UAE telecom operator du has deployed a 5G-Advanced (5G+) indoor network at Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of the Emirates in Dubai in partnership with Huawei, achieving speeds exceeding 3.5 Gbps across all floors.
The deployment is designed to improve indoor connectivity for visitors and retailers, supporting high-bandwidth applications, digital services and connected retail operations.
The network uses more than 150 strategically positioned antennas to provide coverage across the mall. It incorporates three-band carrier aggregation with a combined bandwidth of 300 MHz on a single antenna, comprising 200 MHz on the N78 band and 100 MHz on the N41 band.
According to du, the deployment delivered more than 50% higher data throughput compared with conventional 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) network performance.
The enhanced capacity is expected to support applications such as high-definition streaming, cloud-based services and real-time interactive experiences, while enabling retailers to adopt more advanced digital tools.
“Indoor connectivity is non-negotiable to the experience people expect from major retail and entertainment destinations,” said Saleem Alblooshi, chief technology officer at du.
“Our deployment at Mall of the Emirates demonstrates how 5G+ can deliver the speed, capacity and consistency needed to meet those expectations,” he said.
Alblooshi added that the collaboration with Huawei and Majid Al Futtaim would strengthen connectivity for visitors and provide retailers with the network infrastructure to explore new digital services.
The deployment uses advanced pRRU technology, which du said would help address connectivity demands in complex indoor environments with high visitor volumes and extensive floor areas, while improving spectrum efficiency.
The project forms part of du’s broader investment in next-generation network infrastructure across the UAE, as demand for reliable indoor connectivity grows across commercial and public spaces.
