JEDDAH, 12 April — Women will now be exempted from the need to make a deposit or furnish a guarantor to get a telephone connection — mobile or land line.
This new regulation was announced by Saleh Al-Jasser, general manager of the Mobile Business Unit at the Saudi Telecom Company, in a statement to Al-Madinah yesterday.
The new rules for women subscribers, which will take effect tomorrow, also state that the subscribers who already use the STC service will not be asked to fulfill any new conditions. New subscribers, those who are unemployed, will also be allowed a credit limit of SR500, Al-Jasser said.
An employed woman with an endorsement from her employer will be given a credit limit of SR1,000. While businesswomen, who wish to raise their credit limit beyond SR1,000, will have to pay a deposit to the STC depending on the limit she wants, the STC official added.
A special electronic system has been installed to keep a check on the credit limit of every female subscriber. This move is to ensure that the women subscribers do not exceed their credit limits.
Al-Jasser also said the new regulation will be implemented tomorrow at all STC branches in the Kingdom.
According to the existing rules, women subscribers had to pay a SR1,000 deposit for national calls and SR2,500 for international calls with the roam facility, the newspaper reported.
With the official launch of the STC’s prepaid chip card on April 27, it will no longer be necessary for expatriates to pay deposits if they want to use mobile phone in the Kingdom, according to a company announcement earlier this week. The prepaid card Sawa will be available for SR200 and distributed through 10 designated agencies.
Al-Jasser said in a press meeting in Riyadh on April 8 that STC was introducing rechargeable cards in SR100 and SR200 denominations.
