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CITC inks an agreement to offer FTTH broadband services across Saudi

CITC inks an agreement to offer FTTH broadband services across Saudi
CITC inks an agreement to offer FTTH broadband services across Saudi
  • The deal inked between Telecom Service Providers would boost and augment competition in the broadband market across Saudi Arabia.
  • Through this initiative, subscribers get a chance to opt their FTTH service provider independently of fiber facility ownership.
Saudi Arabia's telecoms regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), has signed an open access pact offering fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband services via any subscriber-selected service provider, to the states of Saudi Arabia. The agreement, which was inked in February 23rd, aims at encouraging competition, increasing broadband subscriptions, and attracting investment by enhancing the service quality and customer choice. It has been reported that the agreement was signed by the CEOs of STC, Zain, Mobily, Etihad Atheeb Telecom, Integrated Dawiyat, and Integrated Telecom Company. According to reliable sources, it is the first time ever that a telecom regulator, CITC, has primarily driven the signing of a nation wide active infrastructure sharing deal amidst all operators in the telecoms market. Moreover, nearly ten commercial agreements have been signed recently between the operators post the completion of 90 workshops governed by Fiber Bitstream Rules and Guidelines published by CITC in November last year. Speaking on the matter, the governor of CITC, Dr. Mohammed Al Tamimi, cited that the adoption of an open access model would positively increase the use of its fiber-optic infrastructure through the development of commercial agreements which makes its easer for the subscribers to move from one provider to the other. Additionally, he praised the level of cooperation between the participating telecom operators throughout the development of open access initiative. Speculations have it that the Kingdom's digital transformation has significantly been bolstered post the launch of Vision 2030, with its ICT sector being valued at USD 28.7 billion, the largest in Arab world. Besides, as per the International Telecommunication Union, Saudi Arabia posses an internet penetration of nearly 93 per cent when compared to the global average of 53 per cent. Source credit: https://picante.today/latest-news/2020/02/23/133717/broadband-services-in-saudi-arabia-set-to-receive-significant-boost-from-new-open-access-initiative/

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Omkar Patwardhan

Omkar Patwardhan started his professional career in the hospitality industry. Having nurtured a deep-sated passion for words however, he found his way into content writing and now pens down articles for theresearchprocess.com and a few other websites, spanning the sectors of business, finance, and technology./