Zain KSA has become the first operator in the Kingdom to commercially launch 5G-Advanced, pushing the country’s connectivity infrastructure a step beyond its earlier 5G Standalone rollout. The launch lands the same week Saudi Arabia’s telecom sector is seeing fresh consolidation moves, including TAWAL’s talks to acquire over 10,000 Mobily tower sites, underlining just how fast the Kingdom’s network backbone is expanding.
The commercial rollout currently covers Riyadh and Jeddah, with Zain KSA using 600 MHz spectrum alongside other frequency bands to strengthen indoor coverage and performance in dense urban areas. Further expansion is planned as part of the operator’s ongoing infrastructure investment.
5G-Advanced brings a meaningful jump over standard 5G: higher throughput, lower latency, stronger reliability, and better upload performance. For users, that means smoother ultra-HD streaming, cloud gaming, and video calls, plus better battery efficiency on supported devices and more stable connections in crowded venues.
The upgrade also lays technical groundwork for what comes next, including Voice over New Radio (VoNR) and Reduced Capability (RedCap) devices built for IoT and AI-driven applications. That positions the network to support the kind of connected infrastructure Vision 2030’s digital economy goals depend on.
Zain KSA CEO Eng. Saad bin Abdulrahman AlSadhan framed the launch as part of a longer trajectory of bringing frontier connectivity to Saudi customers, with continued infrastructure investment expected to open up new use cases for businesses and emerging technologies alike.
With this move, Zain KSA extends its lead as the operator setting the pace on next-generation mobile technology in the Kingdom, a race that’s increasingly central to the country’s broader digital transformation ambitions.
