On behalf of the minister of communications and information technology, the minister’s advisor, Dr. Abdurrahman Al-Oraini opened yesterday, Sunday 29th of January 2012, at four seasons hotel in Riyadh the events of ICT conference in the kingdom (TELSA), held from 6 to 8 Rabi-al-awal, corresponding to the 29 to 31 January 2012, under the patronage of the ministry of communication and information technology.
This conference which is organized by National Exhibition Company and Informa Saudi Arabia is one of the specialized conferences in the field of ICT. Its events include a conference, exhibition, a number of workshops that will witness the participation of senior executives representing the big ICT companies in the Kingdom.
The event is a unique venue for the network operators, regulators, service providers, wholesale services providers, government agencies, businesses and other relevant bodies on the local and international levels to communicate and engage in business in a vivid work environment.
In the opening speech of the conference presented by Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Oraini on behalf of the minister, the minister said that the ICT sector is one of the most sectors affecting the wheel of development of all the countries as it’s the fastest growing and changing sector, explaining that such a thing puts a heavy burden on the sector's stakeholders to keep path with the latest developments in the sector , in order to develop the services and reload systems and regulations.
H.E. praised the organization of the conference, underlining that its different activities are going to discuss the local , regional and international challenges in a scientific environment that enable the experts to exchange their ideas and experiences in order to attain the best solutions for the sector's challenges and the current requirements.
He added that, the ministry of communications and information technology in the Kingdom –as the representative of the sector- emphasizes the effective partnership in the sector in such occasions and events for decades, affirming that they are going to hold the same approach particularly as the kingdom is one of the first countries that supported the International Telecommunication Union since the early days of its establishment and actively participated in all its scientific and practical activities and still heads some of its committees and participates in other committees of the ITU and the other local , regional and international organizations relevant to ICT sector.
In his speech, the minister reviewed the achievements of the kingdom in the ICT sector, pointing out that the visitors of the MCIT and CITC websites are going to find the needed information in this regard besides all the information necessary for specialists, researchers about the Saudi ICT sector.
H.E. explained that the ICT sector is moving in line with state policy in this regard and in accordance with the National Communication and Information technology plan (NCITP) and managed in transparent manner with full neutrality regarding any technology and we are very keen to see every one participating in its prospects, plans and decisions. He went on saying that the sector will not subject to a specific technology or certain vision, instead we are going to adopt the most appropriate technologies in an environment that ensures fair competition for all those who are involved in the ICT sector.
H.E. said that thanks to these efforts, Saudi Arabia has achieved significant advancement whereas, the number of mobile subscriptions grew to around 56.1 million by the end of 9M 2011with a penetration stood at 198%, the number of fixed telephone lines stood at 4.52 million in the same period with a household teledensity of 67%. He went on saying that the internet penetration increased to 46% of the population by the end of 9M 2011 compared to only 9% in 2004, the number of internet users is estimated to 13 million in the same period and the mobile broadband penetration reached 11.5 million at the end of 9M 2011, representing a penetration of 40.5% of the population compared to less than 1% in 2004.
Wrapping up his speech, H.E. expressed his thanks and appreciation to the organizers, participants and sponsors of the conference and prayed to Allah the almighty to grant them success in all their works.