Telecom Review organized a virtual panel which saw the participation of 300 registrants, to discuss the opportunities offered by 5G fixed wireless access networks to consumers and mobile operators. Abdulrahman AlMufadda, CTO, Zain KSA and Ali Jitawi, customer business team head Zain, Nokia talked in depth about the importance of this technology. The panel discussion was moderated by Amer Mdanat, general manager (KSA), NXN.
The panel addressed the importance of 5G fixed wireless access in serving digital transformation goals in KSA, and how end users can benefit from 5G fixed wireless access and the main 5G fixed wireless access offerings and solutions.
The partnership between Zain KSA and Nokia in Saudi Arabia on 5G fixed wireless access has allowed them to offer the best services for their customers.
Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Mufadda, CTO, Zain KSA, walked through the operator’s 5G journey, and said “We are committed to providing our customers with the most innovative solutions in line with our strategy of being the digital service provider of choice in the Kingdom, and in alignment with the kingdom’s digital transformation per Saudi Vision 2030. Our focus in rolling out the 5G network was on 2 tracks, the first, was having the highest reachability in the kingdom through a robust and reliable 5G infrastructure, and the second, was in the 5G solutions and used cases one of which is launching a first in the world 5G CPE that enables eSIMs and WiFi6”
“We’ve introduced 5G services in all Saudis 13 administrative regions, and in different cities across the Kingdom with a total of 50, enabled by 4700 towers. All of which was paid off by regional and international recognitions”, he added.
Commenting on this milestone, Ali Jitawi, customer business team head Zain, Nokia said, “We value our partnership with Zain KSA which started off with the provision of voice and data services with GSM, 4G, 4G LTE, and now with 5G. Our engagement with Zain in terms of 5G started in 2018. We have been able to offer 5G fixed wireless access to our customers in the Kingdom thanks to Nokia’s engineering knowledge and Zain’s expertise in the Kingdom”.
Nokia’s 5G fixed wireless access gateway is quite unique. Ali Jitawi explained that “Nokia’s FastMile gateway is characterized by the ease of installation, an award-winning design and its open-standards capabilities first in the world to enable eSIMS and WiFi 6.”
To conclude the session, both panelists lauded the importance of 5G FWA encouraging SMEs and consumers to leverage its capabilities, for an accelerated internet experience in offices and homes.