Telecom - ICT - industry - internet - social - iot digital - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1. Telecom & ICT industry
Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
Accelerating Growth
Engr. Mansour AlObaid
Member of Saudi Business Delegation
to Taipei, Taiwan
mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

2. Digital Disruption Will Never Stop
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

3. Transition to a knowledge-based economy
Saudi Arabia occupies an advanced
position (position 20) in the United
Nations e-Government services index
(e-Government)
Results from a 2014 ICT skills study by
CITC indicate that the ICT
workforce in the Kingdom currently
stands at approximately
165,000 skilled individuals
Communications and Information Technology Commission, (CITC)
Fifth (5) place among 148
countries, in the penetration rate of
mobile phone according to the
Global Competitiveness Report
Mobility in Saudi Arabia 2015,
82% of mobile users have access to
smart devices,
and among these, 47% use both
smartphones and tablets.
The contribution
of the ICT sector represents
around 6% of total GDP
Saudi Arabia is the largest
ICT market by far in the
Middle East
It represent over 55% of the
total markets
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

4. Mobile Telecommunications Market
The total number of mobile subscriptions reached around 53 million by the end of 2015,
with penetration rate of 167.5%. Prepaid subscriptions constitute the majority (over
84%) of all mobile subscriptions.
The CITC issuance
of MVNOs
licenses helped
improve services
and costumer care
plus the variation
of the provided
services..
8 people out of
10 have
smartphones
CITC : Communications and Information Technology Commission
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

5. Fixed Broadband Services
Fixed broadband subscriptions including DSL, fixed wireless (WiMax), FTTx and other
fixed lines have grown to around 3.56 million subscriptions at the end 2015.
The Fixed
broadband
penetration
rate stands at
about 49.67%
of households.
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

6. Mobile Broadband Services
The total number of mobile broadband subscriptions continues to increase, and reached
around 33.4 million by the end 2015, representing a population penetration rate of
106%..
Wide
coverage of
the 3G and
4G networks.
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

7. Internet Services
The number of Internet users in the Kingdom continues to rise rapidly, reaching about
21.6 million at the end of 2015, with a population penetration of 68.5%.
Increased
demand for
Internet services
and broadband
was observed due
to high use of
social networking
applications,
video on demand
and gaming..
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

8. Telecom Services Sector Revenues
Telecom services revenues from operations in Saudi Arabia reached about SAR 72.4
billion in 2015. Increased about 5.8% of 2014 ,Mobile revenues represent 75% of all
telecom sector revenues
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

9. Spending on ICT Services
CITC estimates that spending on ICT services was up to SAR 120 billion in 2015, with a
growth rate of about 7% compared to 2014. The telecommunications sector accounts for
the lion's share of spending by 64%, while the proportion of spending on IT services is
about 36%.
CITC : Communications and Information Technology Commission
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

10. Social Media
The number of Saudi
users of social
applications and
programs
reached 18.3 million
users, equivalent to
58 % of the population
of Saudi Arabia.
Smart phones constitute
the largest platform
in logging into social
networks
260 minutes a day as an
estimated average of
logging per person using
smart phones
Facebook and Twitter
dominate with the largest
number of social media users
in the Kingdom
Facebook users reached 11
million users, while the
number of Twitter users
amounted to 9 million users
7 million Saudi users
watched YouTube video
clips at a rate of 105,900
per hour a day
ranked first among Arab
countries and second
worldwide in the use of
Snapchat
top rates of social
Chatting network
platforms use,
with 22%
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

11. E.gov Services
The SADAD System was set up by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
(SAMA) to serve as the national electronic bill presentment and payment
(EBPP) service provider for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
National e-Government Portal – Supported by advanced Telecom/ICT Infrastructure
http://www.saudi.gov.sa/
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

12. 2016 ICT Spending in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi ICT Market will grow to US$ 36 Billion in 2016 .
As organizations across the Kingdom have started to embrace digital transformation
initiatives in an effort to optimize costs and improve their business process efficiencies.
Saudi ICT Spending to grow at 6.9% year on year in 2016
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

13. 2016 ICT Spending in Saudi Arabia
ICT Spending by Verticals in Saudi Arabia - 2016
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

14. Internet of Things (IoT)
• Saudi IoT market will offer an opportunity of
US$750 million in 2016, and exceed US$1.1
billion by 2018.
• 48% of Saudi organizations plan IoT investments
over the next 1-3 years.
• Most IoT applications essentially IoT based.
Increasingly applied in Smart City projects and
related applications .
The Centre of Smart Initiatives
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

15. Saudi Arabia Digital Economy Business Opportunities
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com

16. Accelerating Growth
Engr. Mansour AlObaid - Member of Saudi Business Delegation to Taipei, Taiwan - mfobaid@ftechpioneers.com