Nokia, Zain Saudi Arabia and STC collaborate on 5G, IoT development in Saudi Arabia

Nokia and Zain KSA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on developing 5G and define a clear path toward building the next-generation ultra-broadband networks in Saudi Arabia.

The companies will combine their expertise to develop use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios for 5G technologies. The MoU was signed at Mobile World Congress 2017 by Peter Kaliaropoulos, Chief Executive Officer of Zain Saudi Arabia and Ashish Chowdhary, Chief Customer Operations Officer of Nokia.

The ultra-low latency and high reliability of 5G technology will enable connectivity for billions of devices in IoT. IoT use cases including connected mobility, industrial networking, smart factories and offices, remote healthcare, virtual reality and Ultra High Definition video services will help many sectors grow exponentially. While Nokia and Zain Saudi Arabia already started working together to transform Jeddah into a smart city, further collaboration through the new agreement will take that to the next level towards smart, safe and sustainable cities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Peter Kaliaropoulos of Zain Saudi Arabia, said: "Zain and Nokia have been closely working together for over a decade and have achieved many MEA- and Saudi-firsts in our joint endeavor to bring innovative mobile broadband services and world-class customer experience to the Kingdom. With this MoU, we are now taking this strong partnership to the next level, evolving toward building the next-generation 5G networks. We are confident again that in this journey we will mark many more industry-firsts, which will enable us to play our role in the digital transformation of the country toward the knowledge based economy."

Eng. Sultan Abdulaziz AlDeghaither, Chief Technology Officer at Zain Saudi Arabia, said: "Working with our partner Nokia, we aim to provide the next generation ultra-broadband services. This agreement will take us closer to providing commercial 5G network in the Saudi market by introducing 4.5G Pro and 4.9G technologies to Zain's network during the course of 2017. According to telecom experts, 5G networks will not only provide faster internet speeds, but also enable new applications such as IoT broadcast-like services and lifeline critical communications in times of natural disaster."

Ali Al Jitawi, head of the Zain Saudi Arabia Customer Team at Nokia, said: "Nokia fully understands Zain's priorities and is committed to bringing the latest mobile broadband technologies to Saudi Arabia through market-leading trials and deployments such as 4.5G Pro, 4.9G, DFCA**, multi-band carrier aggregation and the re-farming of the 900 MHz band. Our continued collaboration with Zain will modernize its network toward 5G, building the foundation for IoT and smart cities in the Kingdom."

Nokia, STC collaborating on 5G and IoT development

Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of 5G and IoT use cases. Under the terms of the MoU, Nokia and STC will carry out trials of technologies such as 4.5G Pro and 4.9G, key steps on the path to 5G to build the capacity and throughput speeds needed for new applications.

The collaboration will also play an important role in STC's digitalization transformation and its support of Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision for transforming the country to be the hub connecting three continents including Asia, Africa and Europe. The MoU was signed at Mobile World Congress by Nasser Al-Nasser, Senior Vice-President of Technology and Operations at STC, and Samih Elhage, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia.

With its ultra-low latency and extreme broadband network capacity, 5G will enable new possibilities in a number of vertical industry sectors, including connected cars, industrial networking, remote healthcare, virtual reality and ultra-high definition video services. With Nokia's mobile broadband expertise in 4.5G Pro and 4.9G, STC will be able to commence the evolution of its existing network toward 5G, preparing its infrastructure for the massive increase in data, devices and applications that 5G and IoT will facilitate.

Nasser Al-Nasser of STC, said: "Our mission is to enrich our society by introducing pioneering services to the people in the Kingdom, and we are proud to enter into this MoU with our long-term partner Nokia to achieve this mission. We aim to bring the first commercial 5G network to the gulf region, and we are confident that Nokia's innovations toward the development of 5G technologies and IoT use cases, and their trials around the world, will provide a clear path for this."

Waseem Al-Marzogi, head of the STC customer business team at Nokia, said: "We are pleased to collaborate with STC, a highly innovative services provider, to develop next-generation broadband services as well as IoT applications for smart cities in the Kingdom. 5G and IoT are the main pillars of STC's 2020 Vision, and Nokia is committed to enabling extreme broadband services, critical machine-type communications and IoT services, creating a super-efficient infrastructure for STC."