"The Communications and Information Technology Commission" Tracks Sector Developments in the Twelfth Issue of Its Electronic Newsletter

The Communications and Information Technology Commission today, Wednesday, released the eleventh issue of its quarterly electronic newsletter concerned with tracking the most important developments in the telecommunications and IT sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the end of the first half of 2012. The newsletter included the number of mobile telecommunications subscriptions, which reached approximately 54.5 million subscriptions by the end of the first half of 2012, making the mobile telecommunications penetration rate among the population approximately 187.5%.

Regarding the internet, the internet penetration rate increased sharply over the past years, rising from 5% in 2001 to approximately 50.7% by the end of the first half of 2012. The number of internet users in the Kingdom is currently estimated at more than 14.7 million users. The newsletter detailed the growth and penetration rates in broadband services, which reached 2.21 million via fixed telecommunications networks, while total broadband subscriptions via mobile telecommunications networks, in their broad definition, reached approximately 12.62 million subscriptions.

The newsletter also included tracking of the status of Universal Service Fund projects up to the end of July of this year, 2012, aimed at providing voice telecommunications and broadband internet services in a number of the Kingdom's governorates and their affiliated centers and villages, including a detailed explanation of the progress of each project, its objective, and the areas served, in addition to tracking the number of beneficiaries of these projects.

It is worth noting that this issue of the Communications and Information Technology Commission's electronic newsletter is a quarterly publication concerned with tracking the most important figures and indicators witnessed by the telecommunications and IT sector in the Kingdom. To view the full contents of the newsletter, please visit the Media Center window on the Commission's website.