TAWAL partners with Nokia for 5G expansion in Saudi Arabia

TAWAL, a leading Saudi ICT infrastructure company, has partnered with Nokia to expand and deploy the 5G network across its infrastructure in the western and southern parts of the country, the latter said on Wednesday.

The collaboration is in line with TAWAL's strategy to accelerate the roll-out of future technologies and support the Kingdom's Vision 2030 of digital transformation.

Commenting on the partnership, Saeed Alshehri, Chief Operation Officer of TAWAL, said, "We are delighted to work with Nokia in expanding and deploying the 5G network across our infrastructure. This comes in line with our strategy to enrich the communication needs of MNOs, the Government and Businesses by accelerating the roll-out of new technologies, together we will provide the best-in-class services to build and manage the infrastructure that will allow us to stay ahead of our clients' needs."

As part of the agreement, Nokia will provide its full turnkey services that include comprehensive project management, civil work, tower replacement, tower reinforcement, collocation, relocation and power supplies to enhance the infrastructure's efficiency and reduce operational costs. Additionally, the Finnish telecom giant will be replacing some existing towers with new ones while modernizing and strengthening others.

The project is part of TAWAL's plan for the 5G expansion in the western and southern parts of Saudi Arabia where Nokia will be adding 5G capabilities to 670 4G sites over the course of six months.

"This partnership will highlight Nokia's full turnkey services, which will contribute to achieve the Kingdom's 2030 Vision and support the digital transformation. Our partnership will further pave the way for future collaborations with TAWAL in the 5G-era," said Khalid Hussein, Country Senior Officer at Nokia Saudi.