UAE's push towards 6G gathers pace as e& activates new spectrum

30/09/2026 03:54 AST

The UAE's ambition to be among the first countries ready for the 6G era took another step forward on Tuesday as telecom operator e& switched on what it describes as the world's first commercial mobile network operating on Upper 6GHz (U6GHz) spectrum.

While 6G standards are not yet finalised globally, governments and telecom companies are increasingly investing in infrastructure capable of supporting the next generation of wireless communications. The UAE has positioned itself at the forefront of that race, with regulators and operators accelerating trials and commercial deployments that could eventually underpin advanced artificial intelligence applications, smart-city networks and industrial automation.

The latest deployment brings U6GHz spectrum into live commercial use over e&'s existing 5G-Advanced network, reflecting a broader industry trend of squeezing more capacity and performance from current networks while laying the groundwork for future technologies. According to the company, the spectrum allocation covers the 6425-6775 MHz range and provides up to 350 MHz of continuous bandwidth.

Industry experts view access to additional spectrum as critical as data consumption rises and new technologies place greater demands on mobile networks. AI-powered services, immersive extended-reality experiences and connected industrial systems are expected to require significantly higher speeds and lower latency than current consumer applications.

"The commercial activation of U6GHz 256TRX Giga-MIMO marks a defining milestone in e& UAE's network evolution," said Marwan Bin Shakar, chief technology officer at e& UAE. "We have moved from technical validation to a live commercial reality that significantly elevates the 5G-Advanced experience for our customers today, while operationalising the native architecture needed for 6G."

The company said the network combines the new spectrum with 256TRX Giga-MIMO antenna technology, increasing transceiver capacity compared with conventional 5G deployments and helping improve performance in densely populated urban areas. The system is designed to deliver peak download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and upload speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

e& said the upgrade directly supports the UAE's national 6G roadmap led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), positioning the country among early adopters of technologies that are expected to shape future international 6G standards.

As competition intensifies among nations seeking leadership in next-generation communications, the UAE is increasingly using large-scale commercial deployments rather than laboratory trials to test the infrastructure that could power everything from autonomous systems to AI-native networks over the coming decade.

Khaleej Times