Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications sector has logged a major infrastructure milestone. According to the fifth edition of the Saudi Internet Report published by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) using Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data, the Kingdom’s median mobile internet download speed climbed to 216 Mbps, up from 203 Mbps the previous year. The advancement secures Saudi Arabia’s position among the top five G20 nations for mobile connectivity performance.
Executive Summary
- G20 Top Five Milestone: Median mobile internet speeds reached 216 Mbps, placing the Kingdom among the world’s most performant mobile broadband markets.
- 5G & Latency Gains: Median 5G download speeds hit 320 Mbps with a response latency of 24 ms, delivering high-throughput, low-latency performance for critical digital services.
- Surging Data Consumption: Average monthly mobile data consumption reached 53 GB per capita, nearly three times the global average reflecting deep digital adoption across enterprise and consumer segments.
- Broadband & Governance Benchmarks: Fixed broadband speeds surged 25% year-on-year to 151 Mbps, while internet penetration hit 99.6% alongside a 67% IPv6 adoption rate.
Infrastructure Driving Next-Generation Throughput
The gains recorded in the CST report extend beyond consumer streaming to touch essential enterprise capabilities. Median 5G download speeds across the Kingdom reached 320 Mbps, accompanied by a median mobile latency of 24 milliseconds. In the fixed broadband sector, median download speeds surged 25 percent year-on-year to 151 Mbps (up from 120.4 Mbps), with median upload speeds reaching 73 Mbps and latency dropping to 8 milliseconds.
The report indicated total internet data traffic reached 69 million terabytes, split evenly between mobile and fixed broadband networks (50% each). Geographically, the Riyadh region generated the largest share of internet traffic at 30.6%, followed by the Makkah region at 20.5% and the Eastern Province at 16.8%.
Data Consumption and Digital Native Adoption
Saudi Arabia’s digital user base continues to consume bandwidth at rates significantly higher than global benchmarks. Per capita mobile data consumption in the Kingdom reached 53 GB per month, approximately three times the global average. With overall internet penetration standing at 99.6%, local digital maturity is further evidenced by a 67% user adoption rate for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and the operation of nearly 200 Saudi Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs).
Furthermore, digital tool integration is accelerating rapidly: 45.2% of internet users in Saudi Arabia now utilize artificial intelligence applications, more than double the adoption rate from the prior year. Registration of ‘.sa’ country-code top-level domains also grew by 18 percent year-on-year, signaling a rapid expansion of localized digital assets and corporate web platforms.
Strategic Alignment with Vision 2030
The performance metrics coincide with Saudi Arabia securing the top rank globally in the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ICT Development Index among 159 evaluated economies. For enterprise leaders, government entities, and international investors, high-density 5G coverage and low latency serve as the foundation for complex digital workloads, ranging from automated port logistics and smart city infrastructure in NEOM to enterprise cloud deployments and generative AI processing.
As major operators continue deploying next-generation technology, such as commercial 5G-Advanced networks, the underlying digital grid continues to evolve from a consumer utility into a core driver of non-oil GDP growth.
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