Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 places digital infrastructure at the heart of national transformation. From giga-projects and smart cities to intelligent transport and digital government platforms, the Kingdom’s ambitions depend on resilient, high-capacity connectivity delivered at scale.
However, traditional standalone network deployment models are increasingly misaligned with the speed, cost efficiency, and sustainability requirements of these programs. Parallel site builds, duplicated civil works, rising energy consumption, and extended rollout timelines are no longer viable in a transformation-driven environment.
According to Mohammed Taher Hussain, Lead Solution Architect – Enterprise Technologies (Infrastructure) at stc, Multi-Operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) presents a practical and scalable alternative.
Rethinking Radio Deployment
Conventional RAN models require each operator to build and operate independent infrastructure at every site. While this ensures autonomy, it often results in inefficiencies — particularly in newly developed zones, rural regions, and master-planned giga-projects where demand may not initially justify multiple parallel networks.
As nationwide 5G coverage expands, infrastructure efficiency has shifted from being an operational preference to a strategic necessity.
MORAN: Shared Infrastructure, Preserved Competition
Under MORAN, operators share radio access infrastructure — including towers, antennas, baseband units, radio units, site facilities, and power systems — while maintaining full independence at the spectrum and core network layers.
Each operator retains control over:
- Licensed spectrum
- Core network
- Transmission backhaul
- OSS/BSS platforms
- Service policies and PLMN identity
This model preserves competitive neutrality and service differentiation while significantly reducing infrastructure duplication.
Accelerating 5G Rollout
One of MORAN’s strongest advantages is speed. By eliminating parallel site construction, operators can deploy once and activate services faster across giga-projects, transport corridors, logistics hubs, rural regions, and early-stage smart city developments.
For Vision 2030 initiatives operating under defined national milestones, deployment velocity is as critical as network performance. MORAN shortens time-to-market while aligning rollout with actual demand growth.
Enabling Giga-Project Connectivity
Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects represent some of the most advanced digital ecosystems globally, integrating residential, hospitality, mobility, IoT, and public safety systems within unified master plans.
MORAN enables coordinated infrastructure design from the planning stage, minimizing construction disruption, reducing visual footprint, and ensuring seamless indoor-to-outdoor coverage across vast geographies.
The model also simplifies long-term evolution. Future upgrades — including advanced 5G capabilities, network slicing, and eventual 6G readiness — can be implemented at the shared infrastructure layer, benefiting all participating operators.
Supporting Sustainability and ESG Goals
Vision 2030 emphasizes environmental responsibility and sustainable development. MORAN directly supports these goals by reducing the total number of physical sites required nationwide.
Fewer towers and power systems translate into lower energy consumption, reduced carbon emissions, optimized land usage, and improved integration of renewable energy solutions — particularly important in heritage areas and environmentally sensitive tourism destinations.
As Saudi Arabia advances its digital transformation agenda, MORAN emerges as a strategic enabler — accelerating nationwide 5G coverage, enhancing infrastructure efficiency, and aligning connectivity models with the Kingdom’s sustainability and long-term development objectives.
