DUBAI — Leading United Arab Emirates telecommunications and digital services provider du has announced the ongoing expansion of its network architecture and digital infrastructure in preparation for sixth generation (6G) wireless communications, aiming to become one of the world’s first operators to commercially deploy the technology while simultaneously accelerating investments across hyperscale data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and post quantum cybersecurity.
Saleem AlBlooshi, Chief Technology Officer at du, stated that the operator’s technical initiatives align directly with the national 6G roadmap established by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which sets out the foundational infrastructure, technical parameters, and regulatory frameworks required to launch and scale commercial 6G services across the United Arab Emirates prior to 2030. AlBlooshi explained that 6G represents an evolutionary leap beyond raw transmission speeds and bandwidth capacity toward constructing intelligent networks capable of environmental sensing, predictive analytics, autonomous decision making, and real time self optimization, noting that readiness is a continuous engineering journey anchored in existing network modernization.
As a vital stepping stone toward 6G, du continues to scale its 5G Advanced (5G+) footprint, notably achieving a global milestone by deploying Six Carrier Aggregation (6CC) across its commercial 5G+ network to elevate spectral capacity and user throughput. Concurrently, live field trials conducted on the Upper 6 GHz spectrum band utilizing existing macro site infrastructure in Mohammed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi achieved outdoor coverage extending up to 500 meters and peak download speeds approaching 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps), marking the region’s first wide scale validation of upper mid band spectrum efficiency within an active operational environment. These research milestones were accompanied by the publication of du’s inaugural technical white paper developed in collaboration with the Digital Future Institute at Khalifa University, titled The Intelligence Network: A 6G Blueprint for Telcos, which outlines a commercially viable model for autonomous, AI native telecommunications infrastructure.
Supporting this multi layered expansion, du’s capital expenditure reached AED 653 million during the second quarter of 2026, rising from AED 545 million during the corresponding period of the previous year. AlBlooshi attributed the increased capital deployment primarily to accelerated investments in data center facilities alongside ongoing wireless network quality upgrades, confirming that new data center projects are advancing ahead of launching next generation cloud services in collaboration with a leading global cloud hyperscaler. Beyond core infrastructure, the operator is channeling capital into emerging enterprise solutions and early stage technology startups through du Ventures, launched in strategic partnership with Shorooq.
In the realm of network operations and sovereign cyber defense, du is deploying real time artificial intelligence analytics to transition from reactive maintenance to autonomous networks capable of predicting hardware anomalies, automating resource allocation, and lowering operational and maintenance expenditure while retaining human strategic oversight. Furthermore, to insulate national infrastructure against future cryptographic threats posed by quantum computing, du formed a strategic partnership with QuantumGate under the supervision of the UAE Government Cybersecurity Council to integrate post quantum cryptography into the National Hypercloud, empowering government ministries and critical infrastructure operators to safeguard public key encryption systems and strengthen national digital resilience.
