Ashraf AboArafe
Riyadh – May 12, 2025.. The Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) announced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ranked fourth among G20 countries in average mobile internet speed, reaching 129 Mbps. This was highlighted during the 11th edition of the Communications and Technology Indicators Forum 2025, held in the capital, Riyadh.
The forum revealed that the size of the telecommunications and technology market in the Kingdom reached approximately SAR 180 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% over the past five years—reflecting growing investment and innovation in the sector.
The forum was attended by His Excellency Eng. Haitham bin Abdulrahman Al-Ohali, Acting Governor of CST, along with a distinguished group of industry leaders and local and international experts. The event featured five keynote presentations and a panel discussion that explored the current state and future directions of the ICT sector.
During the forum, Eng. Thamer Al-Khwaiter, General Manager of Regulations at CST, presented the latest indicators, noting that the number of mobile telecommunications subscriptions had reached 68.2 million, with a year-on-year growth of 7%. He also announced that the space sector market in the Kingdom had reached a value of SAR 7.1 billion.
Ranjit Rajan, Vice President of Research at IDC for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, gave a presentation on the features of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies.
Meanwhile, Jassim Al-Jubran, Head of Research at Aljazira Capital, reviewed the financial performance of the sector’s companies, pointing out that the total assets of listed ICT companies had reached SAR 255 billion, with revenues of SAR 128 billion, and a market value of SAR 427 billion.
In a related context, Amr Hashem, Policy Director at GSMA for the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted the Kingdom’s leadership in the deployment and development of 5G networks, confirming that Saudi Arabia has become one of the world’s leading countries in this domain.
The forum is part of CST’s efforts to enhance transparency, stimulate investment, and showcase development opportunities in a sector that serves as a key enabler of Saudi Vision 2030.
