2.7BN people are still offline: Saudi Communication Minister

The Saudi Minister of Communications, Engineer Abdullah Al-Sawaha, said that the world, despite its divisions, is interconnected and shares risks, but it needs a new system of cooperation.

 

 

 

In his speech during a session entitled “Saudi Transformation in Light of International Changes”, the Saudi Minister of Communications added, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Wednesday that the world has 2.7 billion people around the world who are not connected to the Internet.

 

 

 

He explained that a study was conducted during Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20.

 

 

 

This study was conducted in cooperation with the World Economic Forum. It showed that the world needs half a trillion dollars to connect parts that are not connected to the Internet using terrestrial networks.

 

 

 

The minister stressed that the Kingdom is working to provide global solutions to ensure access to the Internet for all.

 

 

 

“That is why we launched the NTN program for terrestrial networks by connecting the earth with space, and we conducted the first experiment last year by providing a 5G tower connected to an aircraft flying 20 km above the ground, and this will connect the world that is not connected to the Internet at a fraction of the cost,” the minister explained.