Ericsson is poised to be the key facilitator of Saudi Arabia’s transition to 5G connectivity with the signing of two new Memoranda of Understanding.

The MoUs were signed with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) at this year’s Mobile World Congress, and pave the way for commercial trials of 5G technologies led by the firms. In a statement announcing the agreements, Ericsson asserted that the trials will entail “Radio Access Network (RAN), core and transport,” as well as “5G use cases” pertaining to consumer and business applications.

In addition to the trials, Ericsson has also agreed to work with STC on components of its 5G business strategy, aiming at identifying key services, improving time-to-market for new services, improving IT capabilities, and monetizing networks. Ericsson and STC say their overall efforts will offer an important contribution to Vision 2030, a government led modernization program with a strong focus on public investment and economic growth.

For Ericsson, the agreements also help to solidify its foothold in the emerging 5G market, with the company having already participated in trialling 5G technologies with partners including Intel and NTT DOCOMO. Ericsson is anticipating significant growth in this area, with a recent report predicting over a billion 5G subscriptions by 2023.