Saudi Arabia’s stc Group has announced the largest expansion of the 5G network in history.
Investments will be made to develop and expand the existing network to cover more than 75 cities and governorates in Saudi Arabia.
This project builds on the group’s success in delivering 5G network technologies to more than 90 per cent of its locations in major cities.
5G in Saudi Arabia
The investments made by stc group will contribute to the development and expansion of the network, encouraging the digital economy, supporting local content, creating quality jobs, and enhancing people’s lives digitally.
This is all in line with the group’s expansion and growth strategy in Saudi Arabia.
Currently, stc group is working towards achieving digital transformation at every level, being the most prominent leader of the ICT sector in the region.
The group is currently carrying out the most extensive expansion of its 5G network.
This initiative aims to enhance the infrastructure, making it more robust and advanced than ever, thus promising to enrich the user experience.
The 5G network is the beating heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine education, and a significant driver of national digital transformation.
More than 35 per cent of the population in five major cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and Dammam, were provided with 5G service by stc group in 2019.
The 5G service was extended to 75 cities nationwide the following year.
In 2022, the proportion of mobile sites with 5G services surpassed 90 per cent of locations in major cities, marking a significant milestone.
Moreover, the second carrier in the 2300 MHz band was introduced in Riyadh and Jeddah to provide greater capacity and better coverage.
This year, the group set a new goal by embarking on its largest expansion. It invested heavily in upgrading its existing 5G network to an advanced 5G network across all its towers in the five main cities.
This move aims to provide better services and opportunities for retail and business customers while solidifying stc group’s position as the leading digital enabler in the region.
The expansion of 5G is expected to have various effects, including the increase in digital projects that will benefit from the high speeds provided by this technology.
InspireU, an accelerator affiliated with stc group, aims to provide advanced technical solutions for incubated projects, including the 5G network, which has contributed to a market value of investments and financial transactions for products of projects incubated by inspireU exceeding SR12bn ($3.2bn).
Meanwhile, more than 600,000 direct and indirect job opportunities have been generated by these startups.
Additionally, inspireU’s entrepreneurial projects have benefited over 40m users.
Source: Arabian Business