Du given green light to market HSPA+ service as 4G

The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has lifted a restriction on the country’s second national telecoms operator Du from marketing its HSPA+ mobile services as ‘4G’, The National reports. Last month incumbent telecoms operator Etisalat allegedly filed a complaint with the regulator following a statement from Du which claimed that it was the first operator in the UAE to offer ‘4G’ mobile services, after commercially launching its DC-HSPA+ network, which offers download speeds of up to 42Mbps, in March 2011. Etisalat however claimed that according to standards set by the TRA, Du’s HSPA+ network should be classed a 3.75G, rather than ‘4G’, and said that its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, introduced last month offering peak speeds of 100Mbps, should be classed as the UAE’s first 4G network. The dispute led to action by the TRA, which last month forced Du to suspend the marketing campaign that referred to its mobile broadband network as 4G, but following an investigation the regulator has said that Du can restart its 4G advertising campaign, with the proviso that the technology used to deliver it is clearly specified.