Nokia says the recent launch of 5G with Zain in KSA plays an important role contributing to the government’s National Transformation Plan 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030.
Zain and Nokia have been working together on 5G in KSA since the companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding back in 2017.
In June 2019, the companies firmed up the relationship with a three-year, end-to-end contract to roll-out 5G to 4,000 sites, then in October 2019 they launched their 5G networks and services that covered multiple cities including Jeddah and the holy city of Mekkah.
This saw the Zain-Nokia partnership rolling out more than 1,000 5G sites in the three-month period. The first phase of 5G deployment will provide a network of 2,000 sites to cover a total of 26 Saudi cities by the end of 2019.
As well as enhancing mobile broadband services in KSA, the ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency 5G network provided by Zain will enable new applications and services offering advanced industrial automation, improved education, healthcare, entertainment and immersive Virtual Reality services, similar to the services offered at Hajj this year.
This is central to a wider national strategy designed to improve the digital infrastructure and digital life of the country and will ensure widespread socio-economic benefits across KSA.