Zain Kuwait and Huawei have unveiled plans for a new strategic cooperation that will see the two companies trial and implement 4.5G services on Zain Kuwait’s network over the next three years. The agreement marks one of the world’s first joint planning frameworks between a telecom operator and an ICT vendor to develop 4.5G services.
This announcement follows a memorandum of understanding that was penciled between Zain Group and Huawei during this week’s Mobile World Congress to facilitate the implementation of 4.5G across Zain’s footprint over the next three years.
Over the last several years the deployment of 4G mobile broadband networks worldwide has facilitated a new era of high-speed telecom services for individuals and businesses. The Middle East has been particularly active in this regard with Zain offering 4G services across five key markets.
The concept of 4.5G marks the mobile industry’s perpetual advancement. Today 4.5G definitions are largely based on standards and patents that are still under development. The transition to 4.5G is being considered as a stepping stone to fully-fledged 5th Generation (5G) mobile services expected commercially in 2020, capable of supporting 1,000-fold gains in network capacity.
The latest memorandum will see Zain Kuwait initially pilot new solutions with Huawei using 4.5G standards including radio access networks and network virtualization architecture. Several of Zain’s operations will ultimately seek to implement commercial 4.5G services within the next three years based on technology standards developed on the global level.
