Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission Congratulates the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the First Anniversary of the Allegiance

His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, extended, on his own behalf and on behalf of the Commission's staff, the highest expressions of congratulations and best wishes 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 and 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 preserve them – and to the dear Saudi people, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – may God preserve him – praying to Almighty God to bless this nation and its people with security, safety, prosperity, progress, and flourishing.

Dr. Al-Ruwais said on this occasion: "Our dear nation today continues, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – may God preserve him – to move forward with confident steps toward growth and progress, as the state – may God support it – has extended 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 preserve him – has been behind achieving developmental leaps, meeting the aspirations of the Kingdom's government to harness this sector's capabilities to serve citizens and facilitate their transactions, and to help government entities perform their work with high efficiency and raise the efficiency of the national economy," noting that the communications sector in the Kingdom has achieved leading positions at 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 preserve him – has enabled the Commission to continue its work of delivering communications and information technology services to remote and commercially unprofitable areas, through Universal Service Fund projects aimed at providing voice services and broadband internet services in remote and commercially unprofitable areas, noting that the population clusters served reached (15,115) clusters by the end of 2015.

The Commission's estimates indicate that spending on communications and information technology services reached (112) billion riyals in 2014, and the total gross value added (GVA) of the Saudi communications and information technology sector was estimated at (26.57) billion riyals, with the communications sector accounting for (76%) of it, followed by the information technology services sector with a share of (12%), while hardware accounted for (9%) and software for (3%).

The Commission expected that spending on communications and information technology services would grow to reach (138.48) billion riyals by 2017, due to significant investments from the government and private sectors. The communications and information technology services market is also expected to witness strong growth in demand for the latest technology products and information protection and security software, with increasing interest in modern technologies and interactive applications, in line with new developments in information technology and communications networks, which will lead to growing direct investment in communications and information technology services and their supporting services.

The Commission also noted that the Kingdom's investments in the communications and information technology sector reached (17.83) billion riyals in 2014. Ready-made and internally-developed software accounted for the largest share of investments in communications and information technology, at (47%), equivalent to (8.39) billion riyals. Next came investments in information technology hardware at (26%), equivalent to (4.58) billion riyals. Investments in communications equipment reached (4.86) billion riyals, or (27%) of total investments in communications and information technology in the Kingdom.

Al-Ruwais noted that the sector has successfully continued its path of growth and expansion in line with the needs dictated by each phase, adding: "The current phase has seen the emergence of a need to provide more options for users of communications and information technology services in the Kingdom, redouble subscriber care, improve services, and create more innovation and diversity in packages. The Commission responded to this need by taking a number of steps, the most important of which was opening the market for Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services. Two operators have launched their services in the market, with a request for proposal document issued for a license for a third operator, bringing the number of mobile telecommunications service providers in the Kingdom to five operators. A license for a third virtual operator is expected to be granted, increasing this number to (6) operators."

Regarding the performance of the communications and information technology sector in the Kingdom, Al-Ruwais explained that the sector continues to maintain a penetration rate classified among the highest in the world with regard to mobile telecommunications services penetration, reaching (171.1%) by the end of the third quarter of 2015, while by the end of the same quarter internet penetration reached more than (67.3%) among the population, and the number of subscriptions to broadband services via mobile and fixed telecommunications networks reached about (39.33) million subscriptions.

The strong support provided by the government for high-technology projects requiring good digital infrastructure has had a notable impact on increasing the level of demand for broadband services. It has also become increasingly apparent year after year that many government procedures are now being carried out through electronic government transactions, while demand for internet services is expected to witness a notable increase in the coming few years as a result of the availability of fiber-optic networks (FTTx) and the high speeds they provide, the growing factors supporting and enabling internet content, and the spread of smart handheld devices and the software and applications they contain that rely on internet connectivity.