Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Zain to deploy 60,000 Nokia 5G FWA gateways across Saudi Arabia

 Zain KSA will deploy 60,000 of Nokia's FastMile 5G Gateways across Saudi Arabia over the next 12 months. The 5G fixed wireless access gateways incorporate eSIMS (embedded SIM), aligning with Zain KSA’s digital transformation strategy to enhance the customer experience

FastMile 5G gateways connect homes and businesses with fixed 5G technology and offer support Wi-Fi 6.                

Nokia FastMile 5G gateways take advantage of the company’s self-optimizing mesh Wi-Fi 6 solution for real time Wi-Fi performance optimization. The gateways ensure a much quicker and easier account setup by using the latest eSIM technology that allows users to avoid the process of acquiring and installing a physical SIM card. This deployment is the first time eSIM has been used in a 5G fixed wireless access solution.                                  

Eng. AbdulRahman bin Hamad AlMufadda, Chief Technology Officer at Zain KSA, said: “Rolling out our new 5G fixed wireless access routers comes in line with our digital transformation and 5G expansion strategy reiterating our role in serving the Kingdom’s society. Our mission from the start was to strengthen the 5G experience in the Kingdom into two levels: horizontally, concerned with spreading the 5G network across the largest possible geographical scale. Vertically, through 5G fixed wireless access solutions to enable homes and offices with the best and most reliable broadband experience available. In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 we will continue to invest further to enable the digital sector and the national digital transformation namely through: cloud computing, IoT, and AI; while simultaneously aiming to become the digital service provider of choice in the Kingdom.”

Sandra Motley, President of Fixed Networks Division at Nokia, said: “We are happy to support Zain KSA connect more people, and revolutionize the way people live and work in the Kingdom. Zain KSA is joining the leading operators around the world, in providing the 5G fixed wireless access to deliver a gigabit experience to consumers and businesses alike. The combination of FastMile 5G Gateways and self-optimizing mesh Wi-Fi 6 technology means that Zain KSA is delivering a new and unmatched 5G experience to everyone, at every corner in homes and offices.”