Page 124 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2020

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

a telecom regulator to a digital regulator will further accelerate the participated in the virtual opening ceremony of the World Summit
growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy. The Kingdom currently on the Information Society (WSIS 2020). During his speech, His
ranks fifth in the world for mobile Internet speed, with an average Excellency the Governor referred to the importance of digital
speed of 77.55 Mbps. A modern and pragmatic spectrum strategy transformation, which has become the new backbone of life
puts Saudi Arabia second among the G20 countries for spectrum and a tool for achieving growth and prosperity, especially with
allocation and fourth in the world for 5G networks deployment. all vital sectors such as health, education and trade adopting
(October 19, 2020) saudigazette.com.sa technology as a basis for business continuity and mitigating
the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also affirmed that
The Communications and Information Technology Commission the Kingdom's commitment to continue its international efforts
(CITC) organized a virtual workshop on enabling connected car related to communications and information technology, and
services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is an emerging supporting the digital trends that contribute in enhancing the use
technology CITC is keen on adopting, in accordance with the latest of technology, and maximizing its role in supporting development
and best international practices. The workshop was attended by and the well-being of people around the globe. The Kingdom,
participant from governmental entities, car manufacturers and represented by a number of government and private entities,
dealerships, in addition to ICT service providers from all over the won an award and 7 certificates within the competition held by
Kingdom. During the workshop, CITC discussed the readiness WSIS, to honor the best projects that harness communication
of networks and systems of mobile telecommunications service and information technology in implementing the outputs of
providers to provide connected car services, and the regulations the World Summit on the Information Society. This brings the
related to this type of services. The workshop's agenda also Kingdom's score to a total of (10) awards and (22) certificates
included underlining challenges each stakeholder faces, in of excellence obtained in the previous summit sessions since
addition to discussing service aspects with car manufacturers its launch in 2012. The Digital Giving Initiative 'Attaa', launched
around the world. This workshop comes within CITC's framework by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
to regulate IOT technologies in the Kingdom, while stimulating with the aim of localizing digital knowledge, won the award for the
and adopting all emerging technologies and providing the 'The Cultural Diversity and Identity, Linguistic Diversity, and Local
appropriate environment for launching connected car service. Content' category, while the projects of the Ministry of Justice,
Which requires opening communication channels with car the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the Ministry
manufacturers and service providers, and working to make the of Tourism, the Qassim University, King Khalid University, Saudi
most of communications and information technology services Aramco, and the Saudi Telecom Company, received certificates
in the automotive industry, including self-driving car services, in various categories in education, employment, agriculture,
which contributes to making the Kingdom among the top leading and communication infrastructure. The Communications and
countries in developing and using technology to improve the Information Technology Commission (CITC) is the Kingdom's
quality of life and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. focal point with the International Telecommunication Union,
(September 14, 2020) citc.gov.sa/en and is keen to highlight the Kingdom's efforts and achievements
internationally related to the Union's work, including participating
The Governor of the Communications and Information in the World Summit on the Information Society each year.
Technology Commission, Dr. Mohammad bin Saud Al-Tamimi, (September 7, 2020) citc.gov.sa/en

Sri Lanka

Bharti Airtel Lanka has been awarded 4G-suitable spectrum The Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said the
in the 850MHz band by the Telecommunications Regulatory Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) has taken
Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and says it will ‘soon’ launch note of the complaints received continually by the Commission
its high speed mobile broadband services across the country. The regarding the payment for data that is not used at night and
DailyFT newspaper reports the Bharti Airtel Limited subsidiary steps will be taken to find a practical solution for the issue. The
as saying that in using 850MHz spectrum, its 4G service will Minister was responding to a question raised by a journalist at
offer end users ‘superior indoor coverage’ due to its higher a media briefing at the Government Information Department
signal propagation. Commenting on the spectrum allocation, on whether there was a formal solution to the issue of people
Airtel Lanka CEO and managing director Ashish Chandra said: paying extra for services that are not used at night. He further
‘We are thankful to the government of Sri Lanka and the TRCSL said that the amount of data provided at night and during the
for allotting us the 4G spectrum. We look forward to delighting day has been changed to motivate the consumer to reduce the
customers across Sri Lanka with world-class 4G services. The internet congestion during the day. However, he added that the
850MHz band will enable us to deliver a truly differentiated high Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) is focusing
speed network experience to our customers with superior indoor on providing a practical solution to the issue of paying for night
coverage, which is a must in today’s scenario of work from home data that is not used by many.
and online education.’ (October 22, 2020) commsupdate.com (September 12, 2020) colombopage.com
124 SEP-OCT 2020