• Collaborative agreement signed at ZTC 2016 to pave the way for 5G development and deployment in the region
• The agreement will allow Zain and Ericsson to evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components

Dubai, UAE, December 5, 2016:  During the Zain Technology Conference held in Amman, Jordan this week, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Zain Group entered into an agreement on 5G research and development.

The collaboration aims to develop new 5G use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios, as well as evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components. The partnership ensures both parties can pave the way for 5G deployment in the Middle East supporting Zain’s transformation towards digitization.

Hisham Allam, Chief Technology Officer, Zain Group said, “As a leading 4G operator, we are always working to ensure that we are first to market with new innovations for our customers. Working with Ericsson will enable us to gain additional insights into our customer market and potential growth areas supporting our vision of being a digital lifestyle operator.”

Tarek Saadi, Head of GCC and Pakistan at Ericsson, said, “5G will lay the foundation to the industrial internet. 5G will make it possible to deploy IoT devices with a battery life lasting 10 times longer than today. Working together with Zain will enable us to explore new opportunities for use cases that we haven’t yet dreamed of, new markets, and radically new business models.”