Emirati telecommunications operator du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company) and Finnish vendor Nokia have successfully deployed the world’s first six-carrier aggregation (6CC) on a commercial 5G-Advanced (5.5G) network.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) and Nokia have successfully deployed the world’s first six-carrier aggregation trial on a commercial 5G-Advanced standalone network pushing mobile network technology into uncharted performance territory.
The live deployment, executed in the United Arab Emirates under real-world field conditions rather than a controlled laboratory, combined 420 MHz of total spectrum across both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) bands. The joint achievement marks a critical operational milestone in mobile communications, laying the technical foundation for next-generation network connectivity.
To achieve the benchmark, the installation utilized Nokia’s state-of-the-art Habrok massive MIMO radio equipment powered by its AirScale base station architecture. The configuration aggregated six distinct radio frequency channels spanning the 3.6 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 1.8 GHz, and 600 MHz spectrum bands.
By binding these dispersed frequency assets into a single virtual data pipe, the network allows compatible mobile devices to transmit and receive data across multiple bands simultaneously. The combination of mid-band spectrum for ultra-high throughput and low-band spectrum for deep coverage dramatically expands overall cell capacity, eliminates peak-hour congestion and extends multi-gigabit speeds deeper indoors and to the cell edge.
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Under the updated network infrastructure, eligible customers with compatible flagship devices will see a dedicated “5G+” icon displayed in supported coverage areas across the UAE. The enhanced bandwidth capability is engineered to support data-intensive consumer and enterprise applications, including mobile extended reality (XR), cloud-based artificial intelligence processing, ultra-high-definition video streaming and real-time industrial automation.
Saleem AlBlooshi, Chief Technology Officer at du, emphasized that maximizing scattered spectrum efficiency is essential to unlocking the full potential of 5G-Advanced.
Leadership from both entities highlighted that the commercial deployment directly aligns with the UAE’s broader national digital initiatives led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority positioning the country at the forefront of global wireless innovation as the industry prepares for future 6G frameworks.
