KUWAIT: 2019 ushered in a new era for Kuwait with the launch of 5G by giving experience of ultra-fast speed, big capacity per site (wireless tower), and low latency competing with fixed network. Kuwait is considered one of the global leading countries for the data consumption in the 4G era due to high penetration of mobile broadband and smartphones, HD video streaming, social media exploration, e-commerce services, online gaming, and other mobile applications which become part of consumers’ daily routine.

Subscriber behaviors have introduced new challenges related to high growth in data demand, seamless experience everywhere making 4G network congested and difficult to match the market demand growth. stc has become one of the global leaders by launching nationwide 5G network in Kuwait to provide the state of art services to its subscribers. Through the 5G network, stc plans to pave the road to launch new services and products to its consumers, and explore new use cases to wide-range of enterprise customers. stc’s well-timed 5G service launch helped it to serve its subscriber consumption of high data growth due to sudden lockdown of offices, schools and commercial areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.  stc’ 5G network has been supporting the seamless transformation of work and study from home by providing 5G packages at 4G rates, and also providing new services like 5G Dedicated Line, 5G LIVEBUS, and cloud based services using the key 5G technology as a platform. stc being the digital leader has committed to provide innovative services and platforms to customers, enabling the digital transformation in Kuwait, announced the successful commercialization step of implementing end-to-end 5G Stand Alone network (5G SA) as the 2nd most disruptive development of the comprehensive 3GPP 5G compliant standard network and successfully accomplished the widest network coverage using 5G Sub-3GHz which is the 1st of its kind in the Middle East region.

The new 5G features provide full 5G experience by enhancing the 5G coverage to higher floors as compare to 4G network, and to deeper indoor 5G coverage. The features provide enhanced experience to delay sensitive applications like gaming, CCTV, and enable to launch new emerging services, such as VR, AR, connected drones, and so on. The 5G SA enabled with Sub-3Ghz technology allows 5G signaling to pass through buildings to provide better 5G coverage both indoors and outdoors, and lets consumers enjoy better constant 5G broadband experience and deeper 5G indoor coverage. 5G Sub-3Ghz has the potential to change consumer expectations making internet download and upload speed less of a problem.  The 5G Sub-3Ghz technology is already supported and consumers can get its full benefits by new smartphones such as the latest iPhone or Galaxy.

5G SA technology enables different verticals to get advantages of stc’s 5G network by creating end-to-end isolated logical networks that share resources in a secured, isolated and efficient way - so called Network Slicing. The technology allows consumer to encounter emerging applications such as cloud games or AR/VR applications with high-end speed and latency experience tailored to their service needs.  5G SA adds further enhancements to the current coverage capabilities.  stc has already build by allowing consumers to enjoy continuous 5G high-speed and low-latency experience even in challenging indoor environment scenarios, such as top floors of high-rise buildings.

Both 5G Sub-3Ghz and Stand-Alone Services realize improved coverage experience to delight consumer broadband hungry application requirements, such as online gaming, social media and residential mobile broadband services. Compared to the legacy 4G technologies, 5G brings massive latency improvements to the gaming experience enables quick response interactions. Nowadays, stationary or on-the-go online gamers can feel performance different whether they are playing online or lively streaming their gaming, thanks to 5G low latency and enhanced uplink data speeds.  Mobile Consumers enjoy wider 5G coverage connectivity which allows more “headroom” for higher-definition images and video, and faster upload speeds saving their time and effort to quickly reach their social communities.

Social consumers who have 5G logo displayed on their smartphone screen become more intimate and offer interactions that are more fluid, more personalized, and highly contextual.  5G advanced technologies facilitate subscribers to quickly consume and produce more and more high-quality visual contents - photographs, memes, GIFs, and videos with the most famous YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and more platforms.  stc’s 5G Sub-3Ghz and Stand-Alone network brings new  coverage, capacity and speed levels that make it feasible to a family member in a single house to stream multiple 4K HDR movies and show on their preferred smartphones, smart TVs, laptops, and tablets simultaneously, without worrying about data or bandwidth! stc’s 5G subscription plans offer unlimited maximum data-rates rather than being throttled to (say) 10Mbps or 100Mbps.   Consumers can also experience a 5G internet at uninterrupted 5G speed using state-of-the-art technology (stc Baity) that gives them the best possible 5G signal for the best internet speeds across their home with unlimited data usage which provides them with consistent, and reliable online gaming and 4K/8K video streaming experience.

5G advanced Sub-3Ghz and SA enhanced coverage solutions will act as a bridge towards valuable new opportunities in industrial business. As with consumer 5G or enterprise owner, there is also scope for Business-to-Business (B2B) Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) applications using 5G. Existing WAN networks for stores’ branches can utilize 5G fixed, reliable and stable internet as his main connectivity solution or as a backup in case of wireline outages. Temporary sites such as construction projects, mobile cash points, or major broadcast venues can benefit from greater 5G downlink and uplink speeds.   Schools, universities, retail malls or hospitals can greatly get benefits from the reliable and high-speed internet connectivity 5G can offer.

In Kuwait market, Solutions by stc was the 1st service provider has been targeting different industries in different 5G B2B segments by launching connectivity solutions (i.e. 5G Dedicated Access), AI services (i.e. Unified Communications and VAaaS) , Cloud (i.e. CCTVaaS) and cybersecurity solutions (i.e. DDOS), and has strategic plan to create public cloud market place. stc plans tie in building new opportunities by kicking off enterprise market interest with new rich forms of digital applications that require guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) enabling the radical transformation of the telecom industry into an as-a-Service model. stc has been creating a footprint with government sectors, and has been executing its strategic plan to continuously evolve its 5G SA network to gradually support enterprise innovative solutions like managed campus, cloud, and other industrial applications.

5G technologies have been designed to expand the scope of mobile technology beyond the capabilities of LTE. It will fuel innovation across every industry and transform every aspect of our lives. 5G will continue to play a critical role in empowering emerging technologies such as AR/VR, robotics, autonomous vehicles (AVs), industrial IoT and smart home applications. Over time, 5G technology will change the way people live, work, and play for the better, and achieve smart and secure cities in line with Kuwait 2035 Vision.