Saudi ambassador to UK voted MENA diplomat of 2025    Saudi Awwal Bank signs SR2 billion credit facility with Saudi Binladin Group to propel development of King Fahd Sports City in Riyadh    Feast of Flavors and Prizes: LuLu Hypermarket kicks off the "World Food Festival" across Saudi Arabia    Pakistan closes airspace, suspends visaas in tit-for-tat measures against India    Saudia Group signs deal with Airbus for flyadeal's first wide-body aircraft    Saudi non-oil exports surge 14.3 percent to SR26.11bn in February    Saudi, Greek ministers co-chair inaugural meeting of Strategic Culture Committee    Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 26, Palestinian officials say    Trump's trade war olive branch met with derision and mistrust inside China    Ministry of Justice launches centralized court model to enhance judicial efficiency    Kyiv hit by deadly Russian missile and drone attack    Saudi Arabia elected chair of Asia region of World Meteorological Organization    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Super Max Verstappen scorches to pole with record lap in Jeddah    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



KSA showcasing global leadership in 5G experience delivery
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 24 - 12 - 2020

Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of the regional 5G landscape and has displayed leadership — both in number of 5G subscribers as well as 5G coverage of the population. The Saudi 5G users have been experiencing a great 5G experiences (in terms of both high bandwidth and low latency) and the telcos are accordingly raking in much higher ARPUs over 5G as compared to 4G.
These results are now visible even at the international level where KSA's 5G investments are resulting in dominant positions in global rankings. In the just released report by OpenSignal (December 2020), KSA has stood on the second rank globally — and first within the Arab world — (amongst the 15 leading 5G markets surveyed) on a host of parameters.
As these above finding show, users in Saudi Arabia are receiving the second highest real world 5G download speed (at 272.8 Mpbs) — behind only South Korea (which is enjoying 351.2 Mbps). This has ensured that the Saudi users experience the second highest bandwidth improvement — that by a factor of 9.1 times — which using their 5G services as compared to 4G.
This too is only behind Thailand's 14.7 times improvement. Thus, from whichever angle it is evaluated, the Saudi 5G layout has established a formidable legacy and stamped its authority on the global footprint.
It has taken a lot of planning and efforts from the telco stakeholders in Saudi Arabia to be able to foster such a dominant 5G position on the global map. Right from a supportive regulatory framework, to committed and proactive operators — all participants have played a part in this success.
A few key reasons that have propelled Saudi 5G to its current position are analyzed here:
Generous Spectrum Allocations and Release
The Saudi operators were amongst the first wave globally to receive their 5G spectrums. Following an auction in March 2019, the regulator, Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) allocated equal amounts 100 MHz spectrum in the C-band range (between 3.4GHz – 3.8GHz) to all the three operator. This band is best suited for 5G development.
Supportive Regulatory Regime
In December 2018, the royalty fee that the telcos pay to the government was reduced from 15% to 10%. The fee reduction simulated the telcos to invests in expanding their infrastructure and make it ‘5G ready' suitably meet the growing demands for broadcast in the Kingdom.
Proactive Experience Tracking & Reporting
The CITC has inaugurated the ‘Meqyas' is an initiative to proactively study, track and report on the various telecom parameters (such as total download bandwidth, gaming latency, network coverage etc.) from across the Kingdom. These reports, published quarterly, analyse Saudi Arabia's fixed and mobile broadband performance and thus motivate the telcos to perform better — thus improving the overall service quality across the Kingdom.
Competitive and Consumer Benefit Tariffs – Simulating Healthily Competition
The KSA has a very healthy and competitive tariff regime where the consumers are the ultimate winners. The telcos have been offering new innovative tariff structures to the consumer – moving away from offering only ‘connectivity' to offering ‘experiences' – loaded with video and gaming bundles.
Further, the telcos are also launching 5G plans with multiple contract durations which is allowing users from all segments to enjoy the services — by easing the pressure on long commitments.
All these above factors have ensured that the Saudi 5G roll-out can be considered successful and offers insights to be replicated elsewhere.
The key drivers — as learnt from the Saudi analysis — for an effective 5G deployment is to develop sophisticated and richer consumer offers, backed up by high-performance networks and rapid, accurate service provisioning. — SG


Clic here to read the story from its source.