Read the latest updates on the Hajj pilgrimage here
Saudi Arabia's communications authority has announced the completion of the telecoms systems to serve pilgrims performing Hajj – with big increases in coverage.
The Communications, Space and Technology Commission said that the data consumption in Makkah and the holy sites has hit 4,601 terabytes, the equivalent of 1.89 million hours of 1080p videos.
CST said that the average individual Internet data usage had reached 785MB daily, nearly three times exceeding the international average of data usage per person of 270MB.
The statistics also revealed that the pilgrims' most visited websites were YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.
More than 6,000 communication towers in Makkah, Madinah, and the holy sites to serve pilgrims, said the CST. This marks an increase of 74 per cent.
The number of 5G towers has been increased by 1,205 per cent to more than 2,900 towers, while the number of than 10,500 WI-FI access points in Makkah, Madinah, and the holy sites – an increase of up to 118 per cent.
The commission said that the infrastructure preparations were doubled for this year’s Hajj to cope with the return of the number of pilgrims to pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, Saudi telecoms company Mobily announced the completion of its preparations to provide digital solutions to Hajj pilgrims through its application of artificial intelligence “digital twin” technology.
This feature will further help identify potential congestion areas and recommend changes in real time, with a live monitoring system 24/7 covering all areas of the holy sites to manage traffic and reduce congestion.
Additionally, the twin technology will contribute to the creation of a virtual model for the network's infrastructure, which will provides tools to test network quality, facilitate maintenance, and troubleshoot errors.
This will make Mobily's job easier in managing integration between networks, as well as its role in operating fifth generation networks and managing the growing demand for data.
Mobily chief executive Salman Al Badran said the company was “able to harness artificial intelligence applications to enhance the performance of the network, which reflects the priority to support concerted efforts to facilitate all avenues for pilgrims”.
The company has improved Hajj network coverage, increasing the coverage of the 5G network by 85 per cent compared to last year, data capacity by about 20 per cent and fibre optic coverage by 120 per cent.
