Zain KSA, the leading Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator, and Huawei have signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the “5.5G City” joint innovation project, during the Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC23).
Under the MoU, both parties will work together to promote technological innovation for 5.5G evolution and expand scalable offerings to individual, enterprise, and government customers. Additionally, they will strengthen the digital infrastructure and build a global 5.5G evolution pioneer network, providing a strong engine to achieve the national digitalization goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030.
Zain KSA and Huawei will collaborate to enhance technological innovation, improve user experience, and develop new use cases. The collaboration will involve providing a seamless gigabit experience in both indoor and outdoor scenarios through the large-scale deployment of MetaAAU and 5G carrier aggregation, as well as LampSite digital indoor solutions.
Additionally, initiatives will be taken to enhance the performance of Massive MIMO networks and to develop end-to-end autonomous network operation and optimization capabilities. Both parties will also work together to develop new use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT) and private network solutions. Finally, the partnership will explore innovative cooperation in areas such as ultra-compact sites and green energy solutions, among others.
Abdulrahman bin Hamad AlMufadda CTO – Zain KSA
“Our commitment to driving digital transformation in the Kingdom has been made possible by combining innovative technology investments with pioneering digital solutions across multiple fields, including cloud computing, fintech, business support, and drone technologies. By partnering with global ICT leaders, including Huawei, we are committed to enhancing Zain KSA’s end-to-end network through our joint innovation on 5G-Advanced technology and by incubating a range of vertical services for industry digitalization.”
Mr. Ritchie Peng, President of Huawei’s 5G Product Line, said that “We are committed to providing leading products and solutions for operators and helping them build high-quality mobile networks through continuous technical innovations. We are excited to work with Zain KSA on this 5.5G City project and hope that this cooperation will allow our innovative products and solutions to create business and social value. Our vision is to help Zain KSA build better 5G networks and more importantly, leading digital infrastructure.”
