Etisalat pushing ahead with UAE 5G rollout

Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it plans to equip 600 mobile network towers with 5G technology by the end of this year. A report from Gulf Business says the telco is planning to upgrade 300 towers in the first half of the year. Etisalat aims to have its 5G network in place well before the launch of the first commercial 5G-capable handsets, which is expected in 2020. Rival UAE operator Du has said that it is targeting a Q4 2019 launch for its own 5G system.