Industry Thought Leadership

In a time of fast-paced technological progress, the concept of 'Leading the Intelligent World' has become increasingly significant, especially in the telecommunications sector. Huawei, a leading global technology company, has been at the forefront of this movement, focusing on collaborative innovation in network cloud intelligence. This effort aims to deeply integrate digital and intelligent technologies, support industry ecosystems, enhance the growth of 5G business, and pave the way for the promising and prosperous 5G-Advanced (5G-A) era.

Huawei is not just a participant but a leader in the charge of advancing 5G-A technology worldwide. The company is working hand in hand with industry partners and operators to drive a significant shift in digital connectivity. This progression towards more advanced, efficient, and widespread networks is expected to accelerate digital transformation across various industry sectors, ushering in a new era of intelligent connectivity.

Operators’ focus will be on developing high-quality networks, adopting multi-dimensional monetisation strategies, enhancing profitable services like FWA, and leveraging emerging services, cloud and generative AI to capitalize on these opportunities. These initiatives and predictions underscore the significant efforts and collaborations across the telecom industry to make 5G-A a reality.

During a discussion, Mr. Alex Xu, the President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, Carrier Business, shared his insights on the importance of 5G-A, 5G-A deployment progress, and the potential transformative implications for the Middle East region's 5G-A commercialization by 2024. This discussion opens up a world of possibilities, sparking excitement about the future of 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology in the Middle East.

5G-A Era, Integrating Digital Infrastructure into the Intelligent World
The vision of an Intelligent World, Everything Connected, captures the essence of the future's digital infrastructure. This infrastructure is expected to seamlessly integrate with society, life, and industry, breaking the traditional boundaries of people, household, enterprise, and connected vehicle scenarios. As these sectors increasingly demand higher network capabilities to meet their evolving needs, Huawei's exhibition at MWC 2024, centred on this concept, showcasing a comprehensive array of 5G-A product solutions tailored for various scenarios, including 5G-A, Fixed 5G-A (F5G-A), and Net5G-A. In collaboration with global carrier customers and industry partners, Huawei is ready to confront challenges and seize opportunities, leading the world into the intelligent era.

This vision underscored the strategic opportunities that 5G-A opens for the ICT industry. Mr. Alex Xu pointed out that as we move closer to an intelligent world, the demand for higher network capabilities, such as uplink ultra-broadband, real-time broadband communication, and full-scenario IoT, becomes more pronounced. He emphasized that the intelligent economy, driven by 5G-A, is anticipated to be worth over $18.8 trillion by 2030, presenting a new wave of opportunities for the industry.

The Global Progress and Regional Development
By the end of 2023, over 300 commercial 5G networks were operational worldwide, serving more than 1.6 billion users, with the adoption and user growth rate significantly outpacing that of 4G. The global deployment of 5G-A is gaining momentum as Huawei, together with partners, leads the charge toward commercialising this next-generation technology. Huawei's collaboration with leading operators across the globe has led to the launch of 5G-A commercial verification and testing in more than 20 cities worldwide, highlighting the company's commitment to advancing network capabilities to meet the demands of new applications and services.

Since its initial launch in 2019, there are 17 commercial 5G networks operating in the Middle East. The region is truly at the forefront of 5G development, having already witnessed significant strides. Furthermore, many operators are leading 5G-A development and have achieved several milestones, including 10 Gbps rate verification and the incubation of new services such as RedCap and passive IoT. This solid foundation positions the region for an accelerated commercial rollout of 5G-A, demonstrating its commitment to leadership in the era of intelligent connectivity.

Driving 5G-A Innovation, the Commencement of the 5G-A Era
The year 2024 marks a pivotal moment for 5G-A, heralding its official commercialisation. This transition aims to establish a network ecosystem that is not only ubiquitous and offers ultra-experiences but is also characterised by intelligent stability. Huawei’s proactive ventures with global operators are instrumental in this shift, advocating for a deeper digital transformation and sustainable development across the telecom landscape.

Central to this evolution is the synergistic integration of AI and cloud technologies with 5G-A, which is poised to catalyse new growth opportunities within the telecom sector. This integration facilitates the emergence of innovative applications and services by leveraging the enhanced capabilities that 5G-A networks offer. Such advancements are crucial for the successful commercial rollout of 5G-A by 2024, setting a foundation for significant industry transformation.

