Communications and Information Technology Commission signs the eighth project to serve more than 320,000 citizens in 4 governorates in Makkah region

The Communications and Information Technology Commission signed today the contract for the eighth Universal Service Fund project, aimed at providing voice services and broadband internet services to a number of governorates in Makkah region. The eighth project targets providing voice services and broadband internet services to more than 320,000 citizens in 1,318 population clusters in 4 governorates in Makkah region, namely (Al-Khurmah, Taif, Ranyah, and Turubah). The Commission had signed, earlier this week, the contract for the seventh of the universal service projects to provide voice services and broadband internet services to a number of governorates in Riyadh and Qassim regions.

His Excellency the Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission and Chairman of the Fund's Executive Committee, Engineer Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Darrab, stated that the Commission always seeks to spread communications and information technology services by implementing many programs, most notably licensing companies and encouraging competition in the communications and information technology sector. Thanks to God, and then the generous support and gracious directives from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - the Commission has been able to proceed with its projects to provide communications and information technology services to most of the remote population clusters with low economic viability that do not fall within the obligations of licensed companies, by launching 8 projects across successive phases to deliver voice and broadband internet services to serve more than 2.2 million people in 66 governorates in all regions of the Kingdom. Engineer Al-Darrab noted that, according to the Commission's strategic plan, a number of projects are launched annually to cover remote population clusters that lack the required services and do not fall within the obligations of licensed companies, in light of the financial amounts available for that. He also explained that, despite the vast geographic area of the Kingdom, the dispersion of population clusters within it, and the varying natural terrain between mountains, plains, deserts, valleys, and coastal areas, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the leading countries in implementing universal service projects in remote areas to serve citizens and residents, with full government funding.

The Commission's official spokesperson, Mr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Malik, explained that the method followed for awarding the Commission's universal service projects is through inviting all companies licensed to provide communications and information technology services in the Kingdom (fixed, mobile, and data operators), after which the technical and financial proposals submitted by them are analyzed, and the selection falls on the service provider that requests the least financial support and meets the technical requirements. All necessary regulatory procedures have been completed for evaluating and analyzing the technical and financial proposals submitted by the companies competing for the eighth project, namely: Saudi Telecom Company, Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily), and Saudi Telecom Mobile Company (Zain), with these procedures revealing that Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) won the eighth project of the Fund.