Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Nokia announced that they are collaborating to launch the STC 5G network in 2018 in Saudi Arabia. The companies agreed to collectively work towards finding the most optimal network strategy and relevant use-cases for 5G deployment in the Saudi market.
As a first step, hundreds of 5G base stations are planned to be deployed in the Western region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Makkah, Madinah and Yanbu). The 5G collaboration aims to use Nokia's equipment and solutions, including 5G-ready AirScale platform and AirFrame data center for the network launch.
Amr K. El Leithy, Head of Middle East and Africa Market at Nokia, said the company will leverage its technology expertise to define the strategies and services that will help STC achieve Saudi Vision 2030. He said Nokia's products and solutions will allow STC to evolve its network, "managing 4G demands today and the 5G demands of the future."
The unique combination of high-speed and low-latency in 5G technology opens up a number of new and exciting use-cases such as virtual reality, augmented reality, connected cars, industrial robots, and remote healthcare, among others.
"We have been working closely with Nokia over the last 20 years. It is a testimony for this successful partnership that we have decided to collaborate with Nokia for this critical launch, with the aim of making 5G a reality in 2018," said Acting STC Group CEO, Nasser Al Nasser. "We are confident that Nokia's proven expertise and technology leadership in 5G will work in our favor and will help us in deploying a pioneering and innovative 5G services."
