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The kingdom achieves the G5 regulator classification two years ahead of the targeted date of 2023
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ITU’s G5 classification is reserved for the world’s most advanced and high-performing ICT regulators
Saudi Arabia has been upgraded to the status of fifth-generation (G5) regulator by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency overseeing all matters related to information and communication technologies (ICT).
The announcement was made during the Global Symposium for Regulators’ virtual event.
The ITU’s ICT Regulatory Tracker is a tool used to classify the maturity of ICT regulatory frameworks across 193 countries. It is made up of 50 indicators divided into four pillars: regulatory authority, regulatory mandate, regulatory regime, and competition framework.
The tool tracks countries’ progress from first-generation regulation (G1), in which regulated public monopolies employ a command-and-control approach, to fifth-generation regulation (G5), the highest level of regulatory framework in which regulatory agencies collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders to develop a harmonized approach across sectors now reliant on ICT.
The Communications and Information Technology Commission’s (CITC) recent transformation from a telecom regulator to a digital regulator has paved the way for the next generation of ICT regulation in the Kingdom.
