Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, on the anniversary of the pledge of allegiance: Two years of achievements and comprehensive development momentum

His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, on behalf of himself and Commission staff, extended the utmost congratulations and greetings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - may God protect them - and to the dear Saudi people, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the pledge of allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - asking the Almighty to grant this nation and its people the blessings of security, safety, prosperity, progress, and flourishing.

Dr. Al-Ruwais said on this occasion: "Two years of achievements and comprehensive development momentum under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him -; as the state - may God support it - has given special care and unlimited support to various sectors in the Kingdom, to achieve the leadership's aspirations of spreading prosperity and flourishing for this nation and its people." He added: "The care and attention that the communications and information technology sector receives from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - lies behind achieving developmental leaps, to meet the aspirations of the Kingdom's government in harnessing the capabilities of this sector to serve the citizen and facilitate their transactions, and in a way that helps government entities perform their work with high effectiveness, and raises the efficiency of the national economy," noting that the communications sector in the Kingdom has achieved leading positions on both the regional and international levels, being the largest in the Middle East in terms of capital value and spending volume.

Dr. Al-Ruwais said that the generous support from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - has enabled the Commission to continue its work to achieve its goals, and perform its tasks and duties in building the nation, serving its citizens, and achieving their well-being. He added that this glorious era witnessed the formulation of a strategic vision for the Kingdom charting its present and future until 2030, an ambitious vision that has driven state institutions to draw inspiration from it and work according to it in their strategic plans, to achieve a better future for the nation and citizens, as the Communications and Information Technology Commission is one of the most prominent sectors concerned with activating the Kingdom's Vision (2030), as the communications sector is the most widely spread sector across the Kingdom, and its services have become as important as water and electricity services, in addition to the communications sector directly touching the lives of every individual, which has made the Communications and Information Technology Commission work effectively so that its steps support the Kingdom's vision, achieving its contents, working to achieve coverage of homes in urban areas with high-speed fiber optic networks at a rate of up to (80%), and coverage of remote areas with high-speed wireless communications networks at a rate of up to (70%), noting that the number of remote villages and hamlets covered by communications services has reached (17,529) villages and hamlets, as the Commission also aims to increase the local value added of communications and information technology to (100) billion Saudi riyals.

In a related context, the Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission said that among the most prominent of the Commission's strategic initiatives has been attracting foreign investments to the communications and information technology sector, enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation in cooperation with relevant entities, creating an attractive ecosystem for large hosting centers, and updating and reviewing frameworks and regulations. Dr. Al-Ruwais also pointed to the Commission's initiatives within the National Transformation Program 2020, represented in creating regulatory frameworks to encourage public communications service providers to invest in broadband infrastructure, expanding the scope of the Universal Service Fund; to support new investment in broadband in remote areas, freeing up frequencies designated for providing communications services, by completing the implementation of the National Spectrum Plan, and developing indicators to measure the quality of broadband services and publishing them to the public, in order to encourage service providers to improve the quality of their services, and establishing a regulatory framework between operators and municipalities to facilitate service deployment work, and overcome operational difficulties, and developing civil works standards for networks and buildings, and incorporating them into building and development regulations, and benefiting from existing infrastructure. Al-Ruwais concluded his remarks with a prayer that God Almighty continue to grant this nation security and stability, and more prosperity and flourishing under the shadow of our wise leadership.