President of Ericsson ME: The region already has a roadmap for 5G

“Today, we have communicated 18 commercial contracts around the world, four of them are in the Middle East,” said Rafiah Ibrahim, the President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa in an interview with Al Arabiya English.

Ibrahim said the four countries are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar.

When it comes to 5G technology, “a lot of innovation will happen, for consumers and for industries,” according to the president.

“So, with the transformation of industries, you will propagate more changes in the processes of the industries and definitely, 5G will be the one that is going to take this connectivity for the internet of things (IOT).”

When asked what kind of infrastructure is needed to have 5G in the region, Ibrahim replied: “In the Middle East, they already have a plan for the spectrum roadmap.”

“STC [in Saudi Arabia], for example, they’re already rolling out, but the country as a whole has the Vision 2030.”

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aims to diversify the country’s economy.

“So, if a nation has an agenda that they have put together to deploy 5G, then it becomes very speedy and fast,” she added.