UAE-based telecommunications service provider – du, announced the establishment of UAE 5G Innovation Gate (U5GIG). The U5GIG has been envisioned to be a consortium of technical and academic organisations in UAE as well as global telecom vendors to plan and use their expertise to define and develop a global 5G network that will radically change lives across the UAE.

du is taking the lead to build a UAE 5G Innovation Lab to prototype, test and validate early 5G and Internet of Things ( IoT) equipment and services. U5GIG will also allow universities and technical organisations across UAE to work together and participate in the development of the 5G ecosystem, and for academia and industry to test applications and technologies in a real-world setting.

Ibrahim Nassir, Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer at du, said: “We are excited to announce this initiative that will allow the UAE to effectively compete with the advanced markets and bring UAE’s voice to the technology development debate. The UAE will be a major industry development leader and we can only do this through collaboration between industry and academia. We plan to work closely with suppliers and SMEs and eventually train future UAE academic and industry leaders. The programme will be open for all UAE universities and industrial organization that need to be part of the state-of-the-art 5G ecosystem development.”

“The inauguration of U5GIG adds further impetus to the initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in establishing the UAE as a global leader in all aspects and as an innovator in technology in the Middle East region,” he added.

du, as well as other consortium members will jointly supervise a 5G research programs with the major UAE universities and based on carefully selected practical 5G research topics. Accordingly, UAE shall contribute and participate in the standardizations and development of 5G in forum such as 3GPP, ITU, and GSMA. Although 5G is a few years away, the U5GIG will be pushing the boundaries of what is possible now and in the future and participate in the development. The true impact of 5G will come from the innovative applications and IoT-use cases, the new network will enable.

The aim of this initiative is to bridge the gap between telecom industry and academia in UAE by establishing and maintaining close, productive collaborations with academic institutions, industry and the community. du will deliver innovative communications solutions in order to generate social and economic value for the nation. Moreover, du will develop the skills of UAE students.