Mobile Broadband Subscription in Saudi Reaches 11 Million

The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission has released some interesting numbers about Saudi Internet usage in their latest newsletter (PDF):

Total subscriptions to mobile broadband reached 11 million at the end of H1 2011, representing a penetration of 39% of the population.

Other interesting tidbits from the newsletter:

total number of mobile subscriptions grew to around 54.8 million by the end of H1 2011 … penetration rate standing at 195%

As for the number of Internet users in Saudi Arabia:

Internet users grew from around 1 million in 2001 to an estimated 12.5 million at the end of H1 2011… penetration 44% of population

Other items discussed in the newsletter:

• CITC to discuss monitoring quality of service and subscriber satisfaction with service providers (about time)
• CITC to approve new organizational restructuring
• Mobile operators in KSA sign the number portability agreement
• ITU Telecom World in Geneva
• Mobile penetration over 100% in 97 economies

The newsletter is available as a PDF on CITC’s website.

You can find the author of this post on twitter: @khaled.

Arabic version of this post on SaudiMac Arabic Edition.

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