In a landmark development, Etisalat has become the first mobile operator in MENA to provide 5G coverage inside an international airport.

The Midfield Terminal Building (MTB), Abu Dhabi’s new international airport, will become the first airport terminal in the region to benefit from ultra-high speed connectivity, delivered by the Etisalat’s 5G network.

The deployment is based on C-Band, a first-of-its-kind in 5G digital indoor technology delivering gigabit per second download speeds. This achievement has been enabled by efficient collaboration and co-ordination between Etisalat and Abu Dhabi Airports to deliver the 5G network at the MTB before its official opening.

Saeed Al Zarouni, Senior Vice President, Mobile Network, Etisalat, said: “We are very glad to activate 5G in Abu Dhabi’s new international airport. I want to extend my gratitude to all the teams involved from Etisalat and Abu Dhabi Airports in making this 5G deployment a success, which will set a benchmark by providing a platform to enable new futuristic use cases and digital transformation for all customers. Etisalat is working closely with smartphone brands to launch their devices on our 5G network as well as in the MENA region. Our aim is to ‘Drive the Digital Future to empower societies’ that will bring digital capabilities and benefits across the region.”

Bryan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with Etisalat to incorporate state-of-the-art 5G connectivity at our Midfield Terminal Building. We value our customers first and foremost, and access to fast cellular service is a crucial factor that makes a big difference for travelers from around the world. Technology is at the heart of our digital transformation strategy and providing our customers with enhanced connectively services at the Midfield Terminal Building is in line with our vision of becoming the world’s leading airports group.”

Etisalat is targeting to provide 5G coverage at all prestigious, iconic and high data usage locations in 2019. By collaborating with major smartphone brands Etisalat’s 5G service will be launched by second quarter this year.

This will enable customers to enjoy and experience 5G across UAE. Etisalat is aggressively expanding its 5G footprint in the country with the installation of 1000 mobile sites underway by end of 2019. This will take customers to new levels of experience enjoying advanced use cases such as smart machine control, smart security, 4K uninterrupted videos, holograms, AR/VR and online interactive cloud gaming.

The introduction of Etisalat’s 5G digital indoor active systems at the MTB will bring new business opportunities for B2C segments as they can use location-based capabilities of the 5G indoor digital system to share information and updates on their products and services.