Available in Amman and Irbid with other locations to follow
Orange Jordan has launched 5G services in several areas in Amman and in Irbid. The telco said the move was the latest in its 5G “journey”, highlighting that it was first to Pilot the 5G in the Kingdom in November 2022. It was also the first to enable the 5G network in Amman, enabling subscribers to explore the new service for free during trials.
Last September, Orange Jordan opened The Kingdom of Jordan’s first Orange 5G Lab at its Orange Digital Village in the Al-Abdali district in Amman.
In May, Orange Jordan picked Nokia to install 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) kit across its network. At the time the telco said it aims to provide 5G services to half the population within four years followed by 5% year-on-year growth. Nokia will also supply its Single RAN system under which one base station can run 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G technologies simultaneously.
Orange Middle East and Africa CEO Jerome Henique said: “Orange Jordan is the second Orange country to launch 5G in Middle East and Africa enabling massive development for main infrastructure and accordingly accelerated digital transformation, smart cities, and many use cases in diverse industries such as entertainment, health, manufacturing, education and transportation.”
Orange Jordan CEO Philippe Mansour added: “This game-changing technology will allow us all to discover new opportunities and can be utilized to promote economic growth, job creation, and enhance the quality of life in Jordan.”
The telco said it will initially offer a range of fixed and mobile 5G services to consumers and businesses – both prepaid and postpaid. It added the rollout will continue under a “set” but unspecified timeline. The 5G launch falls under Orange Jordan and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s (TRC) agreement signed in August 2022, and the 5G spectrum licence in February 2023 obtained by the telco.
Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship minister Ahmad Hanandeh, chairman of the board and CEO of the TRC Bassam Alsarhan and Orange Jordan’s chairman Dr Shabib Ammari attended the 5G launch, held at the Innovation Hub in the Orange Digital Village in Amman.
Competitors’ 5G plans
In February, Orange competitor, Umniah – which also signed a TRC agreement last August – partnered Ericsson for the launch of its first phase of 5G technology deployment in the Kingdom. Umniah said, at the time, it will introduce 5G in several phases and across several governorates. In addition to 5G kit, Ericsson will run integration and support services for the network.
In April, Kuwaiti-backed telco Zain Jordan – which signed a 5G spectrum agreement with the TRC in September – chose Nokia to supply 5G RAN equipment throughout the country in a multi-year project. A major part of the deployment is expected to be completed before the end of 2023.
Under the deal, Nokia will provide the latest generation of its AirScale Baseband systems, Massive MIMO radios and Remote Radio Head products. The equipment will be installed in at least 3,000 sites nationwide. Nokia built Zain’s original foundations for long term evolution (LTE) in Jordan back in 2016.