FEATURE: WI-FI DEPLOYMENT
whatever type of network that is. 99% of
them will be mobile devices whether it’s
a mobile phone, i-Pads, moving vehicles,
drones or whatever.
Wireless definitely is the future so what we
are doing is developing new solutions that
will provide 10 times more capacity than
what we have today, in even less spectrum in
terms of radio frequencies.
We expect radio frequencies to be further
re-farmed. This is happening pretty much
across many different countries around the
world. So we are developing new products to
deliver more capacity in less spectrum and
more importantly at a lower cost as well. So
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each country is at a different state but as a
region I think end users and service providers
are much more receptive to new ideas
and new technologies. It depends on the
countries, but definitely some of them are
even more advanced than some European
countries or the US.
What is the best way for
Internet access to remote
locations to be achieved?
In terms of remote locations this is really
where wireless comes in. I would say maybe
25% to 30% of our deployments around
the world are in difficult terrains. But a
difficult terrain can also be in Abu Dhabi or
WE EXPECT, AS DOES EVERYBODY
ELSE, AN EXPLOSION IN TERMS OF THE
NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT NEED TO
BE CONNECTED TO THE NETWORK.
this is the driving factor behind everything
we do, including the Quanta 5.
So this is a very definite step
towards 5G?
A hundred percent that’s the driving factor.
Let’s say if we have 1,000 applications
you and I use every day, there will be
probably 10,000 additional applications in
three to five years’ time. We are building
the platforms which will cater for those
applications coming in the future.
How ready is the Middle East
for 5G?
It’s difficult to generalise for the whole
Middle East. For me, it’s a big and diverse
region and each country is at a different
stage. Take Dubai, for example, which is at
the forefront. It is the smartest city in the
world. But you take other markets like Jordan,
Egypt or Oman, and you will quickly notice
that they are maybe a step or two behind. So
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INTELLIGENTCIO
in Dubai? Why? Because of the buildings
and obstructions.
For us, a tree is easier to penetrate with
our wireless transmissions than a building.
We have a number of products specifically
designed to connect remote areas over long
distances, up to 100 kilometres. Running
a fibre, or deploying a satellite-based
connectivity, can be way too expensive.
And you don’t have to pay the earth to
connect up a remote farm or a village back
to the nearest point of presence.
www.intelligentcio.com