Leading global ICT provider, Huawei, received the ‘Biggest Contribution to 5G R&D’ award at the 5G MENA 2017 Summit, being held in Dubai from 30 April to 2 May 2017.

The ‘Biggest Contribution to 5G R&D’ award was bestowed upon Huawei for leading the development of 5G networks, helping to accelerate innovation that is leading to faster commercial availability of 5G.

3.5GHz will be the first 5G spectrum available in the Middle East and Huawei is currently the first ICT vendor in the region that has a commercially-ready 3.5GHz Massive MIMO AAU solution ready for deployment. This gives Huawei’s operator partners across the region a competitive advantage in the race towards 5G, a major component in digital transformation. In addition, Massive MIMO provides great improvement for 4.5G as well. According to the commercial network data in Japan and China, Massive MIMO AAU can improve 4.5G network throughput by 5 times. Therefore, 3.5GHz Massive MIMO AAU will bridge 4.5G and 5G.

“We are honored to have our contributions in 5G innovation recognized by a panel of industry experts and analysts, as we continue to invest heavily in innovation, dedicating USD 11 billion in R&D last year,” said Huang Luomeng, Director of Wireless Marketing and Solution Sales. “This year, we aspire to rollout our new 3.5GHz Massive MIMO AAU technology in the Middle East, in order to give regional telecom companies a head start in the race towards the 5G era and achieving digital transformation, with the ultimate goal of building a better connect Middle East.”

This year’s edition of 5G MENA 2017 featured major industry players and public sector officials from across the region who took part in various discussion panels and workshops aimed at defining a 5G deployment roadmap. Topics tackled by industry players and experts during the three-day event included the journey towards 5G by 2020, mobile broadband (MBB), network and Internet of Things (IoT) security, and the development of smart and safe cities.