• Nokia is establishing its first Saudi R&D centre in Riyadh to develop network-automation software including SMO, SON, Autopilot and rApps
  • Recruitment has started and Nokia's Saudi unit expects operations to begin within two months, while investment and headcount have not been disclosed

The fact

Nokia is establishing its first research and development centre in Saudi Arabia, with a Riyadh team focused on network-automation software. The company said engineers will work on service management and orchestration, Self-Organising Networks, Autopilot and rApps, while also exploring AI-native 6G technology. The software is intended for customers in Saudi Arabia and other markets.

Nokia's announcement described the centre as opened on 1 September. Ali Jitawi, who heads Nokia's Saudi Arabia unit, separately said recruitment had begun and operations were expected to start within two months once hiring was completed. Nokia has not disclosed the size of the investment, the number of engineers it plans to employ or the first product release that will come from the Riyadh team. The centre follows an agreement between Nokia and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology earlier this year.

The assessment

Nokia is putting some of its network-software development work in Saudi Arabia rather than limiting the new site to sales or customer support. Engineers in Riyadh are expected to work on software used to configure, monitor and automate telecom networks.

It is not yet clear how much responsibility the Riyadh team will have. Nokia has not said which products or software releases will be led from the centre, how large the engineering team will become or whether a Saudi operator has agreed to test software developed there. Those details will show how substantial the operation becomes.

For BTW readers, the clearest evidence will come from software developed in Riyadh reaching an operating network. A named release and customer deployment would show that the centre is contributing directly to Nokia's automation portfolio rather than serving mainly as a regional engineering base.

What to watch

Watch when the Riyadh centre begins operations, how many engineers Nokia hires and which products they work on. The first named software release developed there will be particularly useful. Operator trials or deployments of Riyadh-developed SMO, SON, Autopilot or rApps would show the team moving from recruitment into production work.