Ooredoo
launches 5G
commercial
network
QCRI to launch centre for AI
O
oredoo has announced that the
company is the first operator in the
world to launch a live 5G network on the
3.5GHz spectrum band.
The breakthrough announcement was
made in an event attended by Ooredoo
senior management at the Ooredoo Tower
in West Bay. Attendees were also briefed
on the first Ooredoo 5G site which was
accomplished just days after Ooredoo’s new
5G Commercial Core Network was activated.
Ooredoo’s 5G network is the first
commercially available 5G network in the
world and is an important technological
breakthrough for the telecommunications
industry worldwide.
Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Executive Officer,
Ooredoo Qatar, said: “Ooredoo and Qatar
make history. We are the first company in
the world to offer access to 5G technology
and services, and the people of Qatar are the
first to have access to the incredible benefits
this technological upgrade will bring.
“We dedicate this important milestone to the
people of Qatar and to our beloved leaders,
who have encouraged this step in building
the knowledge-based economy of Qatar.”
The first stage of Ooredoo’s 5G Supernet
deployment will cover an area from The Pearl
Qatar to Hamad International Airport, with
Lagoona, Katara Cultural Village, West Bay,
the Corniche and Souq Waqif also included in
the initial commercial launch coverage area.
Q
atar Computing Research Institute
(QCRI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa
University (HBKU), is poised to launch
the QCRI Center for Artificial Intelligence
(Q-CAI), an initiative that plans to ramp
up the development of AI technologies
to serve the domestic needs of Qatar
and to position the country as a global
leader in AI.
Q-CAI will focus on research, education
and policy initiatives that will position
Qatar as a leader in the field and promote
organic homegrown AI technologies, as
well as embrace emerging solutions.
The centre will also develop policy
guidelines for the citizens of Qatar to
use AI in a manner consistent with
local cultural norms, and work with
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education providers from kindergarten
to universities to create programmes
that promote knowledge of AI within the
Qatari education system.
QCRI’s Executive Director Ahmed
Elmagarmid said the centre will increase
QCRI’s focus on AI, which has flourished
since the research institute was formed
in 2010. “Q-CAI will leverage our existing
efforts to reflect that AI, or machine
learning, is what our research relies on,” Dr
Elmagarmid said. “Setting up a special arm
to promote this is a natural progression.”
The new centre will be based at QCRI’s
existing headquarters at the HBKU
Research Complex, and will involve some
of QCRI’s leading AI experts.
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