du says it has deployed six-carrier aggregation on its commercial 5G-Advanced network in the UAE, combining 420MHz of spectrum across FDD and TDD bands with Nokia.
du 5G Advanced deployment combines six carriers
The deployment brings together spectrum in the 3.6GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.1GHz, 1.8GHz and 600MHz bands. du says the work was completed on its commercial 5G-Advanced standalone network under field conditions, rather than in a laboratory. Nokia supplied its Habrok massive MIMO radios.
Carrier aggregation lets a compatible device use several spectrum channels at the same time. The extra bandwidth can increase capacity and data rates, but the result still depends on the device, location, network load and the channels available there. Nokia’s carrier-aggregation overview says its current 5G work supports four, five and six component carriers as compatible devices reach the market.
What six-carrier aggregation means for UAE users
The 5G+ icon will appear on compatible devices in supported areas, according to du. The operator says the network upgrade is intended to provide more consistent connectivity for data-heavy services and future applications, although it has not published a customer speed figure or a list of supported handsets.
Saleem AlBlooshi, du’s chief technology officer, said the deployment makes greater use of the operator’s spectrum and supports the UAE’s move towards 6G. The country’s 6G initiative, led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, is focused on research, standards and an ecosystem for future networks rather than an immediate consumer launch.
The announcement follows du’s earlier work with Nokia on carrier aggregation and sits alongside the UAE’s wider network upgrades. tbreak has also covered du’s post-quantum security work for UAE cloud services and Ookla’s findings on UAE mobile network resilience.
The 420MHz figure describes the spectrum combined by the network, not a guaranteed connection speed for every customer. Wider availability will depend on compatible devices and du’s rollout of the feature across its network.
What has du deployed?
du says it has deployed six-carrier aggregation on its commercial 5G-Advanced standalone network in the UAE, combining 420MHz across FDD and TDD spectrum.
Will every du customer see the 5G+ icon?
No. du says the icon will appear on compatible devices in supported areas. The operator has not published a complete handset list.
Does 420MHz mean customers will get 420MHz speeds?
No. 420MHz is the combined spectrum bandwidth used by the network. Actual performance depends on the device, location, network load and available bands.
