New Telecommunications and Data Protection Rules Taking Effect in Saudi Arabia | Womble Bond Dickinson

KSA Telecommunications & Info Expertise Act

The Communications, Area, & Expertise Fee (CST), beforehand recognized till 2022 because the Communications & Info Expertise Fee (CITC), is the authority answerable for regulating actions throughout the telecommunication and data know-how sectors in KSA.

Till not too long ago, the telecommunications sector in KSA was ruled by the Telecommunications Legislation issued by Royal Decree No. (M/12) of 12/03/1422H (3 June 2001) and its By-Legal guidelines, which typically prohibited the availability of telecommunications companies or working (or connecting to) a public telecommunications community with out first acquiring a license from the CST. The licensing framework was in flux lately, with the CST taking a number of totally different approaches and providing a wide range of “Class” licenses authorizing particular forms of exercise. Thus far, the variety of fastened and cell service suppliers in KSA which were issued with an “Particular person” license stays very restricted, nonetheless, the CST has issued class licenses to numerous service suppliers providing IoT, ISP, VoIP, VSAT, SMS and different specialised companies.

The brand new Telecommunication and Info Expertise Act, issued by Royal Decree No. M/106 of 02/11/1443H in June 2022 got here into impact on 4 December 2022 (the Telecommunications Act) changing the earlier Telecommunications Legislation. Implementing laws for the Telecommunications Act have been subsequently issued in November 2022 (the Telecommunications ByLaws).

nonetheless, the CST has issued class licenses to numerous service suppliers providing IoT, ISP, VoIP, VSAT, SMS and different specialised companies.

The brand new Telecommunication and Info Expertise Act, issued by Royal Decree No. M/106 of 02/11/1443H in June 2022 got here into impact on 4 December 2022 (the Telecommunications Act) changing the earlier Telecommunications Legislation. Implementing laws for the Telecommunications Act have been subsequently issued in November 2022 (the Telecommunications ByLaws).

The specific purpose of the Telecommunications Act is to advertise digital transformation within the Kingdom and improve the companies offered throughout the ICT sector, notably in mild of latest exponential progress. On the similar time, the brand new Telecommunications Act and ByLaws proceed to require a license or authorization to supply sure communications or know-how companies in KSA and, in actual fact, they’ve successfully widened the scope of the CST’s regulatory jurisdiction to incorporate extra know-how and digital companies. Whether or not these adjustments advance or hinder these coverage targets, due to this fact, could in the end rely on the burden created by the CST’s implementation practices.

Essentially the most notable adjustments launched within the Telecommunications Act embody the next:

1. ‘Telecommunications’ and ‘Info Expertise’ have been given broad definitions to convey a spread of recent telecommunication and digital companies beneath the scope of the brand new framework and the CST. Whereas the said purpose of the regulators on this regard is obvious, till additional steering is issued by the regulators, the change is more likely to go away many service suppliers working or trying to function in KSA unsure as to whether or not they can be obligated to acquire licensing and/or authorization from the CST. Regulatory counsel skilled with the views of the CST can help in clarifying these issues or can search steering immediately from the CST regarding extra advanced situations.
2. Along with service suppliers requiring a license for the availability of telecommunication companies, service suppliers that use telecommunication networks to supply telecommunication functionalities at the moment are additionally required to acquire an acceptable license from the CST.
3. Service suppliers could now acquire a ‘Common Class License’ to supply companies captured beneath the Telecommunications Act, offered in addition they acquire a separate ‘Service Allow’ for every of the captured companies. Pursuant to the most recent model of the Classification Rules and the Common Class License Rules issued by the CST in 2024, there are presently 11 classes of companies for which service supplier could also be granted permits by CST, nonetheless, this checklist continues to be up to date commonly.
4. The CST Board has now been given the authority to require a license, registration or authorization for the availability of some other companies associated to the telecommunication or info know-how sector, above and past the actions which can be captured beneath the present framework. This modification is more likely to perpetuate regulatory uncertainty because the CST has successfully been granted the ability to manage future applied sciences in unspecified methods as and when they could emerge into the KSA market.
5. The Telecommunications Act now consists of particular provisions referring to the processing and safety of person info and confidential paperwork and locations an obligation on service suppliers to abide by relevant KSA legal guidelines and laws on this regard. These embody the information safety laws and insurance policies issued by CST and the Nationwide Cybersecurity Authority, in addition to the brand new KSA Private Knowledge Safety Legislation, mentioned beneath.