Saudi Satellite Trial Hits 2,514 Mbps as Digital Economy Reaches 139 Billion Dollars
Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator, the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), has been testing satellite and hybrid satellite-cellular technology to extend broadband into areas that fixed and mobile networks cannot economically reach, a strategy that sits alongside the country’s existing fiber and 5G networks. The trials come as Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Alswaha said in July that Saudi Arabia’s digital economy has grown 75 percent over the past 8 years to reach 139 billion dollars, equivalent to approximately 521 billion riyals on our calculation at the riyal’s fixed exchange rate of 3.75 to the dollar.
Satellite Broadband Reaches 2,514 Megabits a Second in Remote-Area Trial
In one trial at a remote Saudi Aramco site in the Shudgm area, CST tested low-Earth-orbit satellite broadband using a OneWeb gateway connected from Dhahran. The trial recorded a download speed of 2,514 megabits per second and an upload speed of 96 megabits per second, with round trip network latency of 23 milliseconds, a 98 percent successful ping rate, and jitter of 2 milliseconds. The trial successfully supported a video conference call, internet browsing, Netflix streaming, and 8K video streaming, according to CST’s own published trial results.
Hybrid Satellite and Cellular Networks Tested on a Drone
CST has also demonstrated hybrid satellite and cellular connectivity. In a trial conducted at Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran Fire Training Center, Airmarket and Omnispace connected a hexacopter drone to both Omnispace’s non-geostationary satellite network and Saudi Telecom Company’s (STC) cellular network, with the drone controlled remotely from Edmonton, Canada. The trial tested cellular-to-satellite connectivity, satellite-to-cellular connectivity, and a combined connection uniting both, demonstrating how a single device could switch between terrestrial mobile coverage and non-terrestrial satellite coverage without losing its connection.
5G Expands on Low-Band Spectrum
On the ground, Saudi 5G networks have also been expanding on lower-frequency spectrum, which travels farther and penetrates buildings more effectively than higher-frequency bands. Zain Saudi Arabia launched the first phase of commercial use of standalone 5G technology on the 600 megahertz band in June 2025, after winning 30 megahertz of that band in a spectrum auction CST held in November 2024. Zain said at the time it planned a fuller commercial launch of the technology in Riyadh and Jeddah during the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by a phased geographic expansion to other cities and connecting roads across the Kingdom.
Digital Economy Grows 75 Percent to 139 Billion Dollars
Speaking at the opening of LEAP East in Hong Kong on July 8, Alswaha said Saudi Arabia’s digital economy has grown 75 percent over the past 8 years to reach 139 billion dollars, and that the non-oil digital economy’s contribution to gross domestic product has risen to 16 percent. He said the Kingdom’s operational data center capacity has reached 467 megawatts, representing 47 percent of total data center capacity across the Middle East and North Africa, with plans to build 6.9 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2034, including 3 gigawatts by 2030, backed by 12.8 gigawatts of power capacity available today. Women’s participation in the country’s information and communications technology workforce has risen from 7 percent to 35 percent, according to the minister.
Saudi Arabia Ranks First Globally in ITU’s 2026 ICT Development Index
Separately, Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in the International Telecommunication Union’s ICT Development Index for 2026, which assessed 159 economies on universal and meaningful connectivity, CST said. The Kingdom’s ICT market reached 199 billion riyals by the end of 2025, having grown at a compound annual rate of 8 percent over the preceding 5 years, making it the largest and fastest growing ICT market in the Middle East and North Africa, per CST. Internet penetration reached 100 percent, and the median mobile internet download speed reached 216 megabits per second.
Why it matters:
The satellite and hybrid trials matter because Saudi Arabia’s remaining connectivity gaps are concentrated in remote, mountainous, or sparsely populated areas where extending fiber or building new mobile towers becomes progressively more expensive for each additional household reached. Non-terrestrial networks offer a way to close those gaps without that capital cost, which matters for a country covering more than 2 million square kilometers. The digital economy figures matter because they show connectivity investment feeding into a broader diversification goal under Vision 2030, with information and communications technology now a measurable, growing share of non-oil output rather than a supporting function for other sectors.
Outlook:
LEAP 2026, the Kingdom’s flagship technology conference, opens in Riyadh on August 31 and runs through September 3, and is expected to feature further announcements on artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and connectivity, building on the digital-economy and infrastructure figures the minister cited in July.
Sources: Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST); Saudi Press Agency (SPA); Zain Saudi Arabia.
