Telecom operator du starts preparations for Expo 2020

United Arab Emirates telecom provider du has begun preparations for the World Expo 2020 to be hosted in Dubai, its chief executive officer confirmed.

Speaking on the sidelines of an industry event in Dubai, Osman Sultan told Gulf Business: “We have started to work on the plans we need for 2020. We are already working on certain strategies and holding discussions.”

Dubai is anticipating around 25 million visitors for the sixmonth long event, which runs from October 2020 to April 2021. This is expected to put a huge strain on the emirate’s network and connectivity.

Sultan was also confident that the UAE would upgrade to 5G network within the next four years.

“We should have 5G before 2020, hopefully,” Sultan said. “You still have five years, we will accelerate growth.”

According to industry experts, 5G is the next stage for network technology evolution where broadband access will be available everywhere at anytime.

The network is expected to facilitate smart vehicles, transport and infrastructure and allow for the critical control of remote devices.

Meanwhile this year du will concentrate on developing its mobile network, Sultan said.

“We will also continue to put more focus on improving infrastructure – the infrastructure sharing deal [with Etisalat] was something that was absolutely fundamental for us. It can take us through to another level. We will also focus on everything that relates to services and all things around the smart cities application,” he added.