Zain KSA and Huawei unveil updates of next-level connectivity project at 5.5G City Summit

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Zain KSA has unveiled new developments on the 5G-advanced network, in collaboration with Huawei at the 5.5G City Summit held in Riyadh on September 4.

Expected to support a 10-Gbps experience, improving downlink, uplink speed and latency, the 5G-advanced technology will provide immersive and interactive experiences through a multitude of B2C and B2B use cases, bringing a hoard of benefits for individual users and large-scale enterprises alike.

With the common goal of ushering in an era of unparalleled connectivity, the two companies are currently working on the ‘5.5G City Innovation Project’.

The project is part of an agreement Zain KSA and Huawei signed during MWC Barcelona 2023 to promote technological innovation in the 5G-advanced field. Both parties have defined the characteristics of 5.5G FWA experiences and identify the network construction standards for 5.5G fixed wireless access services.

Eng Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Mufadda, chief technology officer of Zain KSA said: “Our commitment is to deliver an exceptional end-to-end network experience for our users to enable hyper-connected communities and digital societies. Our collaboration with Huawei is a central part of our ongoing efforts to unlock the transformative evolution of beyond-5G technologies.

Through our exploration of 5.5G characteristics, we have been able to surpass our 300Mbps FWA speed. We are extremely excited about the vast potential of powering a smart lifestyle for our users in the kingdom who will be able to enjoy immersive and unparalleled experiences across a broad range of applications, contributing to the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030 in enhancing the quality of life and driving digital transformation.”

Ritchie Peng, president of Huawei’s 5G Product Line, remarked: “We proposed the 5.5G vision at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2020, and 2023 marks the beginning of 5.5G industry and business research, which is a critical year for 5.5G to monetise business value.

We are pleased to work with Zain KSA to release the definition of 5.5G FWA service characteristics. We also look forward to providing cutting-edge software and hardware solutions to support operators achieve business success.”

Zain KSA and Huawei stated that they will unveil more updates on the advanced network capabilities and service characteristics.