Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 45 | Page 10

NEWS Saudi ICT talents selected for ‘Seeds for the Future’ programme at Huawei global headquarters KSA; Ibrahem Alnasser, General Manager of Digital Innovation Center at MCIT; and a Senior Executive for Huawei Tech Investment KSA Deng Lungang. Following the ceremony, the selected students visited Huawei’s innovation centre in Riyadh before flying to Beijing for the knowledge- sharing programme. H uawei, a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, has launched the fifth edition of the ‘Seeds for the Future’ programme in the KSA. The programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), will host 10 students from 10 different universities across KSA. The launch ceremony was held at the headquarters of CITC in Riyadh in the presence of Eng Majid Almazyad, the Deputy Governor of CITC; HE Chen Weiqing, the Chinese Ambassador to Eng Majid Almazyad said: “We commend Huawei for its continued efforts in providing the youth of KSA with the chance to expand their knowledge with one of the largest ICT providers in the world. This is indeed a great experience that offers the opportunity of a lifetime to Saudi students.” Ibrahem Alnasser added: “Programmes like ‘Seeds for the Future’ are the cornerstone of building a digital world by developing the skills of a promising young generation and helping them to lead the development of our digital society.” ////////////////// STC Group launches 5G commercial services in KSA S TC Group has officially announced the launch of 5G commercial services in Saudi Arabia as the first operator in the Kingdom to provide this service commercially and make it available to customers in a number of cities. STC Group CEO, Eng Nasser Sulaiman Al Nasser, said that this launch confirms the group’s leading position as a major pioneer in Digital Transformation and proves the remarkable development of the ICT sector in KSA. Al Nasser affirmed that STC has developed the infrastructure of wireless networks in the Kingdom, extended their range, provided the latest global technologies and accelerated the deployment of 5G networks which is considered a major Digital Transformation. 5G networks provide the foundation for a range of innovative future applications, including the provision of unrivaled high- 10 INTELLIGENTCIO speed mobile Internet all over KSA. At this time, 5G networks in their first phase are available in select areas in a number of major cities, by using home routers that will be available at specific STC outlets depending on the customers’ demands. This launch is a confirmation of STC’s commitment towards providing pioneering innovative technologies and services to its customers all over KSA and the region, since 5G technology aims to improve the speed and performance of wireless networks. www.intelligentcio.com