High-quality networking remains a critical pillar for this growth, building on the successes of 5G and extending into the 5G-A era. This approach not only meets the increasing consumer demand for enhanced mobile experiences but also serves as a robust revenue driver for carriers through the adoption of multi-dimensional monetisation strategies, including speed-tiered pricing models. These strategies are designed to optimise average revenue per user (ARPU) by tailoring services to meet the diverse needs of users.

The industry's drive towards the commercialisation of 5G-A represents a significant leap forward in the telecom sector's journey towards a digitally transformed and sustainable future. The convergence of 5G-A with AI and cloud technologies is setting the stage for a new era of connectivity, characterised by enhanced network capabilities, innovative services, and a deepened digital transformation across various sectors.

Furthermore, emerging services such as New Calling, cloud phones, and glasses-free 3D technology are gaining momentum, opening new avenues for carrier revenue. The advanced features of 5G-A networks, like deterministic latency and precise positioning, are vital for supporting applications across a broad spectrum of industries, from automotive to healthcare. The integration of generative AI with mobile technologies is expected to transform the mobile industry dramatically, generating extensive data and unlocking unprecedented opportunities for carriers.

The industry's drive towards the commercialisation of 5G-A represents a significant leap forward in the telecom sector's journey towards a digitally transformed and sustainable future. The convergence of 5G-A with AI and cloud technologies is setting the stage for a new era of connectivity, characterised by enhanced network capabilities, innovative services, and a deepened digital transformation across various sectors.

Challenges, Strategy, and Future Outlook
The transition to 5G-A marks a significant leap in network technology. It aims to surpass the capabilities of current 5G networks with ultra-high data rates, low latency, massive connectivity, and enhanced reliability. This evolution promises to revolutionise a wide range of sectors, including smart cities, healthcare, industry 4.0, transportation, entertainment, and agriculture by offering improved performance and new functionalities.

Despite the momentum behind 5G-A deployment, challenges such as spectrum allocation and infrastructure upgrades remain critical. Huawei, in collaboration with partners, is addressing these hurdles through innovative solutions and collaborative efforts to ensure the seamless introduction of 5G-A technology.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also highlighted the importance of spectrum for future ICT development, especially in the evolution from 5G to 5G-A. With an emphasis on ultra-wideband spectrum allocation and all-uplink spectrum usage, there's a push for industry-wide collaboration to address these issues and increase spectrum availability for robust and sustainable industry growth. This is seen as a crucial step towards commercial use of 5G-A by 2024, capable of supporting 100 billion connections and ubiquitous 10 Gbps connectivity, thus playing a vital role in the growth of the digital economy.

Huawei supports operators in commercialising 5G-A this year through a range of full-series 5G-A solutions. These solutions enable operators to efficiently build 5G-A networks by leveraging continuous innovations across five key capabilities: broadband, multi-band, multi-antenna, intelligent, and green technologies.

Huawei supports operators in commercialising 5G-A this year through a range of full-series 5G-A solutions. These solutions enable operators to efficiently build 5G-A networks by leveraging continuous innovations across five key capabilities: broadband, multi-band, multi-antenna, intelligent, and green technologies. The innovative products and solutions aim to create a comprehensive network infrastructure that provides ubiquitous connectivity at 10 Gbps and facilitates connections on a scale of 100 billion. These capabilities emphasise not only building upon the existing 5G infrastructure but also introducing new capabilities such as sensing, passive IoT, and industrial ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Ultimately, this sets the stage for a profoundly transformed digital economy.

Conclusion
Finally, Mr. Xu highlights the anticipated commercial use of 5G-A in 2024, emphasizing its potential to offer ten times the bandwidth of 5G and unlock new opportunities for operators and industries. Operators’ focus will be on developing high-quality networks, adopting multi-dimensional monetisation strategies, enhancing profitable services like FWA, and leveraging emerging services, cloud and generative AI to capitalize on these opportunities. These initiatives and predictions underscore the significant efforts and collaborations across the telecom industry to make 5G-A a reality. Furthermore, the enhanced capabilities of 5G-A are expected to drive the digital and intelligent transformation of industries, providing a foundation for a new era of connectivity and innovation.

As the industry moves towards the 5G-A era, the Middle East is positioned as a key player in this technological advancement, building on its proactive approach to previous network generations. The evolution to 5G-A and F5G-A is expected to herald a new era of network performance, offering unprecedented connectivity, reliability, energy efficiency, and intelligence, transforming the telecommunications landscape in the Middle East and beyond.