e& UAE has commercially activated the world's first mobile network running on Upper 6GHz spectrum with 256TRX Giga-MIMO antennas, moving the so-called "Golden 6GHz Band" from technical trials into live commercial service.

The deployment uses the 6425–6775 MHz range — part of 3GPP band n104 (6425–7125 MHz) — and delivers up to 350 MHz of continuous bandwidth. e& UAE built the network directly on top of its existing 5.5G infrastructure, which the operator says accelerates the transition toward 5G-Advanced and, eventually, 6G.

The vendor was not named in the announcement, and no rollout figures, site counts or subscriber numbers were disclosed.

What the technology delivers

The 256TRX Giga-MIMO antenna doubles down on transceiver density: 256 transceivers per site versus the 64 transceivers found in standard 5G massive MIMO deployments. More transceivers allow sharper, more precise beams.

According to the operator, the network is engineered for single-user peak throughput of up to 10 Gbps on the downlink and 1 Gbps on the uplink. Single-cell throughput capacity exceeds 50 Gbps when combined with commercial TDD bands.

Upper 6GHz spectrum normally suffers from propagation limits typical of higher-frequency bands. e& UAE claims its beamforming overcomes this, achieving site-for-site coverage comparable to its existing 3.5 GHz C-band infrastructure — an assertion that independent field data has not yet corroborated publicly.

The operator also cites expanded site capacity, dynamic beamforming, interference suppression and consistent quality of service in dense urban environments as commercial benefits.

Regulatory context

The commercial activation supports the UAE's national 6G roadmap, led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). It positions the country as an early adopter of next-generation connectivity ahead of international 6G standardisation under IMT-2030, the ITU framework that will define 6G requirements.

"The commercial activation of U6GHz 256TRX Giga-MIMO marks a defining milestone in e& UAE's network evolution," said Marwan Bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer of e& UAE. "We have moved from technical validation to a live commercial reality that significantly elevates the 5G-Advanced experience for our customers today, while operationalising the native architecture needed for 6G. This achievement directly underpins the UAE's vision to remain the world's most advanced digital hub, supported by world-class infrastructure and next-generation connectivity."

Use cases and forward path

e& UAE frames the deployment as the high-throughput, low-latency layer for AI-native network operations, immersive extended reality (XR), autonomous industrial systems and mission-critical smart-city infrastructure. These remain forward-looking claims rather than services with disclosed commercial uptake.

The operator says the end-to-end deployment experience creates a readiness methodology it will apply to future network generations, tying the U6GHz launch to its long-term evolution toward IMT-2030 and 6G as the UAE expands high-capacity mobile connectivity nationwide.