Commercial 4G network launched in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Nokia Siemens Networks have announced the launch of a commercial 4G network using TD-LTE. According to a recent press release, STC is offering commercial 4G mobile service using Time Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) technology which gives consumers enhanced mobile broadband experience with faster access to high-quality video and more responsive data services. Zain Saudi, the country's third mobile provider, announced that it would also launch LTE in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, with other cities to follow. "The transformational capabilities of 4G will provide our customers with increased speeds and enhanced user experience," said Dr. Zeyad Bin Thamer Al Otaibi, group CTO of Saudi Telecom Company. This launch comes just after Etihad Etisalat, or Mobily kicked off its own LTE services. According to analysts, the launch of the 4G networks by Saudi operators still face problems due to inaccessibility of the spectrum. "Problems with the availability of LTE spectrum in Saudi Arabia mean that operators cannot follow their preferred choice of launching FDD-LTE in the 2.6GHz band. Mobily is launching TD-LTE using spectrum that it holds through a subsidiary," said Matthew Reed, a senior analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media and head of mobile research for the Middle East and Africa. Soenke Peters, group head of the STC team at Nokia Siemens Networks, said, "Before launching the commercial service, we successfully tested applications such as video streaming, file download, gaming and web browsing services that fulfill the demanding needs of Saudi users. The results show that TD-LTE enables excellent data speeds and highly responsive services such as innovative multimedia applications, allowing customers to enjoy a superior ‘click-wow' experience rather than the earlier ‘click-and-wait' one." UAE next In Saudi Arabia, Mobily had 2.3 million mobile broadband subscriptions at end-2010. STC had 1.4 million mobile broadband subscriptions at end-2010. The UAE is expected to be the next country to launch 4G broadband services. According to Reed the launch is expected by the end of this year.