Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission Presents the Kingdom's Efforts in Providing Broadband Before the UN Broadband Commission

His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, affirmed the unlimited support the communications and information technology sector receives from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – may God preserve him – with the aim of raising the efficiency of the national economy and achieving developmental leaps to meet aspirations and serve citizens, through working to achieve fiber-optic coverage of 80% of homes in high-density urban areas by 2020, and raising wireless broadband network coverage (over 10 Mbps) in remote areas to 70%, outlining the efforts undertaken by the Commission in the field of broadband as part of the National Transformation Program 2020 initiatives, including signing several agreements with a number of operators in the Kingdom.

This came during His Excellency the Governor of the Commission's participation in the meeting of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, held on Sunday, September 17, 2017, in New York City, on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. This year's discussions in the Commission focused on topics related to the challenges facing efforts to bridge the digital divide and the role of policy in this, enabling and encouraging digital entrepreneurs, as well as developing the digital economy and related issues, including privacy and cross-border data transfer.

It is worth noting 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 communications and information technology research, in recognition of its significant efforts in various fields, particularly the field of communications and information technology, which is a vital element of human and economic development. 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 areas it addresses, such as the economic fields.