RIYADH, 26 May 2003 — The Saudi Telecom Company has announced that landline subscribers from next month will be billed bimonthly instead of quarterly.
Saleh Al-Jasser, head of marketing, public relations and information at STC, said that mobile phone subscribers were already receiving bills on a bimonthly basis.
Asked about STC’s decision to reduce the credit limit for subscribers with SR1,500 mobile chips from SR10,000 to SR2,000 without informing them, the STC official said it would not have been possible to inform them individually in view of the huge number of subscribers. Al-Jasser said there would be no change in the current rates for SAWA mobile phone calls at SR1.20 per minute. Also, the subscription charge for SAWA cards will remain at SR200 as before.
STC earlier launched a new service for mobile phone users, enabling them to access prayer timings and other types of business and general information. The new service, known as Abwab, offers updates on both national and international stock markets, the latest economic and sports news, entertainment programs, exchange rates of currencies and precious metals.
According to Al-Jasser, in order to access this service, an SMS must be sent on Abwab 5999 using codes for different services. The charges range from 75 halalas to SR3. Additional information on this facility is available on 902. Al-Jasser added that the Abwab offer, valid for regular mobile phone users, would be extended later to SAWA card holders.
Abwab is part of STC’s move to upgrade its services which include “Golden Bouquet’ and “Silver Bouquet” phone cards entitling the cardholders to receive 400 minutes of free calls instead of 280 minutes for the former and 100 minutes in place of 80 minutes for the latter. The rates have also been reduced for both categories.
