1. ​ICT sector development
    • Drafted regulatory framework for cloud computing.
    • Updated the municipal regulations related to communication towers in order to improve the quality of service and increase Internet speed.
    • Issue a regulation for voice call termination rates on mobile and fixed communication networks.
    • Prepared regulation for the deployment of ICT networks in the new urban development areas to promote infrastructure availability.
    • Adopted strategy and regulations related to the management of specific frequency bands for the deployment of IMT systems.
    • Mandate procedures for tariffs approvals of ICT services for the protection of user rights.
    • Launched a project to review and update reference offers (ROs) for network access and interconnection services to ensure a fair and transparent regulatory environment for all telecommunication service providers.
    • Set a regulation to guarantee the quality of ICT services.
  2. Licenses
    • The number of valid licenses issued by CST for providing ICT services was 329 at the end of 2017. CST also issued a license that allows the leasing of telecommunication facilities which are part of the GCC Interconnection Authority, to telecommunication service companies licensed to operate in the Kingdom.
    • As for frequency licensing, in 2017 the CST held the first auction for the award of frequency bands to IMT services in order to meet the need for more frequencies within the mobile telecommunication market and to set fair prices; it also responded to various spectrum management requirements.
    • In terms of type approval of ICT devices, the number of approval certificates granted by the CST in 2017 was 5403.
    • In terms of numbers allocations, the Commission has implemented a national numbering plan for the allocation of numbers to different entities to meet the market requirements.
    • In terms of registering Internet domains in the Kingdom, the Commission approved 5,039 new domains in 2017. The number of issued domains totaled 51,953 domains.
  3. Serving the Pilgrims
    • The CST has been continuously seeking to provide high quality ICT services to pilgrims during the Hajj season and the holy month of Ramadan with the increasing demand for diverse services and the need for more capacities in the Two Holy Mosques area. As a result, during the Hajj of 1438 , 700 million calls were successfully completed over the networks and 23 thousand Terabytes of data were transferred.
  4. Protection of user rights
    • Updated regulations related to consumer protection for users of ICT services, covering 14 categories. Regulations have been updated to guarantee the promotion and strict enactment of user rights.
    • The CST has made available online all applications for complaints regarding provision of voice and video as well as data communication services.
    • Developed and published indicators of quality of services provided by different service providers, depending on the number of complaints received from users, in order to enhance the transparency and competition in the ICT services market.
    • Established a special platform to measure and test the quality of Internet services.​
    • Developed and promoted informative documents for consumers describing their rights and enactment.
    • Developed measures to reduce spam.
    • In terms of Internet content filtering, traffic to sites that promote indecency, hate, violence, etc. were blocked. A total of 1,197,290 sites were blocked in 2017, a rise of 24% compared with the previous year.
    • Established measures requiring service providers to notify users of out-of- network calls.
    • Updated and developed a fair network usage policy to further protect user interests and enhance competition.

For more information, please refer to annual reports section