Saudi Arabian telco Mobily has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with local company Abunayyan Holding that aims to advance the development of smart cities.

The partnership will bring together the expertise and resources of both companies to improve the quality of life for urban residents.

With the rapid growth of cities, the demand for sustainable, efficient and connected urban environments is increasing. This partnership will focus on developing technologies to tackle the challenges facing cities, including transportation, water, energy, waste management and public safety.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Abunayyan Holding to bring our combined vision for smart cities to life,” said Omar Al-Rasheed, chief strategy and digitalisation officer at Mobily. “Our companies share a commitment to creating a better future for urban residents, and this partnership will allow us to accelerate our progress in this area.”

Turki Al-Amri, CEO of Abunayyan Holding, added: “The partnership with Mobily represents an important step forward in our mission to build smarter, more sustainable cities. Together, we have the resources, expertise and passion to have real impact on the lives of millions of people.”

The announcement was made at last week’s Leap technical conference in Riyadh. Also announced at the event, Mobily will work with Nokia to develop a range of sustainability services. This includes fighting climate change where both companies work to reduce their own emissions and support other industries to reduce pollution and achieve a net zero future.

In this partnership, both parties are exploring the role of connectivity in providing strategic business value while boosting positive social empowerment. In addition, they are cooperating to build a diverse and inclusive, digitally skilled future generation of workers.

“Mobily and Nokia are always keen to achieving global ESG goals set by the United Nations,” said Ali Jitawi, head of mobile networks in Saudi Arabia for Nokia. “Being a pioneer in ESG, Nokia is working hand in hand with Mobily to position its latest sustainability solutions in the framework of this MoU.”

Mobily Pay has made an agreement with Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson to become the company’s technical support by providing application development and management so Mobily Pay can develop and launch products and services to enhance the customers experience service. This should increase the number of projects that can be delivered.

In a separate deal, Mobily and Ericsson deployed Ericsson’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based network for predictive and automated network management to enable enhanced and smart end-user experiences in Saudi Arabia. As the kingdom continues to implement its Vision 2030, the number of connected devices is expected to grow, propelling forward the need for improved network capabilities.

Enabled by the presence of big data, and expanding and more accessible computing power, AI-based networks redefine the nature of network operations, solving complex problems and supporting dynamic and multidimensional connectivity requirements.

The network delivers machine-learning 5G network diagnostics, root cause analysis and recommendations for better user experiences. The smart, automated network diagnostics capabilities of Ericsson’s cognitive software suite result in proactive network optimisation, supporting Mobily in identifying and resolving network anomalies and constantly providing reliable connectivity.

Also at the show, Mobily and Huawei signed an agreement to enable the joint development for digital transformation towards the implementation of intelligent 5G and customer experience management. The agreement should enhance the overall 5G user experience with a goal to increase Mobily user loyalty and reduce the time-to-market for 5G in Saudi Arabia.

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) is a Saudi company launched commercially in 2005. Mobily provides integrated services for three main sectors – individuals, businesses and carriers. It has one of the largest wireless networks by coverage in Saudi Arabia as well as the region.