UAE's Etisalat Launches World-First 5.5G Technology To Triple Smartphone Upload Speeds

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) UAE telecom operator etisalat has commercially launched a new smartphone network technology that can deliver up to three times faster upload speeds on compatible devices, marking a global first.

The technology, known as 2×2 uplink MIMO with carrier aggregation, is available exclusively on etisalat UAE's 5.5G network. It is designed to help users upload high-resolution photos, share videos, send large files, and use AI-powered applications more quickly.

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The technology works by allowing smartphones to transmit two streams of data simultaneously, while carrier aggregation combines capacity across different frequency bands. Together, the two features enable devices to send more data at once, improving upload performance.

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“Mobile experiences are changing. Smartphones are no longer primarily consuming content; they are creating, sharing and increasingly sending richer data to AI and cloud applications in real time. That changes what we need from the network. By bringing this capability to smartphones for the first time globally, we are increasing upload capacity where it matters and ensuring our 5.5G network is ready for how customers will use their devices next," said Marwan Bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer, etisalat UAE.

The launch comes as smartphones increasingly rely on cloud services and AI tools that require users to send information from their devices, rather than simply download it.

For example, when someone asks an AI assistant to analyse a document, interpret an image or respond to what their camera is seeing, the content must first be uploaded. Faster upload speeds can help send that information to the cloud more quickly, making these interactions more responsive.

Mobile networks have traditionally focused on download speeds, but growing demand for high-resolution images, videos and data-intensive applications is making upload performance increasingly important.

With the new technology, etisalat aims to improve how quickly customers can share content and interact with connected services, while continuing to develop its 5.5G network for emerging smartphone and AI applications.

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