Page 56 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Zain KSA starts deployment of 5G SA using 600-MHz band

Zain KSA has launched the first phase of its commercial rollouts in Riyadh and Jeddah services such as HD video calls, cloud
commercial deployment of 5G Standalone will be followed by a phased expansion applications to ultra-responsive mobile
(SA) using the 600-MHz band, with initial across major cities, secondary cities, and gaming and IoT, but also lay the foundation
rollouts in Riyadh and Jeddah scheduled the roads connecting them. Zain KSA said for next-gen services such as Voice over
during the fourth quarter of this year. In its low-band 5G-SA service will not only New Radio (VoNR), RedCap and network
a statement, Zain KSA said the full-scale support wider adoption of advanced digital slicing, each of which represents potential
new revenue streams. Zain KSA acquired
30 MHz in the 600-MHz band during the
Communication, Space, and Technology
Commission (CST) spectrum auction in
November 2024. The band enables Zain
to provide more wide-area coverage with
fewer cell sites, as well as deliver better
in-building coverage. “This deployment
significantly extends our 5G coverage,
ensuring our customers enjoy uninterrupted,
high-performance connectivity,” said Zain
KSA CTO Eng. Mohammad bin Abdulaziz
Al Nujaidi.

Zain KSA and Cisco to Collaborate on the Development of Advanced AI
Infrastructure

Zain KSA, a leading provider of
telecommunications and digital services in
Saudi Arabia, has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Cisco, the global
leader in networking and security, focusing
on the development of cutting-edge AI
infrastructure and GPU-as-a-Service
(GPUaaS). The agreement aims to leverage
Cisco’s advanced, end-to-end infrastructure
solutions for securely building and scaling
AI workloads, supporting Zain KSA in
delivering high-performance, resilient,
and reliable GPU-powered services to the
Saudi market. The MOU is part of Zain
KSA’s strategy to actively align with Saudi
Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals by driving ICT skills development to support long- building a resilient, integrated and agile
digital transformation and positioning the term national AI capabilities. Zain KSA, digital ecosystem that can embrace next-
Kingdom as a global digital innovation hub, VP of B2B Sales, Fahad Sahmi Al Sahmah, gen technologies and deploy them in the
particularly in the AI space. As part of the said: “At Zain KSA, we are mobilizing all Kingdom.” Zayan Sadek, Managing Director
collaboration, Zain KSA will leverage its deep our capabilities and investments to drive for Service Providers at Cisco Middle East,
market knowledge, cutting-edge digital nationwide digital innovation, positioning Türkiye and Africa said: “Cisco is excited
capabilities, and targeted investments the Kingdom as a global hub, a digital to collaborate with Zain KSA to pave the
alongside Cisco’s global expertise in AI- economy powered by future-looking way for a transformative AI-powered future
ready infrastructure development. The GenAI solutions and applications. These in Saudi Arabia. By combining Zain KSA’s
initiative aims to create new solutions and efforts aim to empower all stakeholders, digital expertise with Cisco’s cutting-edge
commercial models to enable customers including government entities, businesses, AI infrastructure technologies, we aim
across various sectors to confidently and individuals, to harness the boundless to unlock new possibilities to empower
and easily adopt AI solutions. The MoU potential of AI in support of national goals. businesses to thrive in the AI era and
also includes exploring opportunities for This strategic collaboration with Cisco, position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for
training programs to upskill local talent, positions us well to explore, develop, advanced technologies.”
in line with Zain KSA’s commitment to and innovate use cases, as we continue

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