Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission: The Kingdom Is Working to Implement Many Initiatives for the Provision of 5G in the Kingdom

His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working to implement many initiatives concerned with providing 5G in the Kingdom, and that the Kingdom aims to be among the pioneering countries in providing and activating it to benefit early from the gains this technology will achieve, during the participation of His Excellency the Governor of the Commission in the meeting of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, held on Monday, May 7, 2018, in the city of Kigali, Rwanda.

The meeting, chaired by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame and businessman Carlos Slim, with the participation of many ministers and company heads, discussed the challenges facing the adoption of 5G technology through participation in telecom network infrastructure by operators, developing mechanisms for investment in infrastructure development, and protecting user rights represented in privacy and information security. During the meeting, the objectives of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development for 2025 were also reviewed, which include that all countries should have a national broadband plan or funded strategy by 2025, and that the internet user penetration rate should reach 75% globally, 65% in developing countries, and 35% in least developed countries.

His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, noted at the meeting of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development that the telecommunications and information technology sector enjoys unlimited support from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - which has made the Kingdom exceed the approved ceilings for achieving many of the goals set by the Commission; as the Kingdom, through its Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020, has begun implementing a funded national broadband plan, and the internet user penetration rate in the Kingdom exceeded 82% by the end of 2017.

On the sidelines of the Committee's work, His Excellency Dr. Al-Ruwais held several bilateral meetings with businessman Carlos Slim, His Excellency the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union Mr. Houlin Zhao, and the CEO of Smart Africa Mr. Hamadoun Touré. He also participated in meetings of the Committee's subsidiary groups previously formed on the topics of digital entrepreneurship, digital health, pandemic preparedness, and fragile states.

It is noted that the Kingdom is an active member of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, which includes a number of influential decision-makers in the field of telecommunications and information technology research, in recognition of its great efforts in various fields, especially the field of telecommunications and information technology, which is a vital element in human and economic development, as the Commission works to launch activities and initiatives concerned with the use of broadband, as an enabling tool for building the future of societies and developing them in the fields it is concerned with, such as economic fields.