Telecommunications company revenues have grown by an average of about 13% annually over the past eight years, ending 2010 with total revenues of 61 billion SR. Mobile services revenues represented 73% of the total revenue, with fixed services and data at 25%. In addition to revenues from within the Saudi telecom market, telecommunication companies’ investments in international markets have resulted in revenue growth from 455 million SR in 2007 to nearly 14.5 billion SR by the end of 2010. Thus total income from operations and investments in the telecommunications sector both nationally and internationally was about 75 billion riyals. Likewise, the telecommunications sector contributes directly and significantly to total capital investment in the Kingdom. Liberalization and introduction of competition resulted in high a level of investment, which flowed directly and indirectly into the national economy and resulted in an incremental increase in the GDP. While large companies (operators) are investing billions of Riyals in the construction and modernization of their network infrastructures, small companies are also making substantial investments in the areas of voice, data and value-added services. Existing and newly licensed telecommunications companies are undertaking megaprojects aimed at connecting buildings and individual homes with fiber optic cables, which in turn provide access for businesses and residents to advanced communications and to a world of knowledge and information. The expected value of expenditures on projects for the development and deployment of telecommunications services and applications is around 70 billion Riyals over the next five years.
