Reports and Coverage

The year 2020 was the year of 5G – with global launches and global subscribes both spiking rapidly throughout the year. As COVID-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions kept people indoors, a fast network kept them connected, and here 5G played a major role in helping people work, study and stay entertained. By Q3-2020, there were nearly 228.7 million 5G subscribers globally, representing 2.44% of the entire global mobile market. 5G subscriptions were expected to reach 236 million globally by the end of 2020 and are expected to breach the 3 billion mark by 2025.

Telecom Review organized a virtual award ceremony to honor one of The region’s leaders in the ICT industry. Benya Group was announced as a winner at the Telecom Review Excellence Awards ceremony which was held in December 2020 in Dubai.

Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat announced on Sunday that his ministry is looking to bring the telecommunications sector’s contribution to Egypt’s gross domestic product to eight percent over the next three years.

By James Kirby, SVP and Head of EMEA, CSG

Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) published a follow up public consultation on its “Spectrum Outlook for Commercial and Innovative Use 2021-2023", along with responses received to the previous public consultation, which took place in July 2020, on “Spectrum for IMT-2020 and beyond: Fostering Commercial and Innovative Use of Radio in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

Due to different views on the company’s strategy, the board of directors of BICS and Daniel Kurgan, CEO since 2007, came to the mutual conclusion to end their collaboration. The board of directors of BICS has approved the appointment of Matteo Gatta, currently director network strategy, innovation and partnerships at Proximus, as new CEO of the company.

Saudi Arabia is ranked seventh globally in terms of 5G technology and internet speed, said Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII).

In the framework of the discussion on 5G fixed wireless access, the panelists explained what they have been working on in terms of 5G FWA technology.

Overall spending on information and communications technology (ICT) in Saudi Arabia is set to reach $32.9 billion this year, up 1.5% on 2020, according to an international market intelligence firm.

During the 5G fixed wireless access panel organized by Telecom Review, Ali Jitawi, Customer Business, Team Head Zain, Nokia, and Abdulrahman AlMufadda, CTO, Zain KSA addressed the future of Saudi Arabia in terms of 5G, FTTH, and smart cities.