Etisalat is set to launch the LTE in the Middle East by end of 2010 . Through LTE, Etisalat will be able to provide downlink speed of 140Mbps and 50Mbps uplink speed, reaching yet another technological milestone, according to Mr. Abdulla AL Ahmad, Vice President, Enterprise Sales at Etisalat.

Addressing a power packed audience at the Strategic Keynote session, on the opening day of the Middle East Communications (MECOM) conference and exhibition, AL Ahmad also highlighted the key challenges faced by the global telecom industry and the focus areas for Etisalat in the coming year.

Etisalat will commercially launch the Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G technology to the Middle East by end of 2010. Etisalat has been conducting successful LTE trials, designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile networks. 

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) earlier this year, Mohammed Omran, chairman of the UAE owned telecoms giant announced that Etisalat was in the process of testing Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems and are aiming to roll out the service in the UAE later this year. 

Last year Etisalat has demonstrated successful LTE trial at GITEX 2009.