Motorola, Inc. has announced that its Home & Networks Mobility business and UAE telecom provider du are collaborating in the launch of Dubai Metro’s mobile WiMAX (News - Alert) network.

According to a press release, Motorola’s WiMAX equipment will provide mobile connectivity and effective backhaul for Wi-Fi traffic on the Dubai Metro transport system train carriages and also in metro stations, according to Motorola (News - Alert) sources.

Dubai Metro is expected to be the longest fully automated rail transport system in the world. The Red Line is about 52 km long and is already functional. This will be followed by the Green line by early next year. On completion the metro is projected to have 47 stations, four of which will be underground.

du will offer customers wireless Internet access while traveling on the train at speeds up to 90 km per hour with the successful implementation of the WiMAX network by Motorola. Customers can stay connected through their PDAs and laptops via Wi-Fi services.

“Offering city-wide internet access on the Dubai Metro is part of ongoing efforts to ensure our customers enjoy the convenience of exceptional connectivity, on-demand, wherever they travel. We are delighted to partner with industry-leader Motorola on this initiative to provide a first-rate WiMAX network which benefits the thousands of commuters using the Dubai Metro,” said Hatem Bamatraf, senior vice president, network development, in a release.

This WiMAX deployment will be the first truly mobile WiMAX network in the UAE. Ali Amer, vice president, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility, said the project reaffirms Motorola’s ability to undertake major technology advancements.

Using Motorola’s WiMAX technology, du will provide its customers with high-speed wireless services and all the benefits of real-time information-exchange while traveling, he noted.

Motorola’s strategy to provide optimum WiMAX technologies, solutions and services to regional and global telecom operators has been realized with the Dubai Metro WiMAX initiative. The deployment will encompass network design, installation and optimization. The Motorola WiMAX equipment will optimize performance of nomadic data services to mobile customers across the Dubai Metro system, said company sources.

du is an integrated telecom service provider in the UAE and launched mobile telecommunication services two years back along with Internet and pay TV services. du provides these services in some of the free zones of Dubai.