Advanced Television

Saudi Arabia

OneWeb wins NEOM contract

NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company – the first holding company to be established as a subsidiary of NEOM – and OneWeb have signed a $200 million (€172.1m) joint venture agreement to bring high-speed satellite connectivity to NEOM, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and neighbouring East African countries. The partnership will see the […]

October 27, 2021By Chris Forrester

Extreme E generates €47m economic impact for first event

YouGov Sport, the international research and data analytics organisation, has revealed its overall assessment of the economic impact of Extreme E’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia in April, calculating the total to be more than €47 million – the total economic boost the X Prix contributed to the host country. Using its unparalleled access to […]

September 15, 2021

Report: Saudi is MENA’s key social media market

Saudi Arabia has seen social media usage “sky-rocket” according to a study from media agency Crowd and its Global media Insights report, using data from Euromonitor’s Digital Consumer trends. Because of the widespread use of smartphones, locals are using social apps more frequently, especially between 2020 and 2021. Statistics show that social media usage increased […]

September 2, 2021By Chris Forrester

CITC awards licences to new MVNOs in Saudi Arabia

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has awarded licences to two new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), bringing the total number of mobile telecom companies inside the Kingdom to seven. The new companies to be given the licences, after winning a competition announced by CITC in February 2021, are “Integrated Telecom Mobile Company” (ITC […]

July 14, 2021

Saudi Arabia awarded G5 status by ITU

Saudi Arabia has been upgraded to the status of fifth-generation (G5) regulator by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency overseeing all matters related to information and communication technologies (ICT). The announcement was made during the Global Symposium for Regulators’ virtual event. The ITU’s ICT Regulatory Tracker is a tool used to […]

June 22, 2021

Nilesat bans Al-Manar TV channel

Nilesat has followed Arabsat in taking down broadcasts from the Lebanon-based Al-Manar TV news channel, which is funded by the controversial Hamas organisation. Transmissions of Al-Manar will cease on June 15th. Justifying the decision, Nilesat’s board of directors claim that Al-Manar TV violated the agreement signed between both parties and broadcast programmes which provoke sectarian […]

June 14, 2021By Chris Forrester

Report: Zain best telco for Saudi Arabia gaming

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has published its Game Mode report for the first quarter of 2021, ranking Saudi Arabia’s telecom service providers based on their video game performance. This quarter’s Game Mode report reveals that Zain, a local telecom operator, has the best video game quarterly performance. Zain outperformed Mobily, Saudi Telecom […]

May 26, 2021

Saudi regulator looks to better satellite connectivity

Saudi Arabia’s telecom regular, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), says satellite technology is now emerging alongside fibre, microwave, WiFi and cellular as an exciting innovation and growing in mainstream availability. CITC has just held a webinar following on from its recent White Paper (Spectrum outlook for commercial and innovative use) which seeks to […]

April 9, 2021By Chris Forrester

WBA praises Saudi Arabia’s spectrum designation

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the body leading development of next-generation Wi-Fi services, commends the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) for their spectrum designation of the entire 6 GHz band (5.925-7.125 GHz) for licence-exempt use. Saudi Arabia is the first country in the Middle East, Europe, or Africa to designate […]

March 31, 2021

Saudi Arabia: CITC launches Game Mode initiative

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) launched the ‘Game Mode’ initiative, with the aim of enhancing Saudi Arabia’s booming gaming sector. This comes within the framework of CITC’s work to encourage healthy competition among telecom operators to provide the best experience for gamers, raise the level of transparency in the market, and enable investors […]

March 4, 2021