UAE’s “etisalat by e&” announces first software defined quantum satellite network

Dubai’s etisalat by e& today announced the implementation of the Eutelsat quantum satellite solution, becoming the first telco in the country to expand “5G” network capabilities (NOTE: there are no standards for satellite 5G RAN- only for terrestrial RAN, e.g. ITU-R M.2150 and 3GPP Release 15-17) over a software-defined satellite network.

This deployment was a result of rigorous testing with customers for over a year to rapidly scale up the 5G mobile network deployment. etisalat by e& implemented Eutelsat’s latest technology Quantum satellite with the recently installed state-of-the-art Newtech Dialog Hub enhancing the mobile network capability.

“With the demand for ‘always-on’ connectivity as technologies like IoT, AI and blockchain make a bigger impact on consumer lives, satellite connectivity can empower communities and business in this rapidly evolving digital landscape,” said Khalid Murshed, Chief Technology and Information Officer, etisalat by e& UAE.  “With the deployment of this satellite solution and technology, our customers will be able to access their data at 5G speeds even when terrestrial connectivity is unavailable, marking another important step towards the regions’ 5G adoption and bridging the digital divide,” he added.

Image Credit: e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group

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Eutelsat Quantum is the first commercial Ku-band satellite to have a fully flexible payload that can be remotely configured by software from a user’s premises. As a software-defined steerable beam, it can be controlled in real-time to deliver maximum throughput on down/uplink and optimised for various operational scenarios.

“Eutelsat are proud to partner with etisalat by e& to deploy this 5G use case on the world’s first Software Defined satellite network,” said Ghassan Murat, Head of Connectivity Business Unit for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Eutelsat. “Our fully steerable beams are capable of meeting the most rigorous demands of Next Generation mobile and satellite networks.”

Oscar Garcia, Business Marketing and Product Innovation, etisalat by e&, said, “The need for connectivity has grown beyond traditional communications with customers wanting to access the highest speeds in the network to meet their requirements and demands for bandwidth-intensive applications such as GSM services, Remote IT, Unified communications, OTT, and media streaming among others.. The testing and implementation of this satellite solution greatly enhances the mobile network capability to address the futuristic development of new age applications while being able to build and deploy 5G use cases for various industry verticals and business.”

References:

https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/tech-telecom-giant-e-announces-first-5g-satcoms-in-uae-1.94390145

https://eand.com/en/etisalat-uae.jsp

https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/etisalat-by-e-and-announces-first-5g-satcoms-in-uae-m5ev8vk2

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