5G deployment has progressed rapidly over the past four years. By June 2023, there were over 260 commercial 5G networks worldwide, more than 1.2 billion 5G users, and over 50,000 5G industry applications.

The Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2023 hosted by Huawei, together with its industry partners GSMA, GTI, and SAMENA on October 10 and 11 in Dubai, UAE gatherd mobile network carriers, vertical industry leaders, and ecosystem partners from around the world to explore the success of 5G commercialization and accelerate the commercial use of 5.5G. The forum to explored how mobile broadband technology is shaping the future and continually transforming people's lives and industries.

A new generation of mobile communications technology emerges every ten years or so. Each generation brings with it a significant milestone in the development of mobile communications, and in between full generations, there is an intermediate generation such as 2.5G, 3.5G, and 4.5G. Key features of 5.5G: 10 Gbps downlink, 1 Gbps uplink, 100 billion connections, and native intelligence

The Middle East Region has seen considerable growth in the adoption of 5G technology. It was among the global forerunners in 5G rollout, during the last five years, many ME countries - mainly GCC - witnessed an aggressive push to establish a robust 5G infrastructure. Currently, there are 17 commercial 5G network in the region, covers 48 million population. Many of the major cities across countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain have now been covered with 5G networks, with further plans for expansion into suburban and rural areas.

Mobile communications networks were originally created to connect people. In the 5G era, as the way people communicate shifts from voice and SMS to video, mobile communications networks act as the foundation for creating new communicative experiences. New applications and services, such as glasses-free 3D, XR, and cloud phones, further bring new immersive and interactive experiences.

New capabilities, models, and ecosystems: Unleashing the full potential of 5G

The event began with a livestreamed discussion between Huawei's Rotating Chairman Ken Hu, and the Director General of GSMA, Mats Granryd, about the current state of 5G development and future projections.

“Technology is changing so fast, and new demands are evolving every day,” said Hu. “So our networks need to keep evolving too. Our industry as a whole need to get ready for the future and maximize the value of investments in 5G – and that’s why we’re working so hard on 5G-Advanced.”

Granryd remarked, "5G is driving digital transformation across industries and opening up enormous opportunities. In 2030, 5G will add US$1 trillion to global economy, with benefits spreading across all industries."

Speaking on next steps for 5G, Hu mentioned several key consumer-facing initiatives that can help mobile operators achieve ongoing business success. These include continuously expanding network coverage, enhancing user experience, and exploring more flexible pricing models.

As for the B2B market, Hu suggested that the industry should leverage proven 5G applications to drive 5G adoption at scale across more industries. Throughout this process, mobile operators can better position themselves to seize new opportunities in industry digitalization by strengthening their capabilities in cloud, industrial application development, and end-to-end system integration.

“Looking forward, we have lots of work to do,” said Hu. “We need to enhance our capabilities, evolve the technology, create better user experience, scale up in industry, and maximize the value of our investment on 5G.”

Connecting Industries

5G networks have turbocharged digitalization globally in many industries, with clear economic benefits for early adopters in the manufacturing, port, mining, oil & gas, and healthcare industries.

"5G is a critical part of new economic transformation," stated Li. "And it's enabling new innovation in general purpose technologies. For digital industries, 5G is developing fast, opening up new markets and opportunities."

“Fortified by the latest 5G advancements, we are well equipped to navigate and conquer these challenges, setting the stage for a plethora of commercial opportunities” said Karim Benkirane, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

5G Generating Revenue

Keynote speeches from Telecom Executives from the Middle East, Asia and Europe highlighted the ways in which 5G is being monetized. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), network slicing and private networks for industry are some of the main drivers of revenue for the operators.

“As 5G matures, we are seeing use cases that are offering some big revenue opportunities, 5G private mobile networks and fixed wireless access are two of the hottest areas right now”, said Shaun Collins Executive Chairman of CCS Insight during his keynote speech.

“As we look to the future, 5G and 5G Advanced will take center stage for many years to come... don't forget, we're only 4 years into the lifecycle of the technology, with lots more opportunity left to discover!” Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA             

5G is fueling productivity and through integration with artificial intelligence and cloud, is driving the digital economy to a bright and sustainable future.

5G Redcap

At MBBF 2023, Huawei and its industry partners released the latest commercial RedCap achievements, demonstrating that RedCap has entered large-scale commercial use worldwide. This marks a key milestone of the RedCap industry. Currently, more than 10 carriers from seven countries across the globe have piloted commercial RedCap.

One day before MBBF started, Huawei in collaboration with du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), unveiled the ground-breaking world’s first 5G Advanced (5G-A) demonstration Villa, an archetype for the future smart home living powered by a staggering 10Gbps networks. Early in March this year, both entities signed an MOU on 5.5G centered on 5G-A technological innovation, application exploration, and ecosystem development. This latest reveal stands as a testament to their joint innovation prowess.

5G-A Villa sheds light on the boundless potential that deterministic experience technology heralds for the households of tomorrow. The 5G-A Villa epitomizes the seamless integration of cutting-edge technologies, offering an unparalleled smart home experience enriched with applications such as naked-eye 3D and XR. As consumers increasingly crave superior experiences, this inspires the evolution of content and applications, subsequently amplifying the demand on network capabilities. To satiate these growing needs, carriers find themselves compelled to amplify their home networks to a remarkable 10Gbps.

Saudi Arabia today is one of the world’s leading 5G nations and has some of the fastest networks in the world. This leadership status is no coincidence but the result of a solid commitment to the development of mobile technology and years of planning.