RIYADH, 3 March 2004 — The Shoura Council could reduce Saudi Telecom’s exorbitant charges if necessary, according to the chairman of the council’s communications committee.
“The Shoura Council has done it before and will not hesitate to do it again, since it is our responsibility to protect the customer,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Yami, who is a former STC president.
He said STC’s off-peak mobile phone rates were reduced from SR1.60 per minute to 35 halalas per minute during the last two years. “We hope that these rates will come down further with the competition that is going to come,” Al-Yami told Arab News.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Riyadh International Communications and IT Conference 2004, where the delegates also heard about the possibility of a tie-up between STC and Thuraya, the mobile satellite communications company, to extend STC’s services into rural and remote areas.
Mobile phones have outstripped landlines in the Kingdom, according to Mohammad Gawdat, Microsoft’s regional mobile services manager.
In a presentation at the conference he said the number of mobile phone subscribers had increased to more than seven million, while the number of land phone subscribers had jumped from 1.7 million to seven million.
Saudi Telecom mobile services now cover an area of 16,500 sq. km., but connections outside the major cities are hit-and-miss, especially in peak times.
The Kingdom had earlier said the much-criticized company would keep its monopoly until a second provider from abroad is ready to begin operating, probably some time next year.
“Competition in the market will help to improve the quality of service and also reduce prices,” Al-Yami said.
Internet charges are also prohibitive.
Al-Yami said the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), which is responsible for regulating telecom prices, could consider charging Internet use at normal call-rates “so the ISP will not charge the customer anything except five halalas per local call. In such a scenario some kind of a settlement will have to be arranged between the ISP and STC,” he said.
This means customers would only have one bill to pay. Currently, ISPs charge SR3 per hour for Internet access.
Any decision on the cost structure would have to be taken after examining the overall situation in the Kingdom, Al-Yami said, but CITC would definitely ask for a review if STC rates are found to be excessive.
“The Shoura Council is examining the matter as it does those of all government agencies. We also review any complaints that we receive. We ask for a comparative study and if we see any deviation from the pricing structure abroad, we will consult the concerned department and make our recommendations,” he added.
— Additional input from Mohammed Rasooldeen
