Channel Post speaks with Kamal Mokrani, Global Vice President at InfiNet Wireless about their long-standing participation at GITEX.
How long have you been participating at GITEX and how has this continued participation benefitted you?
We have been a regular participant in GITEX for the last 9 years, and we certainly plan to continue attending this major regional event in the foreseeable future.
In terms of what we get out of GITEX, it is first and foremost an excellent platform for us to unveil our latest wireless developments, some of which have been specifically tailored to the harsh environmental conditions of the Middle Easter region. We also consider this event as a golden opportunity for our management team to update our partners and customers about our success stories from around the world and share our experiences with them.
During this event, we also learn a lot about the different initiatives from various customers in the region who may have already implemented ground-breaking infrastructures. For example, we regard the UAE as a major and global player in the area of Smart Cities and IoT. The information we take away from GITEX is invaluable to our R&D teams who further adapt our existing wireless solutions or simply develop brand new ones to meet the market’s demands.
Can you give us details of your hall and booth at the event?
This years’ edition will mark the 10th consecutive year that we will be participating at GITEX! We welcome visitors to stop by our booth located in Zabeel Hall, Stand Z-J10.
What are you showcasing at GITEX Technology Week 2017?
This year, we will be showcasing our high-bandwidth wireless solutions for ‘Smart City’ applications such as homeland security, traffic management and optimization, remote environmental and health monitoring, etc.
What technology trends have you seen in the Middle East and Africa market?
It is predicted that in the next three to five years, the wireless market will become even more diversified. There are already a number of alternative technologies available that are conducive for fixed wireless broadband, one of which is 4G/LTE. Although 5G will definitely become a serious competitor to our company in the future, there are currently no products that actually support 5G. This is mainly due to the fact that there is no approved standard to define the 5th generation of mobile wireless systems. The actual deployment of 5G, together with the associated products and services, are in our opinion a few years down the road. We will of course be playing a major role when 5G is ratified and starts to make its appearance across various platforms.
Do you have any plans to launch any new products, solutions or technologies at GITEX Technology Week this year?
This year, we will be launching various extensions of our award-winning InfiLINK XG models which now support new frequency bands such as 2.x GHz, 3.x GHz and 4.x GHz, as well as the previous 5.x GHz and 6.x GHz bands. These models are positioned ideally for backhauling various access points in the standard Wi-Fi frequency bands and for 4G/LTE base stations, for high-capacity connectivity, public safety networks, etc.
We will also showcase our new generation InfiMAN 2×2 product family, complemented by a brand-new smart antenna base station sector unit (known as the Qmxb) and a new range of subscriber terminals fitted with higher capacities and spectral efficiencies, all of which operate perfectly in both Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) conditions.
