Page 117 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Saudi Arabia Leads on 5G Rollout

Saudi Arabia is leading the rollout of 5G in the Middle East and
North Africa, says the GSMA’s news Mobile Economy Report for
the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) 2022. The revelation is
one of the many conversations to be had at Mobile 360 Riyadh,
a two-day conference hosted by the GSMA. The event is also
significant for being the first, post-Covid in-person gathering of the
telecoms industry in the MENA region. The report also explores
how Saudi Arabia has evolved into a digital hub and a leader in the
regional transition to 5G, a position enabled by positive regulation,
government funding and projects such as stc’s MENA HUB – a $1
billion investment in regional connectivity and infrastructure that
will support Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding digital and cloud
sector. The report predicts that the dominant 4G networks of today
will peak in 2023 as consumers transition to 5G. By 2025, 5G will
account for nearly a fifth of total mobile connections in MENA but Now it’s time to drive economic recovery and promote sustainable
currently there are around 15 million 5G connections eight MENA development,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. The key
countries. Meanwhile, the number of mobile internet users in MENA themes at Mobile 360 Riyadh will be Expanding the Boundaries of
swelled to over 300 million in 2021. In Saudi Arabia, 60 of the 136 Technology; Urban Innovation in Action and Digital Policies for a
governates were covered by 5G services as of mid-2021, up from Digital Future. Additional debates include a discussion on What
30 just one year earlier. In addition, the telcos stc and Zain have Next for the Mobile Sector and dedicated sessions on FinTech,
built commercial 5G Stand Alone (SA) networks in Saudi Arabia Smart Cities, Spectrum and Sustainability. Mobile 360 Riyadh
to cater to the most demanding industrial scale use cases. The is hosted by sponsor stc. Other sponsors include Neom, Cisco,
operator stc has also launched 5G SA in Kuwait. “Covid-19 made Ericsson, Evina, Huawei, Digis Squared, Ookla, Protei, PXS, SES,
mobile networks instrumental for social and economic activity. Syniverse, Technotree and Viavi.

Neko to return 5G Spectrum, Report Says

Brazilian 5G spectrum bidder Neko Servicos de Comunicacoes 26GHz concession comprising a 1×200MHz block of spectrum
Entretenimento e Educacao has reportedly filed a waiver seeking in Sao Paulo. Post-auction, Neko was revealed to be a bidding
to return the 26GHz frequencies it won at auction. According vehicle for Yon Moreira, who runs MVNE Surf Telecom, which
to Teletime, which cites sources familiar with the process, currently supports around 100 MVNOs. Neko intended to target 5G
the paperwork was filed last month, but has yet to be publicly fixed wireless access (FWA) and low-latency IoT solutions with its
confirmed by Neko itself. Neko successfully bid on a regional 26GHz spectrum.

Ofcom Proposes Update to Technical Conditions of O2 And Vodafone

Licenses

British telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced that, in response ‘technology neutral’. Meanwhile, Ofcom has said it plans to remove
to requests from local mobile network operators (MNOs) Vodafone a restriction placed on O2’s unpaired spectrum in the 2.6GHz
and O2, it is proposing to make changes to some licenses the duo band. It is understood the operator has requested the removal
hold. In a press release regarding its plans, the watchdog said the of a restriction on the 5MHz block within its unpaired spectrum
changes would allow both MNOs to ‘deploy new technologies, allocation adjacent to Vodafone UK’s unpaired allocation. For its
including 5G, and deliver the next generation of connectivity part, Vodafone has reportedly contacted the regulator to confirm
and services to their users’. According to Ofcom the changes it its agreement with the request. It was noted that this development,
has proposed include an updating of the technical conditions of if finalized, would allow O2 to use an unrestricted 20MHz of
licenses held by Vodafone in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz spectrum compared with the 15MHz currently available. According
and 2.6GHz bands; the proposed variations would amend the to Ofcom, meanwhile, to make this arrangement work, the two
concessions with updated parameters that reflect the latest licensees need to synchronize transmissions and both of their
technologies. In addition, the regulator has proposed removing licenses will need to be amended.
technology restrictions in Vodafone’s licenses to make them
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