During his participation in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on February 25-28, in Barcelona, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Telecom Egypt (TE) and Nokia. The aim is to establish the first cloud infrastructure for the Internet of Things (IoT) services in Egypt exclusively. TE will depend on Nokia worldwide IoT network grid (WING) as a platform to launch IoT services for the business sector during this year.

WING will allow TE to provide IoT services for companies worldwide, thereby enabling it to benefit from the rapidly and effectively growing IoT market, depending on Nokia WING multiservice model, including IoT global infrastructure, and the pay-as-you-grow model. It will also enable TE to provide IoT services with local prices compared to the highly expensive roaming rates.

The MoU also stipulates that TE and Nokia shall discuss joint marketing initiatives, and accelerate the development of IoT projects in Egypt. This will lead to automation of projects, thus help companies reduce their operating expenses, enhance their productivity, and offer new services to markets faster.

TE CEO and Managing Director Adel Hamed said that TE is eager to cooperate with Nokia in the IoT initiative. He said that TE and Nokia have previously worked together, and that TE is confident that Nokia WING will enable it to provide world class IoT services to corporate clients in Egypt and the region.

Nokia WING Head Ankur Bhan said that they are pleased to cooperate with TE to empower future generations with IoT services in Egypt and African markets. The cloud IoT offers and the pay-as-you-grow model will enable TE to develop quickly and take advantage of the major IoT market opportunity in Egypt.

In addition, Talaat witnessed the signing of a MoU between the two companies, targeting cooperation in developing and testing new uses of 5G technology. According to the MoU, the two companies shall cooperate in developing the network and deployment scenarios, in addition to evaluating the appropriate uses of 5G in the Egyptian market.

The MoU is a key step towards TE strategy of digital transformation, especially as TE owns a group of solutions and core 5G services with the latest global technologies in partnership with Nokia.

Hamed said that TE is pleased to sign the MoU with its strategic partner, Nokia, paving the way for the launch of 5G services in Egypt. The MoU is a new phase in the partnership between the two companies, to develop and build 5G networks, thus enabling TE to do its part and contribute to achieving the digital transformation strategy in Egypt.

He added that they are confident that Nokia, with its expertise in this field, will help TE retain its leading position in providing the latest and best technical solutions to its customers. The MoU is also a perfect opportunity to ensure that TE is ready to receive 5G technology, and to put a strategic road map for developing the network capacity to prepare for 5G and its multiple applications.

On his part, Nokia Middle East and Africa Head Amr El-Leithy said that the MoU comes in the framework of the long-term strategic partnership between the two companies. He highlighted Nokia’s keenness to always provide the latest communication technology inside the Egyptian market, as one of the networking and communication technology leading companies worldwide.

 He added that Nokia is committed to find new and creative 5G solutions to achieve the business objectives of its service provider partners. The new 5G uses will enable TE to proactively manage data aggravation, create new sources of income, and continue to improve customer experience.

TE and Nokia are working to provide more 5G technology, the new generation of radio systems and network engineering that provides broadband connectivity with much lower latency, with numerous network options to support various uses and different business patterns. It will also connect billions of IoT devices that empower smart cities and improve citizens' quality of life.

The MoU was signed by TE CEO and Managing Director Adel Hamed, and Head of the North Africa Market Unit at Nokia Pierre Chaume. President of Customer Operations, EMEA & Asia at Nokia Federico Guillén, Nokia Middle East and Africa Head Amr El-Leithy, and a number of officials from the two companies witnessed the signing.