The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is working on a number of initiatives to provide high-speed internet services across the Kingdom, including supporting the rollout of fiber-optic networks to homes, Through these initiatives, more than 400,000 homes in urban areas have been covered so far, and work is underway to cover the remaining homes in the Kingdom’s urban areas, aiming to reach 2.1 million homes by the end of 2020.
The Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Infrastructure, Engineer Abdullah Al-Khanhal, explained that high-speed wireless internet has been delivered to more than 110,000 homes to date, with the goal of reaching 701,000 homes in remote areas by the end of 202, as part of the initiative to deploy wireless broadband in remote areas, highlighting the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to expand, develop, and enhance the efficiency of the telecommunications infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation and the transition to a knowledge-based economy, while aligning with the objectives of the National Transformation Program 2020, in addition to contributing to the realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to strengthen the role of the telecommunications sector in building a digital society, a digital government, and a digital economy.Al-Khanhal praised the significant role played by the private sector, represented by telecommunications companies that have been entrusted, in accordance with previous agreements, with the task of deploying broadband networks, describing them as ideal partners, noting that the achievements being realized day after day are the result of the tremendous efforts made by the Ministry over the past years to modernize the infrastructure and the product of these distinguished partnerships, noting that this stems from the strategic directions of the telecommunications and information technology sector aimed at enabling a digital nation.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Communications is working to continue its efforts to enhance broadband coverage in remote areas, aiming to cover 70% of homes by 2020, and to provide and develop telecommunications infrastructure for more residents of towns, villages, and hamlets across the country, where the total number of towns, villages, and hamlets served to date has exceeded 20,000 in the northern border regions, Al-Jawf, Hail, Tabuk, Al-Qassim, Riyadh, Madinah, Makkah, the Eastern Province, Asir, Al-Baha, Najran, and Jazan, with a combined population of over four million people.
