Abu Dhabi: TECHz – News Desk
e& UAE, the telecommunications arm of the e& group, has become the first operator in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to successfully introduce and test Reduced Capability (RedCap) software on a commercial 5G Standalone (5G SA) network.
The initial end-to-end verification of the technology was completed in collaboration with global technology partner Ericsson, utilizing its RedCap Radio Access Network (RAN) software. Following this successful test, e& UAE recently activated a smartwatch as the first live RedCap use case in the United Arab Emirates, demonstrating the technology’s readiness for wider deployment.
Also recognized in 3GPP standards as NR-Light, RedCap is a streamlined 5G technology designed specifically to optimize device performance for mid-tier Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The technology effectively scales down the complexity, physical size, and capabilities of a new array of 5G IoT devices. This scaling provides a crucial balance by delivering adequate data speeds while significantly extending battery life and reducing overall device costs.
The implementation of RedCap allows e& UAE to introduce services beyond traditional enhanced mobile broadband on its 5G SA architecture, unlocking new monetization opportunities across consumer and industrial spaces. For consumers, the live smartwatch use case delivers reliable, high-speed connectivity with extended battery life and enhanced network security features, including advanced encryption and network slicing.
On the enterprise side, RedCap provides deterministic performance for business-critical applications in manufacturing, logistics, utilities, and smart city infrastructure. It actively supports industrial sensors and video surveillance cameras in a much more energy-efficient manner.
The testing and deployment on e& UAE’s live network ensured that RedCap was successfully enabled across both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) spectrums. To guarantee seamless integration, the telecom operator has also implemented a stringent certification framework to test and verify new RedCap devices before they are introduced to the broader network.
