Ooredoo 5G capability shines at Amir Cup final

Ooredoo said yesterday its sponsorship of the 2019 Amir Cup final was a “phenomenal success”, with examples of “yet more elements of its life-changing 5G technology making the experience unforgettable for fans”.

Qatar’s telecommunications leader supported the football event, held on May 16 at the newly inaugurated Al Janoub Stadium, where fans gathered in their thousands to watch one of

the most popular sporting events of the year so far.

This year, Ooredoo’s sponsorship gave fans and spectators “a whole new experience and an exciting view into the future with 5G”, the company said in a statement.

Partnering global network and technology leader Ericsson, the Ooredoo team spent months preparing for the event and utilised information gained from other major sporting events, such as Superbowl 2019 in the US and the football World Cup in Russia, to develop a world-class experience for the Al Janoub Stadium opening.

With more than 100 experts in the Ooredoo Operation Centre and some 20 in the stadium, the Amir Cup final proved to be an “incredibly successful test for Ooredoo on its journey towards 2022”, the statement noted.

In order to test as many capabilities of the new developments as possible, the stadium was equipped with the latest mobile technologies, including Elastic Cloud Radio Technology and Antennae with High Order MIMO, to “provide the best customer experience”.

These mobile technologies enabled Ooredoo to reach data speeds of up to 1.2Gbps with a 5G handset, with Ericsson’s latest 5G technology.

The Ooredoo network delivered more than 6TB of mobile traffic – the equivalent of around 1,300 streamed full HD movies or DVDs – with record high set-up success rates in excess of 99.5%.

Spectators in the stadium also used the Ooredoo network to make somewhere in the region of 500,000 voice calls and, during the game, the Ooredoo team was able to achieve phone speeds of up to 1.2Gbps.

More than 10,000 spectators used the free Wi-Fi in the stadium, using more than 2TB throughout the game.

Together with Ericsson, Ooredoo not only succeeded in providing “groundbreaking performance” in the stadium, but the telco leader also demonstrated the future of 5G with a Virtual Stadium at Mall of Qatar and a 5G Connected Ambulance in the stadium itself.

All this was achieved in a limited time-frame, deploying antennas and installing extensive equipment in the final construction phase of the stadium.

Both the Virtual Stadium and the 5G Connected Ambulance were enabled by Ooredoo’s early 5G network launch, “a worldwide first and an ongoing leading light in the journey towards full commercial 5G availability”.