Telecom provider Zain has deployed the region’s largest 5G network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first phase of Zain’s 5G rollout comprises 2000 towers across 20 cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This launch follows the first 5G launch in Kuwait which is ten-fold faster than the current 4G network. Zain is a prominent telecom player in the Kingdom and one of the leading telecom groups in the Middle East.
Zain will gradually expand the 5G network to 26 cities with 2600 towers to serve 8.3 million customers by the end of the year. It has signed a three-year contract with Nokia for the 5G rollout. The 5G rollout in the Kingdom is in line with Vision 2030 to fulfill digital transformation goals.
The 5G services will establish a robust research ground for students and professionals in artificial intelligence and virtual reality space. Also, it is expected to further fuel innovations in big data services in the Kingdom.
Zain Vice Chairman & Group CEO, & Zain KSA Vice Chairman, Bader Al Kharafi, told the local media that, “5G will bring substantial change for the kingdom’s telecom industry, creating new business models and unlocking opportunities for many sectors such as financial, ICT, agricultural, tourism, entertainment, automotive, health, education and public sectors, to name a few.”
The launch comes at a time when Zain is excelling in operational performance. It will be able to offer 5G services to all business and individual customers at competitive prices in the Kingdom. The telecom provider has reached the highest profit of SR380 million during the first nine months of 2019, compared to a total of SR332 million last year.