Zain KSA Initiates 3 New Broadband Projects for Remote Areas

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Zain KSA Initiates 3 New Broadband Projects for Remote Areas

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and Zain KSA signed an agreement to implement three high-speed wireless broadband projects for remote areas of the Kingdom as part of the Universal Service Fund.

The three projects are expected to provide service to more than 800,000 beneficiaries in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.

Zain KSA confirmed on Sunday that it will exert all efforts to contribute into achieving the objectives of the National Transition Program (NTP) 2020 and Vision 2030.

The agreement was signed by CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan at the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah.

Prince Nayef lauded the efforts the communications ministry aiming at achieving NPT 2020 and Vision 2030 goals, confirming Zain's commitment to contribute in reaching those goals.

CEO of Zain KSA Sultan bin Abdulazizi al-Deghaither stated that the three high-speed broadband projects for remote areas include providing services to more than 800,000 users in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of each of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.

Deghaither reiterated that Zain KSA had invested heavily in developing its network, which provides high-end technologies during implementation.

These projects include the provision of high-speed broadband services to centers, villages and remote areas in various regions of the kingdom by enhancing investment in infrastructure and increasing wireless broadband networks coverage. Projects will also contribute to facilitating use of e-government services in achieving digital transformation.

Zain Saudi Arabia stocks rose 5.8 percent on Sunday after the company signed the agreement with CITC.

These developments came as CITC launched its index on monitoring the latest developments in information technology and communications sector in the Kingdom by the end of the second quarter of 2017.

According to CITC, the number of subscribers to telecommunications services which reached about 43.6 million subscriptions, of which 3.75 million are for postpaid lines, while subscriptions to mobile broadband services on mobile networks reached about 25.2 million.

The number of subscriptions to fixed-line broadband services reached 3.2 million, including DSL, fixed wireless connections, fiber optics and other wired lines.

As for the number of internet users in Saudi Arabia, CITC said that the number of Internet users in the country reached 24 million users.



Oil Prices Fall on Potential Ukraine Peace Talks

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Oil Prices Fall on Potential Ukraine Peace Talks

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Oil prices fell more than 1% on Thursday as a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continued to exert downward pressure, along with rising crude inventories in the United States.

Brent futures were down $1.04 or 1.4%, at $74.14 a barrel by 1303 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.04, or 1.5%, to $70.33.

Brent and WTI lost more than 2% on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said Russian that President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him and Trump ordered US officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The oil price decline over the past 24 hours looks to be driven by a change from supply concerns to sufficient supply, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that some market participants expect an increase in Russian energy exports, Reuters reported.

Russian oil exports could be sustained if workarounds to the latest US sanctions package are found, after Russian crude production rose slightly last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest oil market report.

The Ukraine news and Wednesday's US oil inventories data offset higher US inflation numbers that could drive the US Federal Reserve to take a cautious approach to interest rate cuts in 2025, said PVM analyst John Evans.

Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and sanctions imposed on its crude exports after its invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago have supported higher prices.

ANZ analysts said on Thursday that oil prices declined on news of the potential peace talks because of "optimism that risks to crude oil supplies would ease", pointing to the US and EU sanctions.

"Signs of tightening supply have been pushing up oil prices in recent weeks," they said. "US sanctions on Russian oil companies and vessels are said to have exacerbated the situation."

A build in crude oil inventories in the United States, the world's biggest crude consumer, also weighed on the market. US crude stocks rose more than expected last week, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Also weighing on prices were US President Donald Trump's plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on Thursday. "Today is the big one: reciprocal tariffs," Trump wrote on his social media platform.