MOBILY has successfully conducted site tests in cooperation with Ericsson for 5G (fifth generation) in Makkah around the Haram area reaching speeds in excess of 1 gigabit (1,000 megabits). The tests by Mobily and Ericsson are the first such tests in the Haram area, which has one of the highest concentration of mobile users in the world; upon deployment, 5G will boost their customer experience.

Mobily CTO Alaa Al Malki said: “Our vision as a company is in line with Saudi Arabia’s national agenda that emphasizes the importance of technologies such as 5G to form the pillars of an innovative society. Mobily continues its efforts in enabling digital technologies that empower customers and the ecosystem to lead the way to a digital future. Our partnership with Ericsson is part of our ambition to evolve towards the next-generation mobile technology 5G and contribute to Saudi Vision 2030.”

Consumers will notice much faster download and upload speeds with the 5G network, more stable connections, lower latency, the ability to connect a higher number of devices to the network, as well as see considerable reduction in device energy consumption and related costs.

Users will also enjoy a much better experience using certain applications such as VR (virtual reality). The quality of videos and streaming will also be markedly improved as higher definition will become the norm. On a grander scale, IoT (Internet of things) will become widely used as related applications become easier to deploy given faster speeds and lower latency. 5G will also enable Mobily to present many opportunities for enterprises and industries in KSA.

5G is considered a revolution in ICT and its applications are expected to facilitate scores of services. One such crucial application will be in the medical field while another highly anticipated application is smart city connectivity. Mobily and Ericsson have a long and successful partnership working toward the new era of 5G technology. — SG