Zain Kuwait also tested Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC)

Zain Kuwaut said it has achieved speeds of 10 Gigabits per second after completing a 5.5G technology trial on its network in partnership with Chinese vendor Huawei.

The Middle East telco said it was the first operator to complete a trial of this kind in Kuwait’s telecom market. The company also tested Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), a key 5.5G feature.

The telco also noted that the recent trial was carried out under supervision and in collaboration with the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA).

Zain highlighted that it has invested early in upgrading and enhancing its network’s infrastructure to prepare for the shift towards the 5.5G era.

5.5G, which features uptra-fast speeds and higher efficiency levels, combined with Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), which brings reduced latency and ultra-reliable connections, will meet the growing demand of cloud computing, AI, big data, immersive AR/VR experiences and autonomous vehicles, the telco added.

Zain has also recently showcased its network’s readiness for the rollout of 5G New Calling (5GNC), an emerging 5G network capability that paves the way for a new era of voice and video calling and will rely on the capabilities of 5.5G.

5G-Advanced technology, or “5.5G”, will pave the way for a wider adoption of connectivity for industrial settings, John Gao, President of Huawei’s 5.5G domain, previously told RCR Wireless News.

Gao stressed that 5.5G will enable wireless production and flexible manufacturing with its low latency and high reliability, thus accelerating the intelligent transformation of industries.

The executive noted that 5.5G will provide larger system capacities, lower-priced modules and large-scale service provisioning capabilities, which will enable scenarios with hundreds of millions of video connections. Gao also noted that scenarios with more extensively ubiquitous asset logistics can be managed using tags of lower costs and power consumption with 5.5G networks.

He went on to say that the deployment of 5.5G technology will pave the way for harmonized communication and sensing networks to support diverse scenarios like smart air, ground, and maritime transportation as well as smart security.

Huawei believes that previous investments made by operators to deploy 5G network infrastructure will be protected with the future launch of 5G-Advanced. Huawei’s president of wireless solution, Cao Ming, recently said during a media roundtable at Huawei’s 14th Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF), held last month in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

The executive said that 5G-Advanced networks will not require large investments by operators in new network architecture and will be launched using 5G Standalone (SA) networks. He also said that Huawei is working with its partners to make sure that future 5.5G applications, devices and services will be fully compatible with current 5G networks.

Huawei had previously said that it planned to launch a complete set of commercial 5.5G network equipment in 2024.