Saudi Zein Initiates 3 New Broadband Projects for Remote Areas

Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and Zain KSA signed an agreement to implement three high-speed wireless broadband projects for remote areas of the Kingdom as part of the Universal Service Fund.   The three projects are expected to provide service to more than 800,000 beneficiaries in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.   Zain KSA confirmed on Sunday that it will exert all efforts to contribute into achieving the objectives of the National Transition Program (NTP) 2020 and Vision 2030.   The agreement was signed by CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan at the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah.   Prince Nayef lauded the efforts the communications ministry aiming at achieving NPT 2020 and Vision 2030 goals, confirming Zain's commitment to contribute in reaching those goals.   CEO of Zain KSA Sultan bin Abdulazizi al-Deghaither stated that the three high-speed broadband projects for remote areas include providing services to more than 800,000 users in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of each of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.   Deghaither reiterated that Zain KSA had invested heavily in developing its network, which provides high-end technologies during implementation.   These projects include the provision of high-speed broadband services to centers, villages and remote areas in various regions of the kingdom by enhancing investment in infrastructure and increasing wireless broadband networks coverage. Projects will also contribute to facilitating use of e-government services in achieving digital transformation.   Zain Saudi Arabia stocks rose 5.8 percent on Sunday after the company signed the agreement with CITC.   These developments came as CITC launched its index on monitoring the latest developments in information technology and communications sector in the Kingdom by the end of the second quarter of 2017.   According to CITC, the number of subscribers to telecommunications services which reached about 43.6 million subscriptions, of which 3.75 million are for postpaid lines, while subscriptions to mobile broadband services on mobile networks reached about 25.2 million.   The number of subscriptions to fixed-line broadband services reached 3.2 million, including DSL, fixed wireless connections, fiber optics and other wired lines.   As for the number of internet users in Saudi Arabia, CITC said that the number of Internet users in the country reached 24 million users.