Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will work closely with STC on its architectural transformation to develop the commercial potential of 5G mobile networks. As a result STC will be able to provide advanced network services, such as low-latency which will also act as a key differentiator for the company
The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at this year’s Mobile World Congress by Nasser Al-Nasser STC’s acting CEO and Ali Amer, managing director of global service provider sales at Cisco Middle East and Africa.
Speaking on the occasion, Al-Nasser said: We are excited about the next phase of our evolution which will pave the way for massive innovation and give rise to a new breed of services that benefit the Saudi economy. Our new 5G network architecture will enable us to make the next leap forward by delivering inclusive broadband that transforms how people use technology in their daily lives. We look forward to working closely with Cisco to develop a future-ready network that delivers advanced capabilities to help us address increasing customer demands and new service trends.”
The collaboration between the two aims to support STC’s transition into a digital service provider, as well as to assist the company in enabling Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision and National Transformation Plan. STC says that transiting to 5G is crucial because of its forms the foundations of future solutions such as smart city and IoT services. In addition, virtualisation and network automation will also play a prominent role in the company’s plans, enabling it to create a scalable network that supports new services in the fast and agile way.
“As businesses increasingly digitize, mobile carriers will need the speed, low latency, reliability and dynamic provisioning capabilities that 5G networks are expected to deliver. Our collaboration with STC will enable their network infrastructure to evolve into the new era of digitisation by taking advantage of the 5G momentum,” added said Ali Amer, managing director of global service provider sales at Cisco Middle East and Africa.
Included in the project is the development of new 5G use cases as well as the security that 5G requires, by building a framework for threat intelligence that underpins STC’s prevention, detection and mitigation efforts.
