NEW YORK: The Kingdom’s expanding role in the ICT sector can help toward connecting half the world’s population to the internet, Saudi officials told the UN.
With more than 93 percent of Saudis now with internet access, the country’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), headed by Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Ruwais, participated in a meeting of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, held in New York.
Al-Ruwais highlighted the importance of using innovative methods to finance broadband projects and best regulatory practices to stimulate competition and investment in the ICT sector.
Al-Ruwais noted the “qualitative leaps” achieved by the sector in the Kingdom over the past two years, including an increase of more than 300 percent in ICT spectrum services, the launch of at least 2,000 sites supporting 5G technologies, and a 450 percent rise in average mobile internet speeds.
He said the Kingdom now had more than 93 percent of its people with internet access, placing the country among the top 20 nations in the world for internet use. SPA New York
