Zain Group CTO Nawaf Al-Gharabally outlined plans to boost 5G across its markets to deliver a range of new digital use cases, after inking an agreement with Huawei to accelerate so-called 5.5G technology.

In a statement announcing a memorandum of understanding with Huawei, signed during MWC Barcelona 2022, the executive noted the pair would use intelligent network developments to swiftly introduce new digital services and further develop the operator’s 5G networks.

Under the agreement, the partners are set to work on a number of upgrades including network technology to support fresh IoT use cases, deliver ultra-reliable low-latency communications and uplink-centric broadband.

Zain noted there would also be joint work on defining network-level criteria to support autonomous driving and accelerate 5.5G innovation.

Al-Gharabally added the operator group will work “closely with Huawei to provide the required technologies that enables us to further advance AI and digital solutions that could immensely benefit our customers across multiple markets”.