Announcements on 5G expected this year

Telecom providers in Oman are at the different stages of launching the 5G technology and some announcements are expected in the middle of this year.

Speaking to the media, Ian Dench, CEO, Ooredoo, said, “As we are still in the stages of preparations, you can expect some announcements around the middle of this year.”

He added that at the recently held World Mobile Congress, it was revealed that the 5G technology had advanced and is available now.

“That is why we will see its launches all over the world. To begin with, the handsets are expensive at between $2000 and $2500, but nevertheless, the devices are there and that is important.”

He added, “Due to the price factor, there will be a small number of customers initially, but without devices, having a network is meaningless. As we have seen in the past with 3-4G, prices will come down quite quickly.”

For the common man, the key is the latency as it will introduce a whole host of opportunities for the Internet of things like robotics in medicines, multi-player mobile gaming, factory robots and selfdriving cars.

Dench said, “The investment will be significant.” The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been working together with industry leaders both in Oman and abroad to ensure that all stakeholders are ready for the technology.