RIYADH, 28 October — A former senior executive of Britain’s Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) has supported the Kingdom’s "gradualist approach" to the opening up of the Saudi telecom sector on the ground that "it is not a good idea to open a network to full competition right away."
Sir Bryan Carsberg, former director general of Oftel, was speaking to Arab News on the first day of his four-day visit to Riyadh. He is leading a high level Middle East Economic Digest and International Trade and Investment delegation of senior business leaders.
The delegates include top officials of blue-chip multinationals such as Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Exi, Flag Telecom, HSBC, Nokia, SR Telecom and Tyco Communications. Asked to comment on the Kingdom’s decision to privatize the Saudi telecom under a phased program, Sir Bryan said Saudi Arabia represents a new situation. "There is no oversupply in the domestic market. It must be a good opportunity", he said, adding: "I am also in favor of a gradualist approach."
He said the Kingdom can learn from the experiences of other countries, where too much competition led to overinvestment and excess capacity. In the long run, however, he said liberalization is about improving "value for money for customers" and that making competition work should be the "main goal."
