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Makkah's Grand Mosque Gets Improved Connectivity, AI Applications through High-Tech Upgrade

A view of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Makkah's Grand Mosque Gets Improved Connectivity, AI Applications through High-Tech Upgrade

A view of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC) announced that Makkah's Grand Mosque has undergone a significant technology upgrade to better serve worshippers.

The project, carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, and national technology and digital companies, aims to improve the worshippers’ experience through advanced infrastructure, AI applications, and the innovative neutral host model.

The project leverages 5G capabilities and AI to facilitate crowd and vehicle management, improve asset management, and implement smart waste disposal systems.

The upgraded infrastructure opens the door to the provision of virtual medical clinic services at the Grand Mosque.

Utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT), the project enables real-time monitoring of the Zamzam well's water level and production.

Download speeds within the Grand Mosque have tripled, reaching over 1 gigabit per second, thanks to network upgrades on the ground floor of the third Saudi expansion building.

The project utilizes the neutral host model, a crucial element to providing advanced technical infrastructure based on 5G, data, and AI. The model enables multiple mobile network operators, including STC, Mobily, and Zain, to share the physical infrastructure within the Grand Mosque, ensuring that all visitors have access to the highest level of communication services.

This project, implemented by the Advanced Communications & Electronic Systems Company (ACES), is an example of a collaborative effort to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Deputy Minister for Telecom and Infrastructure at MCIT Eng. Bassam Al-Bassam said: "There is nothing more honorable than serving visitors of the Grand Mosque. We are continuously working with our partners to provide the latest technologies and improve the visitor experience."

RCMC CEO Eng. Saleh Al-Rasheed highlighted the project's contribution to "providing an advanced digital infrastructure in the Grand Mosque" and "raising the level of communication services" for all visitors.

This technology upgrade is proof of a commitment to utilize cutting-edge solutions for a more efficient and connected Grand Mosque, ultimately serving millions of worshippers throughout the year.

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Microsoft, Turning 50, Dials up Copilot Actions to Stay in AI Game

The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
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Microsoft, Turning 50, Dials up Copilot Actions to Stay in AI Game

The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)
The Microsoft logo during the Hanover Fair 2025 (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, Germany, 31 March 2025 (reissued 03 April 2025). (EPA)

Thousands of people swooned in a dark conference hall that felt more like a rock concert when a Microsoft product manager demonstrated the company's latest feature: how to sum numbers in Excel, with the click of a button.

"It was literally like Mick Jagger walked out," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer, who started as an intern.

That was more than 30 years ago. On Friday, the day Microsoft turned 50, the company's leaders and staff gathered at its Redmond headquarters to remember the software maker's glory days while trumpeting what they hope will bring it into the future: more powerful artificial intelligence.

Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant, is gaining a host of new features to make it more proactive. The version for consumers will start remembering personal facts about them. It will offer birthday reminders or support ahead of a presentation, or consumers can opt out, Mehdi said in an interview.

Copilot likewise will personalize podcasts and shopping recommendations, and it will let consumers task their AI to book events for them, or send a friend a gift while checking in for guidance. "It frees you up," said Mehdi.

Microsoft is hardly first to roll out action-taking or "agentic" software. As with rival systems, the AI will work best on popular sites where Microsoft has done some behind-the-scenes technical work, like with 1-800-Flowers.com and OpenTable, Mehdi said.

Mehdi recalled days when Microsoft was smaller and growing. He said CEO Bill Gates could devour three books' worth of information from one day to the next, at a time when the co-founder still worked on Microsoft software. Mehdi watched Steve Ballmer, Gates' eventual successor, chant "developers, developers, developers!" in a sweat-drenched shirt to rouse a crowd into the ".net" era.

Microsoft went from top of the pack to badly bruised in a high-profile lawsuit that US antitrust enforcers brought against it in 1998. Years later, younger companies and startups, among them Alphabet and ChatGPT creator OpenAI, beat it to the punch on key AI developments.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's current CEO, is not standing still. The leader who turned Microsoft into the No. 2 cloud powerhouse challenged his executives at an internal summit this week, recalled Mehdi: "How do we rethink the way that we build the software?"

Microsoft is iterating on its chatbot technology in a crowded field that includes Elon Musk's xAI and Anthropic. It has added Copilot to its heavily used productivity suites for business while giving consumers a distinctive version.

"It's warm; it has that personality," said Mehdi. Some users have taken to this, while others find it asks too many questions, he said.

"When we get to now be more personalized, we can start to get smarter," Mehdi said. "We're part way through that journey."