Saudi Arabia’s communications and technology market is booming, with SR93 billion ($24.7 billion) already invested in developing the country’s digital infrastructure over the last six years, according to the Kingdom’s Communications and Space and Technology Commission at the ICT Indicators Forum in Riyadh.
According to the organization, also known as CITC, the Kingdom was the quickest and largest digital infrastructure market in the Middle East and North Africa area as of 2022, with an expected market value of roughly SR154 billion.
In terms of mobile internet speed, the Kingdom is presently in the top 10 in the world.
CITC Governor Mohammed Al-Tamimi stated during his statement at the summit that Saudi Arabia has launched high-speed internet access in 21,000 communities and immigrant areas around the Kingdom, assuring the continuity of communication services for over 5 million people.
He continued by stating that 5G coverage in the Kingdom had reached 53%, with Riyadh having reached 94%.
According to Al-Tamimi, fiber optics coverage has reached 3.7 million Saudi residences.
As reported by the CITC governor, internet service consumption has skyrocketed in Saudi Arabia, where mobile communications subscriptions now account for 172 percent of the population.
The average daily mobile internet data usage per individual in the Kingdom has also surpassed 1200MB, which is three times the worldwide average, according to Al-Tamimi.
The Saudi Internet Report 2022, released by CITC during the occasion, revealed that 62.6 percent of Saudis will make an online purchase in 2022, with women leading the way with 74.4 percent of all online purchases, compared to 53.6 percent of men.
In a recent survey, 49.4 percent of internet users browse for seven hours per day, and the average per capita mobile internet data usage in the Kingdom will reach 37GB per month in 2022.