Broadband coverage project in rural areas 50% complete: Saudi CITC

The high-speed broadband services project in unpopulated areas across the Kingdom is 50 percent complete ahead of schedule, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said in a statement Wednesday.

The completed part of the project will benefit 70,000 people living in more than 13,000 houses across 13 governorates in Riyadh, the eastern region, Al-Jouf, and the Northern borders region.

The project is part of the National Transformation Program 2020 for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

The telecom regulator signed in March an agreement with Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia (Zain Saudi) to develop phase I of the project.

Under the agreement, Zain Saudi is set to increase high-speed broadband services coverage in the Kingdom’s rural areas to 70 percent by 2020 through boosting infrastructure investments.