Hard on the heels of last week’s report that it boasts the highest average download speed for the mobile internet for 5G service, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has now announced that it has selected Ericsson as its managed services provider in Saudi Arabia.
STC says that, as part of the agreement, Ericsson will deploy Ericsson Operations Engine to strengthen its network operations with the latest technology solutions to transform operations to a predictive and proactive automated operation.
Ericsson will deploy its latest AI-powered software suite and machine learning tools and capabilities to provide an automated end-to-end managed operations service. The Ericsson Operation Engine will support activities in network operation, IT operations and field support and maintenance for stc's networks, covering technology domains from the core to access, including 5G.
Ericsson says that the suite will further empower stc to maintain its network quality at the highest level and deliver the best user experiences via transition towards a data-driven and proactive identification of network and performance issues.
This isn’t the only 5G-related news at what appears to be a very busy time for Saudi Arabian telecommunications. The country’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) recently confirmed that Q4 2020 saw 5G services extended to an additional seven cities and provinces, bringing the total to 51 across the country’s various regions.
Nor, for that matter, is this the only managed services news from Saudi Arabia in recent days. Last week there was an announcement from one of stc’s competitors, Mobily, that it has extended its managed services partnership with Nokia by signing a three-year agreement under which Nokia will manage and maintain Mobily’s radio and transport network in Riyadh and other regions.
