Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
131
Table 68: Saudi Arabia versus other country averages (2015)
Saudi
Arabia
Arab OIC
Member
Countries
All OIC
Member
Countries Share Fixed-broadband 256 Kbit/s to less than 2 Mbit/s
subscriptions (%) 44.92 53.66 56.69
Share Fixed-broadband 2 Mbit/s to less than 10 Mbit/s
subscriptions (%) 22.10 38.60 32.20
Share Fixed-broadband equal to or above 10 Mbit/s
subscriptions (%) 32.99 8.92 11.11
Source: International Telecommunications UnionAccording to the International Telecommunications Union, Saudi Arabian broadband has
higher speed than the country averages of all OIC Member Countries and also those located in
the Arab region.
Pricing of fixed and mobile broadbandThe liberalization of the Saudi telecommunications market has resulted in a significant
reduction in prices. For example in 2014, while the cost of living index in the Kingdom
increased by 2.7%, the price index for telecommunications services decreased by
approximately 0.1%. When considering a longer time period (2007-2014), inflation is reported
at 30.1%, while the pricing of telecom services declined by 6.3%80.
As an example, the monthly subscription for 1 GB USB port has dropped from US$ 26.40 in
2012 to US$ 11.73 in 2016. This decrease is larger than the one undergone in the average of all
Arab OIC Member Countries, and that of all OECD countries (see figure 38).
Figure 38: Monthly subscription of 1 GB cap USB (in US$)
Source: International Telecommunications Union; Telecom Advisory Services analysis
80 CITC Annual report 2014, p. 73.
26.4% 26.67%
11.73% 11.73%
$0%
$5%
$10%
$15%
$20%
$25%
$30%
2012% 2013% 2014% 2015%
Saudi%Arabia% OECD% Arab%OIC%countries% OIC%Countries%