The interest and debate surrounding private 5G networks is growing. Private 5G here and now, a recent report from NTT Ltd. and Economist Impact, revealed significant global interest, with 90% of CIOs and executive decision-makers believing that private 5G will become the new standard for networks. Around 51% of businesses plan to deploy a private 5G network by year-end in 2024.

Mikko Lavanti, Head of Mobile Networks, Nokia MEA, said, “Globally, the pace of 5G network rollouts has surpassed 4G/LTE networks. Two years after the first LTE launch there were only 25 million subscriptions across 60 networks, while two years after the first 5G launch, 340 million subscriptions were registered across 155 networks. This trend in the region clearly indicates that there is a pressing need and expansion of 5G networks

Saleem AlBlooshi, Chief Technology Officer at du, gave the opening remarks, and Ranjit Rajan, Vice President – Research (META) at IDC Middle East & Africa, gave the keynote address. Jasim Al Awadi, Head of Government & Key Accounts at du, and Roula Shahab, Senior Industry Lead – Telco, Media & Energy at Microsoft UAE, delivered forward-thinking presentations that explored advanced technologies.

Continuous R&D investments have made Huawei one of the world’s largest patent holders. The company is willing to license its patents and technologies worldwide to drive progress in the industry.

The MoU will cover collaboration on Voice over New Radio (NR) and advanced Charging System that will enhance Batelco’s real-time convergent charging as well as enable the introduction of new smart and innovative IoT products. It will also include cloud-native 5G Core and 5G Standalone (SA) solutions that would help Batelco and Ericsson successfully complete the first 5G SA data call in the Kingdom.