Nokia tapped to expand and enhance Zain KSA's digital infra

The agreement, signed during the LEAP 2022 global tech event in Riyadh, will contribute to the enhancement of network coverage and services provided by the operator in the Kingdom.

Saudi telecom company Zain KSA has selected Nokia to expand, enhance its digital infrastructure and strengthen its presence in the country, the latter announced on Thursday.

The agreement, signed during the LEAP 2022 global tech event in Riyadh, will contribute to the enhancement of network coverage and services provided by the operator in the Kingdom.

"Through this partnership announced at LEAP, we will collaborate with Nokia to further develop technologies, use cases and multiple applications that will further contribute to the enhancement of the services our network provides. This will open up new horizons for the future of technology which will be based on cloud computing services, AI services, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, smart cities, fintech and others," said Eng. Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Mufda, Chief Technology Officer at Zain KSA.

As part of the agreement, Zain KSA will deploy Nokia solutions including AirScale Radio, Wavence Microwave, NetAct and EdenNet Self-Organizing Networks (SON), to improve coverage and network performance.

Additionally, Nokia said it is applying carrier aggregation and massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) technology approaches to help the Saudi operator enhance its network capacity while continuing to support a better end-user experience with high-bandwidth and low-latency technologies.

Commenting on this partnership, Eng. Mohammed Al-Keridy, Head of Zain KSA Customer Team at Nokia, said, "We are proud of our long-term relationship with Zain KSA and pleased to be part of its journey to support the Kingdom's transition to a comprehensive digital transformation for socio-economic development by empowering individuals, businesses and government agencies with Nokia's latest, most reliable innovative technologies and products."

The agreement is in line with Zain KSA's initiatives to position the Saudi telecom sector on a global scale and transform it into a major enabler to achieve the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.