Zain KSA today said it will expand Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) and the 5G network to new cities across Saudi Arabia.

The substantial investment in FTTH and 5G network will be supporting Zain KSA’s focus on rolling out B2B services targeting government and enterprise customers as well as individual data monetization initiatives.

Zain KSA reported total Capex investment of SAR 1.9 billion or USD 512 million for full year 2019. Zain did not reveal its Capex plans for the year 2020.

Zain KSA launched its commercial 5G network in October 2019, the largest in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, which at the time of roll-out was the third largest globally. Zain also did not reveal the positive impact from the 5G business.

Zain KSA’s 5G network has served 27 cities via 2,600 telecom towers in its first phase. Zain Saudi Arabia and Zain Kuwait launched the first 5G roaming service across the MENA region, with download speeds reaching as high as 500 Mbps for both outbound and inbound roaming.

Zain KSA has signed agreements with technology companies to develop the 5G ecosystem and is introducing innovative digital services in IoT, healthcare, fin-tech and automation.

Zain has 7.6 million customers in Saudi Arabia.

Zain KSA generated revenues of $2.24 billion (+11 percent) with EBITDA of $1.02 billion (+27 percent) with an EBITDA margin of 46 percent and net income of $130 million (+46 percent) in 2019.

Zain Group CEO Bader Al Kharafi said: “Zain KSA’s improving financial results are due to the diligent implementation of its digital growth strategy.”