RIYADH, 19 July — Saudi Telecommunications Company has announced that those traveling abroad need not worry if they lose their mobile phone along the way. They could order a replacement of the lost SIM card by taking advantage of STC’s new customer service.
Saleh Al-Jasser, STC’s general manager, Mobile Business Unit, told Arab News that subscribers should immediately ring the call center on 0096614555555 and report the loss, so that it is not used by others. They will be charged SR 200 for the service — SR 100 for the chip and the balance for express mail delivery. Alternatively, they could buy a substitute chip beforehand.
The new service is launched in response to demands from customers who tend to lose their mobile phones during travels. Al-Jasser, however, clarified that the new arrangement is not valid for the Sawwa card but only for the regular GSM phones with roaming facility. Purchase of a Sawwa card requires a subscriber to submit a photocopy of his Iqama to prevent its misuse, since he does not have to go through his sponsor.
STC, he pointed out, has also expanded its international roaming service. It is now available in 77 countries through 144 telecom companies. Another facility available is a guide book containing information on international roaming phone service.
Al-Jasser said STC customers traveling abroad could also receive calls on their mobile phone without the need to use the code number of the host country. They could get details by ringing 902.
For the Short Message Service (SMS), he said their Mirsal AlJawal, a new service, could be used by travelers for sending upto 160 Latin characters or 70 Arabic characters to other mobile phones.
This service could be used for GSM brands like Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens and Alcatel, he added.
