Mubasher: Mobile Telecommunications (Zain) announced that its operations in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have launched the first fifth-generation (5G) roaming service across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

This move is aimed at providing customers with download speeds of up to 500 megabits per second (Mbps) for outbound and inbound roaming, according to a recent statement.

The leading mobile telecom operator’s Kuwaiti business announced the commercialisation of the 5G service in May, while its operations in Saudi Arabia launched the world’s third largest 5G network deployment and the first in the region.

“This momentous stride taken on [Zain’s] 5G journey reinforces [its] global position at the forefront of the implementation of this exciting technology,” the company’s vice chairman and CEO, Bader Al Kharafi, said.  

“It is through the vision and support of the country’s leadership in markets such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that [Zain] can make such rapid progress in this nascent area, and in turn expedite [its] 5G roll out in support of both the New Kuwait 2035 Vision and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030,” Al Kharafi remarked.