Page 17 - SAMENA ELITE - October-December2025

17

The UAE case shows how a compact, released a total of 1400 MHz (e.g., mountainous terrain) and the
digitally-minded country can spectrum– spanning the sub-6GHz high cost of fiber rollout in sparsely
use 5G FWA to raise the baseline range – the highest allocation populated areas. This presented an
of broadband access, support among the G20 countries. To drive ideal opportunity for 5G FWA to act
government digital-services meaningful deployment, the CST as a complementary broadband
delivery (education, health, library, imposed strict coverage and Quality solution – bridging coverage gaps
remote working), create converged of Service (QoS) obligations. This and delivering high-speed internet
consumer offers and accelerate acts as an additional lever on where fiber is unavailable.
digital inclusion. From an operator participating networks to fully utilize The "Digital Kazakhstan" program
perspective, the FWA business their available spectrum bands and explicitly aims to eliminate the digital
becomes a growth engine in an has motivated the operators to enjoy divide between urban and rural
otherwise saturating mobile market. a period of rapid growth and revenue
2. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) diversification.
Saudi Arabia, under its “Vision 2030” The "Digital Kazakhstan"
mandate, is seeking major economic As 5G FWA scales, it supports Saudi program explicitly aims
diversification, enhanced digital ser- Arabia’s digital agenda in sever-
to eliminate the digital
vices for citizens, increased SME pro- al dimensions. It promotes higher
divide between urban
ductivity and industrial digitalization. household connectivity – that leads
and rural areas, with 5G
In such a context, 5G FWA is not just a to higher broadband speeds, and
nice-to-have – it is a key infrastruc- remote-working & learning is enabled FWA identified as a key
ture, underpinning enablement. even in less dense / semi-urban technology to achieve this
areas. Further, by making broadband goal.
Saudi Arabia has established a robust simpler & quicker to deploy, it is mo-
platform for delivering mass-market tivating SMEs / enterprises to migrate
next-generation fixed wireless access. to new technologies such as to cloud, areas, with 5G FWA identified as a key
FWA already accounts for around SaaS, digital workflows etc. technology to achieve this goal.
20% of broadband connections in
Saudi Arabia – one of the highest 3. Kazakhstan It is in this context that Tele2 launched
proportions globally, underlining Kazakhstan was one of the first its FWA offerings. Tele2's 5G FWA
rapid uptake. FWA users experience countries in the Central Asia Region initiative was aimed primarily at
average download speeds of 43 to launch 5G. In 2023, Kazakhstan households in underserved areas,
Mbps, compared to 54.3 Mbps on officially entered the 5G era, with particularly where legacy copper
wireline (March 2025) – reflecting a Tele2 becoming the first operator to networks or weak mobile coverage
modest 21% performance gap. commercially launch 5G services, impacted quality of service. These
followed by Kcell. users were typically price-sensitive
A key enabler of this rapid FWA Fixed broadband in Kazakhstan is but increasingly demanding in
growth has been Saudi Arabia’s relatively mature in urban areas, with terms of speed and digital services,
generous spectrum policy. Following widespread fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) including streaming, remote work,
the 2024 spectrum auction, the availability. However, semi-urban and e-learning.
Communications, Space and and rural regions remain under-
Technology Commission (CST) served, due to geographic constraints The 5G FWA initiative by Tele2
represents a collaborative success,
Digitize Kazakhstan Gives a Much-Needed Boost to the delivering substantial achievements
ICT & Telco Sectors across market leadership, customer
adoption, network expansion
planning, and digital capability
enablement. A major focus was
The government has placed on the user’s experience of
launched the “Digital trying immersive services, particularly
Kazakhstan” program in high-footfall locations. Dedicated
5G demo areas were created to
aimed at improving
the country’s digital allow potential customers to see,
touch, and experience the FWA
infrastructure. product. Visual storytelling, interactive
displays, and trained specialists
helped bridge the awareness gap
and boost confidence.
Source: E-government Kazakhstan
SAMENA ELITE