Zain Group and Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson have entered into a 5G research and development agreement, which will allow the two partners to evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components. The collaboration aims to develop new 5G use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios, thus paving the way for 5G deployment in the Middle East supporting Zain’s transformation towards digitisation. Zain Group’s CTO Hisham Allam said: ‘As a leading 4G operator, we are always working to ensure that we are first to market with new innovations for our customers. Working with Ericsson will enable us to gain additional insights into our customer market and potential growth areas supporting our vision of being a digital lifestyle operator.’