Kuwait: In yet another impressive achievement that reaffirms its leadership position in the local ICT industry, Zain announces that it has achieved speeds of 10 Gigabits per second after completing a 5.5G technology trial on its network, becoming the first operator to reach this significant milestone in Kuwait’s telecom market. The company also succeeded in testing Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), a key 5.5G feature.

The announcement was made after the successful completion of a 5.5G trial on Zain’s network with global partner Huawei, and under supervision and in collaboration with the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA).

Zain has invested early in upgrading and enhancing its network’s infrastructure to prepare for the shift towards the 5.5G era, which brings limitless opportunities and opens up new horizons for businesses and consumers alike. In addition, the achievement serves as a testament to Zain’s leadership position and goes in line with its digitization efforts for the ‘New Kuwait’ vision.

5.5G, which features blazing-fast speeds and higher efficiency levels, combined with Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), which brings reduced latency and ultra-reliable connections, will meet the ever-growing demand of cloud computing, AI, big data, immersive AR/VR experiences, autonomous vehicles, and more. These fast growing technologies and more rely on higher, more stable speeds, and are increasingly adopted by businesses and government agencies.

Zain has recently showcased its network’s readiness for the rollout of 5G New Calling (5GNC), an emerging 5G network capability that paves the way for a new era of voice and video calling and will rely on the capabilities of 5.5G. Zain participated in the GSMA’s New Calling Summit in Paris to demonstrate these capabilities and successful trial of the service, becoming the only operator from the region to be hosted by the industry body to showcase 5GNC to the global telecom community.

Recently, Zain received several prestigious recognitions for its 5G leadership, most importantly three major awards from Ookla Speedtest: ‘Fastest 5G Network’, ‘Best 5G Video Experience’, and ‘Fastest Internet’. The company was also presented with the ‘Outstanding 5G Business Development’ award during SAMENA Council’s Leadership & Excellence (LEAD) Awards. These accolades recognized Zain’s excellence in empowering and accelerating business development using the most advanced 5G applications.

In 2019, Zain led the market as the first operator to launch 5G services commercially, setting a precedent in the local and regional telecom industries. Since then, more successes have followed in adapting 5G technologies to overhaul the digital journeys of customers.

Zain continues to invest in its 5G infrastructure heavily, achieving the highest speeds and best operational efficiency levels over its networks. The telco seeks to meet the increasing demand for data, while exploring new ecosystems and revenue streams made possible by technology innovation, with the goal of serving the needs of consumers, businesses, and government agencies.