Omantel and Ericsson have successfully conducted a live 5G showcase that displayed 5G capabilities in a real-world environment – including tests on speed, mobility and latency.
The 5G showcase, which used advanced 5G features such as beam forming and beam tracking, gave a peek into the future of Omantel’s network and how the operator will remain at the forefront of technology innovation and leadership in the region.
By using 800MHz of spectrum bandwidth in millimetre wave frequency band, the 5G trial system delivered a peak rate that is much greater than the most advanced available 4G networks. It has achieved an aggregate site throughput of more than 25Gbps, which is significantly better than current 4G networks.
Talal Said Al Mamari, CEO Omantel, said: “The future of communications is 5G, and we are looking forward to introducing the people of Oman to this innovative smart technology that will change the way we live and do business. This technology will be a change-maker affecting various key sectors such as healthcare, mining, and agriculture to name just a few.”
Wojciech Bajda, Head of Ericsson in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said: “Our continued partnership with Omantel strengthens our commitment to the Sultanate of Oman. We will continue to play a key role in implementing 5G in real-world environments until they become a complete reality.”
The 5G showcase, held at Omantel’s head office in Muscat, is the first in a series of trials that Omantel and Ericsson have agreed to conduct to prepare the network for the 5G evolution.
Guided by its 3.0 transformation strategy, which has digital transformation and innovation in offerings as pillars, Omantel has undertaken the 5G trial as its latest step to aid the digital transformation process of the sultanate.
5G will be instrumental in realising the vision of transforming Oman into a sustainable knowledge society by leveraging information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve services.
5G mobile technology is expected to offer diverse services and use cases such as smart agriculture, flood sensors, industrial applications and control, smart metres, remote training, remote surgery, shipment tracking, fleet management and traffic safety and control.
5G will also drive the evolution of mobile broadband to enhanced mobile broadband, offering media anywhere, broadcasting and augmented reality-based applications.
According to Ericsson’s 5G Business Potential report, operators can benefit from an additional 34% revenue from 5G-enabled market opportunities by 2026.
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