World’s ‘first’ commercial 5G network launches in Qatar

If the “race to 5G” can be “won” by the first carrier to launch limited 5G cellular services within a country, Qatar’s Ooredoo may have earned a gold medal today. The carrier saysthat it has just launched 5G Supernet, “the first commercially available 5G network in the world,” and is promising live, standards-compliant 5G NR service in Qatar’s capital city Doha.

Ooredoo has been aggressively moving towards deploying 5G since at least 2016, having previously completed local 5G trials, developed early 5G base stations, and launched in November a 5G business services trial with Qatar Airways. This isn’t the first time the carrier has claimed a world’s first on 5G deployment; Ooredoo previously offered a pre-standards “5G speed experience” to a handful of VIP customers, before partnering with ZTE to commercialize standards-compliant 5G hardware in March.