UAE flips on nationwide 10G
The UAE announced the world's first nationwide 10G connectivity rollout operating in the U6GHz band, a move billed as unlocking extra capacity for AI‑driven industrial automation, smart cities and robotics scaling. The new network is being presented as infrastructure to support higher data volumes and lower latency for distributed robotics workloads. (x.com)
The United Arab Emirates said it has switched on the world’s first commercial upper 6 gigahertz mobile network, moving the country toward 10 gigabit wireless service. (zawya.com) The launch was announced at the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2026 in Dubai, held on April 1 under the patronage of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority. Representatives from TDRA, e&, du, Huawei, Nokia, GSMA, HONOR and Tozed joined the commercialization ceremony. (samenacouncil.org) Upper 6 gigahertz, or U6GHz, is a slice of radio spectrum from 6.425 to 7.125 gigahertz that carriers want because it can carry more traffic than older bands without the very short reach of millimeter wave. GSMA said the upper 6 gigahertz band became a new mobile growth band after World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 decisions on 6 gigahertz spectrum. (gsma.com) The UAE moved early after that conference. e& said on April 7, 2025 that TDRA had recently allocated the 6 gigahertz and 600 megahertz bands for International Mobile Telecommunications, and industry reports on the 2026 launch said the U6GHz band was allocated for IMT in 2024. (eand.com) The 10G label here refers to a target of about 10 gigabits per second, not a new “generation” after fifth generation. e& said in 2023 that it hit 10 gigabits per second on 6 gigahertz using 400 megahertz of bandwidth, and in 2025 it said fresh 6 gigahertz tests were aimed at “premium speed and coverage.” (eand.com) That matters because mobile networks are running into a capacity problem as video, cloud software and artificial intelligence workloads push more data through the same airwaves. The GSMA said upper 6 gigahertz is the foundation for the next phase of mobile evolution because operators need new mid-band spectrum to keep adding capacity. (gsma.com) The UAE is pitching the new band as infrastructure for factories, transport systems and city networks that need faster response times and denser connections. SAMENA said the launch reflects demand from “rising data intensity and AI-driven traffic,” while e& has tied its 6G planning to cloud-edge computing and smart-city services. (samenacouncil.org) There is still a practical limit: a commercial spectrum launch does not mean every phone can use it on day one. SAMENA said the commercialization step included chipmakers and device brands, a sign that handsets, radios and customer equipment still need to catch up with the new band. (samenacouncil.org) The UAE has been building toward this for nearly four years. Etisalat, now e&, announced its first 6 gigahertz test in the Middle East and North Africa in August 2022, then followed with 10 gigabit trials in 2023 and broader 6 gigahertz and 600 megahertz testing in 2025. (eand.com) For now, the clearest fact is narrower than the marketing: the UAE has commercialized a new mobile spectrum band before any other country has publicly done so at national scale. Whether that turns into everyday 10 gigabit service will depend on network buildout, compatible devices and how quickly carriers turn the new airwaves into products people can buy. (khaleejtimes.com)
