Samsung Wins Saudi WiMAX Expansion Contract

Saudi Arabia's Mobily has inked a SAR 375 million (US$100 million) contract with Samsung for a WiMAX network covering 20 cities in the Kingdom through subsidiary firm, Bayanat Al Oula. Mobily brought Bayanat Al-Oula last year, and continued the expansion of the latter's WiMAX Wave1 network in the four major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al Khobar.

"We understand how anxiousness consumers and businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are to get fast and reasonably priced broadband service in a convenient manner," said Khalid Al Kaf, Mobily's managing director and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that providing broadband using wireless technology can enable fast delivery of service and as such offer both HSPA-based and WiMAX-based broadband service," he added.

Samsung will provide WiMAX Wave2 products including around 1,400 base stations, access service network gateways and all the related equipments as well as services. Especially, U-RAS Flexible base station, which is the most suitable for flexible WiMAX network configuration due to its separated design of Radio unit and Digital unit.

Mobily plans to begin its first WiMAX Wave2 commercial service in 2010 and will expand nationwide in the next several years.

Posted to the site on 9th June 2009