PROGRAM GOVERNANCE AND DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGES OF FTTH AND 5G BACKHAUL NETWORKS IN SAUDI SMART CITIES: EVIDENCE FROM RIYADH AND NEOM

The accelerated advancement of digital communication systems has emerged as a major trigger in developing smart cities across various parts of the globe. The programs of digital transformation in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as developing cognitive cities in NEOM, demonstrate a strong commitment towards developing futuristic communication systems in line with. The underlying foundation of such programs centers upon FTTH, 5G backhaul, along with overall IoT communication systems, as part of such smart city frameworks. This paper refers to the technological foundation as well as the strategic significance of the integration between the technologies of FTTx, 5G backhaul networks, and IoT connections, in the developing Smart City environment in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it looks into the infrastructural options related to the technological platform: FTTx access network, wireless backhaul network, as well as IoT communication protocols connecting massive devices. Architectural paradigms to transfer data among IoT devices, network cores, and cloud computing platforms. It talks about the main use cases associated with intelligent cities. It covers important use cases for smart cities, intelligent transportation management, energy management for the city itself, public safety management for citizens, healthcare management for citizens, and environmental sustainability within the city. Apart from this, the paper also covers the economy and the regulatory framework through discussions on relevant partnerships between the government and private organizations, national broadband plans, and the use of the radio frequency spectrum for further enabling the city's overall digitization.It also critically discusses challenges it might face in terms of scalability, security, data privacy, and long-term sustainability, through mitigation techniques that include network slicing, edge computing, and security in the Internet of Things. Finally, this paper aims to illustrate and discuss how the well-planned deployment of FTTH, 5G, and IoT technologies in Saudi Arabia will give an impetus to the development of data-oriented and sustainable smart cities to take the leadership position in the world.