Zain today announced that its network is ready for the commercial launch of 5G service in Kuwait.

Zain engineers designed an integrated network for 5G services. Zain Kuwait did not reveal the specific date for offering its 5G services.

Kuwait’s Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) has announced the decision to offer 5G spectrum to Zain Kuwait. The telecom operator received the 3.5 GHz C-BAND bandwidth for operating 5G network in Kuwait.

Zain Group CEO Bader Nasser Al Kharafi  said: “We are the first mobile operator to offer 5G services in the GCC region and Kuwait, a crucial step that will allow us to offer the most innovative products and services to our customers in consumer, business, IoT, and smart cities sectors.”

Zain Kuwait has a mobile phone customer base of 2.6 million during the first quarter of 2019.

Zain Kuwait’s revenue reached $271 million with net income of $70 million. Zain Kuwait’s EBITDA amounted to $105 million with EBITDA margin of 39 percent for the quarter. Zain Kuwait’s data revenue grew 9 percent, representing 38 percent of total revenue.

Zain Group and Ericsson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and test selected 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) cases — during Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona.