Continuing its quest for leadership among companies and launching the latest telecommunications applications, Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) added 200 new locations for the 4G LTE in five new cities across the Kingdom. In doing so, the company is providing the latest in network technologies and is the first operator in the region to launch and adopt the 4G technology and avails it to its customers. The company deployed 4G in key cities including Makkah, Madinah, Abha, Khamis Mushayt, Dhahran to the list of previously covered cities which includes Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Jubail, Al-Khobar, Al-Ahsa. Total locations covered in these cities exceeded 600, offering users the best coverage for this network in the Kingdom in addition to availing higher speeds than the existing ones available in other networks. STC has ambitious plans to deploy advanced technologies during the next phase taking customers from 2G and 3G to the mobile Broadband networks: HSPA+, 4G LTE with unprecedented speeds where new expansion of the 3G advanced network offers speeds reaching 84 mg/sec while the 4G advanced technology offers speeds starting with 100 mb/sec reaching to more than 1000 mb/sec during the next few years. STC began deploying this new technology since the beginning of 2010 when the Company announced the successful trials of this technology making it is the solution for mobile telecommunications in the next era. This technology enhances the capacity and effectiveness of the networks with real speeds reaching more than 100 mbps when receiving data. LTE technology allows operators the capacity to provide fixed line services in the mobile networks as well convergence between fixed and mobile services. STC is the first to launch the 4G LTE in the Middle East and North Africa as the first mobile operator to deploy 4G and the first to launch the 3G advanced 3.5 and the fiber optics services which provide internet speeds that reach 1000 mb/sec providing the company's commitment to providing the best and latest services to its customers across the Kingdom.
