Mubasher: Ooredoo on Tuesday announced signing an agreement with Nokia at Mobile World Congress to enhance cooperation between the two companies as a step to provide fifth-generation (5G) services in Qatar.

Ooredoo Group and Nokia will continue to collaborate on 5G deployments starting 2018 in Qatar, the company said.

By using Ooredoo 5G spectrum at 3.5 GHz, the Qatari telecom group will continue to expand the 5G footprint.

Ooredoo, which is listed in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, will be the world’s first telecom firm to own the commercial equipment suitable for the corporate sector, Ooredoo's deputy CEO Waleed Al Sayed said.

The telecommunications company further noted that there were many uses of the 5G technology, including autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, and augmented and virtual reality sports.

This partnership with Nokia is aligned with Ooredoo Group’s Mobile World Congress themes of the Ooredoo Network 2022, Digital Partners, and Digital Customer Experience.

The Mobile World Congress event was held in Barcelona.

By the end of 2017, Ooredoo’s profits declined 10.3% to QAR 1.96 billion compared to QAR 2.19 billion a year earlier.