Telecommunications
In recognition of the importance of technology to the Kingdom’s competitiveness, Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is currently implementing a Universal Service Fund to provide voice and Internet coverage to the whole of the country. The fund’s aim is ambitious: to provide 100% household coverage over seven years, beginning in 2008. Unlike similar funds in other countries, which collect a tariff from telecom operators to subsidize expansion, the Saudi Arabian fund will receive substantial government funding. By ensuring universal access to these technologies, the Kingdom will ensure businesses in all regions can benefit from the increased productivity they provide and support company development in all regions. Thus, the fund is expected to improve the nation’s technological readiness, with cascading effects on competitiveness.
Meanwhile, to boost the Kingdom’s capacity for innovation, the Ministry of Commerce is developing a new industrial development strategy. Supporting the King’s decree to diversify the economy, the strategy will seek to encourage regional diversification, foreign direct investment, private sector involvement, and the introduction of knowledge-based industries in Saudi Arabia. Implementation of the new strategy will touch on several areas, and include support for the development of industrial and technology clusters; support for SMEs with incubator programs and business resource centers, and improved industrial financing mechanisms; programs to boost national and regional innovation, such as improved coordination across private sector players, incentives to spur R&D, and the establishment of innovative financing vehicles; and programs to enhance industrial cluster–related human resource capabilities. Again, this initiative touches on several pillars of the GCI, with its success critically important to achieving the goals of the 10x10 program.