COUNTRY FOCUS: KSA
“
IN 5G
TECHNOLOGY
OPENS UP A
NUMBER OF NEW
AND EXCITING
USE-CASES.
the pivotal role it plays in enabling Saudi
Arabia’s 2030 Vision and National
Transformation Plan.
The MoU was signed at the Mobile World
Congress by Nasser Al-Nasser, Chief
Operating Officer, STC, and Ali Amer,
Managing Director, Global Service Provider
Sales, Cisco Middle East and Africa.
Under the terms of the MoU, Cisco intends
to work closely with STC on its architectural
transformation to help unlock the
commercial potential of 5G mobile networks.
This will enable STC to provision advanced
network services, such as low-latency, and
differentiate its service delivery in the 5G era.
The two companies will also work on
developing use cases that accelerate
the deployment of new enterprise and
industry 5G services. Another key element
of the collaboration aims to address the
security needs of the 5G era by building
a framework for threat intelligence that
underpins STC’s prevention, detection
and mitigation efforts.
LTE Advanced and NB-IOT drive
STC 4G expansion in Saudi Arabia
Ali Amer, Managing Director Global Service
Provider, Cisco Middle East and Africa
role in the service provider’s strategic
blueprint, creating the scalable network that
supports the creation of new services in the
fastest and most agile way possible.
“As businesses increasingly digitise, mobile
carriers will need the speed, low latency,
reliability and dynamic provisioning
capabilities that 5G networks are expected
to deliver,” said Ali Amer, Managing Director,
Global Service Provider Sales, Cisco Middle
East and Africa. “Our collaboration with STC
will enable their network infrastructure to
evolve into the new era of digitisation by
taking advantage of the 5G momentum.”
Work is also going on to expand the 4G
network helping to smooth the way to 5G.
Ericsson has been chosen by STC Group
for a major nationwide expansion of its
4G network in Saudi Arabia, including the
deployment of LTE Advanced and Narrow
Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) in
Radio Access Network.
The deal spearheads STC’s drive to
revolutionise mobile broadband-driven
data experiences for its subscribers and
open up new enterprise opportunities
in IoT, while laying the groundwork
for evolution to 5G. The LTE Advanced
expansion, which got underway
in December 2017, includes the
deployment of Ericsson’s 5G-ready
baseband hardware in the network. LTE
Advanced will be deployed in a new
“We are excited about the next phase of our
evolution which will pave the way for massive
innovation and give rise to a new breed of
services that benefit the Saudi economy,”
said Al-Nasser.
“Our new 5G network architecture will
enable us to make the next leap forward
by delivering inclusive broadband that
transforms how people use technology in
their daily lives. We look forward to working
closely with Cisco to develop a future-ready
network that delivers advanced capabilities
to help us address increasing customer
demands and new service trends.”
The transition to 5G is fundamental for
STC’s vision, as it forms the foundation for
future solutions including smart cities, IoT
and other vertical services. Virtualisation and
network automation will play a prominent
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