Etisalat has completed the design and implantation of the most modern mobile infrastructure, which is compatible with the latest wireless standards including WiMAX and LTE, within the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai. This means that residents, visitors and corporate executives will have full access to all of Etisalat’s superior mobile services as well as fixed-line services anywhere within the iconic tower.

Etisalat also confirmed that its award-winning fixed-line service, eLife, which includes the Middle East’s fastest home broadband connectivity at 30Mbps and advanced IPTV services such as High Definition TV and Video on Demand, will also be available to all offices, restaurants, shops, hotels and apartments. Ahmad Julfar, Chief Operating Office at Etisalat, said: “We are proud and excited to have actively partnered with one of the world’s most iconic projects. It also brings us joy to successfully conclude the setting up of a world-class mobile infrastructure in the world’s tallest building. Etisalat’s mission is to extend its customer’s reach, and there is no better example of how we are achieving this than through equipping all users of the world’s tallest building with the most powerful communications infrastructure available”. “Not only are we able to provide the highest quality mobile network to support telephone calls, but through our fiber-optic services, eLife, provide the fastest mobile broadband services. This not only makes this particular installation the highest, but also the most advanced.”

Etisalat’s network now spans the pools annex building, the offices annex building and approximately 5million square feet of the main tower building providing mobile voice, advanced broadband and multimedia services with downloads of up to 21 Megabits per second. Etisalat’s infrastructure, which includes 186km of cable, can provide coverage to people who will work, visit and live in the tower every day. Etisalat will also ensure crystal clear communications within the forthcoming Armani Hotel Dubai, restaurants and all 57 elevators within the complex. This is the first time in the UAE that a building will have comprehensive elevator coverage and a unique solution has been deployed to ensure that calls remain connected from the car parks to the topmost floor. The network has been designed to be capable of adopting future technology standards, including Mobile Network Future (MNF) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) that can offer download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps. Etisalat demonstrated LTE for the first time in the Middle East at GITEX 2009. It can also accommodate WiMAX providing even greater options for Etisalat’s customers. Almost 100 engineers, consultants and technicians worked on the installation which will have taken three years to implement including the design phase.