STC and Ooredoo Tap Ericsson to Roll Out 5G Across Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Ericsson has been selected by Ooredoo Qatar to make its ‘Supernet’ fully 5G-enabled and enhance the digital lives of people, enterprises and industries across Qatar.

The 5G deal will see Ericsson Radio System, 5G New Radio solutions, and 10 Gbps microwave solutions digitally transform and modernize Ooredoo’s existing mobile networks and introduce the latest 5G technologies across the country.

Ericsson’s high-speed and low-latency 5G technology will help Ooredoo to meet growing data traffic demands and deliver high-quality mobile broadband and fixed wireless experiences.

Ooredoo is currently preparing about 1,200 network base stations to be 5G-ready. Once the network stations are completed and 5G-compatible devices reach the market, Ooredoo’s 5G network will be able to provide download speeds of up to 100 times faster than 4G networks.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, says: “Our partnership with Ericsson will provide the 5G foundation for our Ooredoo Supernet to enable Qatar’s smart cities, digitally competitive Internet of Things industries, and immersive mega-events and virtual reality experiences. As 5G becomes mainstream across Qatar, we are dedicated to transforming industries and enhancing people’s digital lives.”

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Market Area Middle East and Africa, Ericsson, says: “We are partnering with Ooredoo to bring our latest 5G innovation to life in their nationwide network. 5G promises to accelerate the digitization of industries, presenting Ooredoo with new opportunities and enabling them to launch the most advanced technologies while improving the end-user experience with faster speeds and lower latency.”

Ericsson recently enhanced its 5G Platform with portfolio additions across core, radio access and transport areas, as well as service orchestration. The add-ons make the platform more dynamic and flexible, enabling service providers to smoothly evolve their networks and deploy 5G at scale.

STC Selects Ericsson for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Ericsson have signed a deal to launch a mid-band 5G network in Saudi Arabia. The deal was announced at a signing ceremony at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona.

STC is deploying a 5G network using Ericsson commercial hardware and solutions including radio access network (RAN), packet core, transport, and Ericsson Network Manager. The network modernization – comprising latest wireless and fixed broadband technologies, boosted speed and 5G deployment - will operate on a 3.5 GHZ band.

Nasser Al Nasser, STC CEO, says: “We are excited to launch one of the fastest mid-band 5G field networks in the world. We have been working in close partnership with Ericsson on 5G for tests in the lab, field trials, and now initial deployment. Throughout this process, our customers and their service requirements are our top priority. Our aim is to build a network that caters for current and future services. 5G is considered as a very important step toward digitalization and connecting everything, which supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 toward economic diversification."

STC and Ericsson have a longstanding partnership to create a strategic roadmap for the evolution towards 5G technology.

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: “5G holds an immense potential for driving industry digitization and pioneering innovation. Our collaboration with STC has enabled us to create a fast mid-band 5G field network based on real business needs, which supports STC in meeting their future customer requirements.”

5G at mid and high bands is well suited for deployment at existing site grids, especially when combined with low-band LTE. Adding new frequency bands to existing deployments is a future-proof and cost-efficient way to improve performance, meet the growing needs of mobile broadband subscribers, and deliver new 5G-based services.

In addition to facilitating the delivery of next-generation mobile broadband, cloud, and providing support for massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment, Ericsson’s 5G collaboration with STC will also enable new industry use cases thanks to increased throughput and reduced latency.

Eng. Emad A. Alaoudah, Procurement and Support Services Sector VP, STC, said: “STC has signed multiple Rawafed Local Content agreements under its flagship 5G Aspiration Project with Strategic Partners. These agreements will open new opportunities for the local supply market and build long term capability in the national ICT sector.

"The 5G project with all partners will contribute more than SAR2bn to local industry, boost Saudization in vital next-gen technology and management positions by 50%, increase SME support by 20%, and double the direct innovation investment made by STC Strategic Partners for 5G industry development within KSA. The measures taken will ensure maximal knowledge transfer, training and development of the Saudi workforce in future 5G technologies.

"STC and its Strategic Partners have agreed upon accelerating 5G use case development within the Kingdom leveraging innovation hubs and long-term sustainable innovation platforms. These plans will establish KSA as a future 5G regional center of competence.”

The combined effort of the two partners aims to create significant value towards Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, targeting both consumer and business sectors to enjoy next-generation technologies.