RIYADH, 2 April — The Saudi Telecom Company has signed an SR3 million contract with King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals for undertaking studies and consultancy services relating to its information technology program.
The contract was signed here on Saturday by Fahad Al-Fawaz, vice president of IT at STC, and Dr. Saleh ibn Abdullah Bakhreibah, undersecretary for applied studies at KFUPM.
The contract is significant as it represents STC’s initiative in reinvesting part of its revenue in the R&D program. It also enables STC to rely on KFUPM’s technological resources for beefing up its own research program concerning telecommunications.
Three of the Kingdom’s leading universities — King Saud University of Riyadh, King Abdul Aziz University of Jeddah and KFUPM — were vying for the STC project. It was eventually awarded to KFUPM on the strength of its technical specifications and competitive pricing.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Al-Fawaz said the agreement seeks to harness KFUPM’s expertise in IT for undertaking studies and research on its behalf and for providing consultancy services on information technology for STC. It also aims at delivering high quality products and services to STC’s clients.
The STC official said the development of the infrastructure in telecommunications mainly in programs testing and equipment for modern information technology will be one of its priorities as IT constitutes the backbone of the telecom industry. He said the project reflects the company’s drive toward reinvestment of part of its revenues in research and development involving the Kingdom’s research institutions.
Dr. Bakhreibah said KFUPM would provide consultancy services in planning as well as implementation and operation of IT-based Arabic systems and applications.
