Etisalat sets global milestone with fastest speed on 5G Stand Alone network

In a global breakthrough in the 5G journey, Etisalat achieved over 3.1Gbps download throughput over its 5G Stand Alone, SA network.  In October 2019, Etisalat successfully completed the first end-to-end 5G SA call in the UAE, becoming the first operator globally to achieve this milestone.

The new throughput record is a result of a gradual progression of Etisalat’s 5G rollout, as it develops the technology across the 5G ecosystem towards the full vision of an autonomous 5G network. In this test, 200MHz spectrum was used with a mobile smartphone capable of 5G SA operation.

Commenting on this latest achievement, Saeed Alzarouni, SVP of Mobile Network, Etisalat, said: “Etisalat continuously endeavours to achieve a network capable of delivering beyond customer expectations. Today’s landmark announcement sets a new benchmark in the telecom industry, a testimony to our continuous efforts in building a network that will enable innovation and accelerate digital transformation.

“We have yet again achieved another milestone in our 5G journey with the new download throughput, which is a result of Etisalat’s efforts in building a robust 5G network that is software upgradable from non-standalone to standalone technology.”

5G is a major enabler for the fourth industrial revolution, providing faster data connectivity combined with higher speed. With ultra-high speed and low latency services to the user 5G will enable users to enjoy uninterrupted 4K video streaming, best gaming experience, AR/VR services and autonomous transport.

Standalone 5G does not use 4G LTE for any control functions of 5G, unlike non-standalone 5G. The major advantages of standalone 5G will be in the enterprise arena as lower latencies can be achieved and network slicing is possible.