Ooredoo has announced the official launch of its 4.5G Pro network at the ‘Mobile World Congress’ in Barcelona.
With the deployment, Ooredoo Qatar becomes the first operator in the Ooredoo Group, the first operator in the Middle East, and one of the first operators in the world to launch 4.5G Pro services.
The 4.5G Pro technology is powered by the Nokia AirScale radio platform and the deployment leverages two component carrier aggregation with 4x4 MIMO antenna technology and 256 QAM to deliver the peak 800 Mbps speeds.
In addition, in a 4.9G technology demonstration at the Mobile World Congress, Nokia demonstrated how data speeds could be increased to 3Gbps in the future. Ooredoo is continuing to evolve its networks on the path to 5G, ensuring it can deliver a new generation of smart services across the nation.
Ooredoo Qatar CEO Waleed al-Sayed said, “We are committed to providing our customers with a leading data experience by deploying the latest and best technology on the Ooredoo Supernet.
“Demand for data continues to grow across our network, and thanks to our ongoing work with Nokia and other technology leaders, we’re successfully connecting our users to super-fast speeds and an incredible Internet experience. Most importantly, we’re investing in the latest solutions so that we can upgrade our network easily when future speeds become commercially available.”
The launch of Ooredoo’s 4.5G Pro is another key step in the company’s roadmap to launch 5G services, following its successful trial of 5G technology in December.
Bernard Najm, head of the Middle East Market Unit at Nokia, said, “We are delighted to continue our long history of collaborating with Ooredoo on this deployment. We are showing how our customers can use our technology to deliver performance boosts in the most demanding areas as they evolve their networks on the path to 5G.”
The 4.5G Pro technology will increase mobile data speeds to up to 800Mbps in some of the busiest areas of Doha, including cultural, business, and tourist hubs such as the Corniche, Katara, West Bay, and The Pearl.
The launch of 4.5G Pro comes after a successful trial in December 2016. During the measured network tests, Ooredoo announced that its 4.5G Pro mobile network had successfully reached an impressive 1Gbps, a speed which will be made available later this year.
Ooredoo plans to acquire new spectrum and incorporate additional carrier aggregation to enable gigabit data speeds for customers using devices that will be made available later this year. The company has continued to upgrade its nationwide Ooredoo Supernet in recent months, boosting speeds, improving latency and enhancing the customer experience.
Ooredoo Group chairman Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, Group CEO Sheikh Saud bin Nasser al-Thani; Dr Nasser Marafih, adviser to Ooredoo chairman, and al-Sayed during the official launch of the company’s 4.5G Pro network at the ‘Mobile World Congress’ in Barcelona.
