Du to put up 800 5G sites to boost connectivity in UAE by end of 2019

The company’s chief executive expects revenue to continue to decline in second half

Osman Sultan, chief executive of du says the telecom operator will roll out 800 5G sites by the end of 2019. Pawan Singh / The National 

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, also known as du, will have close to 800 5G mobile infrastructure sites by the end of the year to boost network coverage and connectivity, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

Du as well as Etisalat have already started selling 5G-enabled devices in the UAE. The fifth-generation wireless networks, commonly referred to as 5G, will be up to 100 times faster than the 4G network currently used by more than 3.6 billion mobile internet users around the world.

“We will have close to 800 sites by the end of this year that will cover all the emirates,” Osman Sultan said in a conference call with reporters to discuss second quarter financial results.

He also said capex for 2019 will be between Dh1.6 billion and Dh1.8bn, but did not disclose how much of that amount would be spent in the development of 5G network.

“The 5G network will increase the speed of connectivity that will help in low latency. You will have things like autonomous cars to remote surgery and gaming industry. These are pockets of opportunities that we look at and very interested in.”

On Tuesday du reported a 2.5 per cent year-on-year increase in second-quarter profits after royalty payments to Dh464 million. However, second-quarter revenue fell 4.8 per cent year-on-year to Dh3.19bn.

In the first half of 2019, the company declared a 5.4 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit of Dh913m, while revenue also fell 5.3 per cent to Dh6.33bn in the same period.

Mr Sultan expects the trend of decline in revenue to continue in the second half of the year due to reduction in international calls as well as less prepaid revenue. However, he did not specify what revenue may fall to.

Mr Sultan also said a US ban on Huawei is not an issue for the 5G network in the UAE and said, “we do not have a concern for the network deployment, for the use of Huawei equipment within the network”.

American companies were banned in May from selling most US parts and components to Huawei without special licences, raising concerns about the company's supply chain.