Saudi CST and ITU to Host Global Space Connectivity and Sustainability Events in Riyadh to Shape 6G NTN and Orbit Governance
RIYADH — The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) of Saudi Arabia, in direct partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), will host the Global Space Connectivity and Sustainability Events (SCS26) from October 12 to 14, 2026, at the CST headquarters in Riyadh.
Convened under the overarching theme of Connected Earth, Sustainable Space, the international gathering merges two established international forums into a single flagship three-day summit: the ITU-CST Forum on Connecting the World from the Skies and the Space Sustainability Forum (SSF). Held under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the CST, the event serves as a high level multilateral platform ahead of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 (WRC-27).
The summit docket concentrates on eight primary strategic pillars, addressing the integration of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) into future 6G telecommunications architectures, the regulatory frameworks required to scale commercial direct to device (D2D) satellite connectivity, spectrum allocation coordination, and the acceleration of emerging space economies. Parallel sustainability sessions, organized in coordination with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), will examine space traffic management, orbital debris mitigation, radio frequency interference prevention, and the modernization of international space governance.
The accompanying exhibition will showcase operational deployments in satellite communications, stratospheric high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), low Earth orbit constellations, and space situational awareness systems. The speaker faculty brings together international regulatory chiefs and commercial space executives, including CST Governor H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, UNOOSA Director Aarti Holla-Maini, stc Group Chief Executive Officer Eng. Olayan Alwetaid, AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan, and Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) Director General Isabelle Mauro.
By convening international space agencies, satellite operators, and national telecommunications regulators in Riyadh, the CST continues to establish Saudi Arabia as an influential regulatory and commercial nexus for orbital sustainability, non-terrestrial connectivity, and space resource governance under the digital transformation benchmarks of Saudi Vision 2030.
