The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recently heralded Saudi Arabia’s ascension to a leading position in Digital Regulatory Maturity, hence advancing the G20 countries, followed by the United States of America, France, Italy, China, Japan, and Russia.
The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) noted that this position was achieved due to the collaborative efforts of both local and international entities, the launch of the Digital Regulatory Academy, the regulatory innovation, as well as the global leadership, and the advanced digital infrastructure; all of which reflects the growth of Saudi Arabia’s telecom sector over the past four years. These changes are part of the larger efforts to meet the ambitious goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on creating an appealing and motivating regulatory environment for different sectors, promoting digital economy investment, and harmonizing among regulators on common topics to improve the digital regulatory environment in vital industries.
This milestone is projected to spur the digital economy's growth, with the ICT market size reaching 154 Billion SAR in 2022. In addition to stimulate competition, magnetize investments in the ICT sector, and promote the Kingdom's influential and proactive role in the ITU.
This achievement reflects the efforts led by CST in collaboration with the National Regulatory Committee, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Digital Government Authority, Saudi Central Bank, Saudi Data & AI Authority, Transport General Authority, General Authority of Media Regulation, National Cybersecurity Authority, Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority, General Authority for Competition, and Consumer Protection Association. As they aims to develop the national regulations and leverage the infrastructure.
