decisions that we take today will influence the spectrum environment in which 6G develops,” said Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy Director of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau and Chief, Study Groups & Policy Department (SPD), during the summit.
During the 20th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, senior representatives from regulatory authorities, industry organisations, telecom operators and technology providers gathered to mark the world’s first U6GHz commercial launch, including Eng. Saif Bin Ghalita, Executive Director of Technology Development Affairs at TDRA; Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau and Chief of the Study Groups and Policy Department; Dr. Mahmoud Sherif, Head of Innovation and Technico Business Development at du; Dr. Ayman EInashar, Vice President of Technology Strategy, Architecture and Innovation at etisalat UAE; Allen Tang, President of Huawei’s Wireless Network & Cloud Core Network Marketing and Solutions Sales; Omar Samman, Head of Networks – Gulf at Ericsson; Toni Eid, Founder of Telecom Review Group and CEO of Trace Media International; Issam Eid, Group CMO and Partner at Telecom Review Group; Steven Liu, Vice President of ICT Marketing and Solution Sales at Huawei Middle East and Central Asia; and Jawad Abbassi, Head of MENA at GSMA.
Speaking at the summit, Dr. Mahmoud Sherif, Head of Innovation and Technico Business Development of du described the U6GHz milestone as “an achievement on behalf of the entire UAE,” highlighting that “5G Advanced is a bridge between 5G and 6G.”
Recognising Huawei’s contribution to the UAE’s U6GHz commercialisation, Eng. Saif Bin Ghalita, Executive Director, Technology Development Affairs, TDRA, mentioned during the panel discussion, “On the commercialisation of U6GHz, I would like to mention Huawei Technologies, with whom the UAE has been working for over 25 years. During this time, Huawei has consistently delivered on its commitments. What is planned in our meetings is quickly translated into action through research and development and the delivery of standards-based equipment. This kind of collaboration is crucial in turning our ambitions into tangible progress.”
Building AI-Centric Network
Network transformation is crucial as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing and increasingly data-intensive applications are reshaping the demand for connectivity.
Huawei Carrier Business, CMO Judy Peng
In her keynote speech, Huawei Carrier Business CMO Judy Peng highlighted that the emergence of the Agentic Internet is fundamentally reshaping the requirements for communication networks. Traditional networks, designed for the mobile internet era, are no longer sufficient to support the demands of an AI-driven world.
Current mobile networks were built primarily to connect people. In contrast, Agent Internet networks must simultaneously connect people, things, and billions of AI agents collaborating and interacting in real time. This shift is driving four fundamental transformations in communication networks:
Connected entities are expanding from people and things to people, things, and AI agents; Network architecture is evolving from traffic-centric optimization to integrated computing-network orchestration; Traffic patterns are shifting from predominantly downlink, north-south flows to AI-driven, uplink-intensive east-west interactions; User expectations are advancing from best-effort connectivity to deterministic, end-to-end experience assurance.
This evolution is particularly significant for the Middle East, where ultra-large-scale AI campuses and digital economy initiatives are accelerating the demand for resilient. To address the requirements of the Agent Internet era, the industry must build a new generation of AI-Centric Networks. Through continuous advancements in network technologies, capabilities, and architectures, mobile broadband (MBB), fixed broadband (FBB), and bearer networks will enable ubiquitous agent connectivity and seamless interconnection of computing resources, establishing the foundation for future communications infrastructure.
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