Qatar may become first country in the world to launch 5G services
Qatar is expected to become the world’s first country to launch 5G mobile network services, a top Ooredoo official told The Peninsula.
The Qatar-based telecom giant is negotiating with various stakeholders and organisations, including the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to advance the launch date of 5G services.
5G technology is expected to go on trial by the end of 2018 and is slated to be launched commercially by 2020 worldwide.
“We believe 2020 is very far away. So we’re trying with manufacturers and other concerned entities such as ITU and GSM Association (organiser of Mobile World Congress) to bring the launch date forward,” Waleed Al Sayed, Ooredoo Qatar CEO told The Peninsula.
“Although this isn’t in our hands, we’re trying our level best for this. We also want to promise the people of Qatar that we’ll be the first in the world to launch 5G services,” he added.
The company always strives to provide very high bandwidth on mobile broadband. In this regard, Ooredoo signed an agreement with Huawei in Barcelona to build the region’s first 5G R&D Centre in Qatar, aiming to conduct all kinds of research studies related to the future technology and innovation.
The works on the Centre, according to Al Sayed, is progressing in full swing in a high-security area.
He said local engineers and students from Qatar-based universities will be allowed access to the R&D Centre for experiments.
Asked about the impact of the pervasive use of VOIP, such as WhatsApp, Skype and Viber, to make voice calls, especially overseas, on the Company’s revenue, he said that initially Ooredoo was worried about it as the demand for traditional voice call and SMS services started going down significantly. But the Company adapted to the situation and transformed the challenge into an opportunity.
“We don’t see these apps as a threat. Nearly two years ago, we started working on it taking it as a new opportunity. We’ve migrated our business to become a data enabler. And today we sell more data than selling voice and SMS services. By the end of this year, the share of revenues from data is expected to be more than 60%,” he said.
Al Sayed cautioned that companies that are continuing to stick with voice and SMS services, are going to face big failures in the future.
Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com
LOL!!.. 5G? First? nah.. South Korea is the First Country who have 5G (Better Correct the article).... i'm not criticizing Ooreedoo But I think they should have a solid plan.. Just like BRIT-EXPAT Said lels..
5G? Good job ooredoo... But what about 2G/3G which is not working in Ar Rayyan ~ industrial area? :-( :-p
I'm already running a 5G network at home. It's pretty nice not having to having my devices teathered by a cord.
People are struggling for 3G in industrial area and we are talking of 5G. Why not improve the existing network first?
we r expecting soon
This is encouraging news.. However, the main issue at present is that the manufactureres have not agreed a common standard for 5G... NTT says that it should be done by 2010, where as Huwaie is aiming for around 2018..
You cannot plan for infrastructure / technology upgrades till AFTER the standards have been agreed
Forget 5G. First improve your connectivity in industrial area,
Also in UCK - United Cities of Kerala. :)
dingding: Lots available in hong kong, Shanghai :O)
where can i found 5G phones
Congrats Qatar and Oooredoo, hope the pricing for the service is not so far out of reach for most.
So happy that this is possible