RIYADH, 13 August 2005 — Mobily, which has been making headlines since winning the second GSM and the first 3G license in Saudi Arabia early this year, has announced a substantial reduction in call charges for a number of countries including Pakistan. The decision by Mobily is primarily intended to provide qualitative, competitive and affordable services to its Pakistani subscribers, who can now make call to any Pakistani destination for as little as SR2 for a minute.
Speaking on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day here, Khalid Al-Kaf, chief executive officer of Mobily (Etihad Etisalat), said: “We will always be a part of celebrations of any nationality, Saudis or non-Saudis”. “We want to be part of our customers’ life, culture and community, while sharing their concerns and commitments,” said the Mobily CEO, while congratulating overseas Pakistanis on the occasion of their Independence Day. More than a million Pakistani nationals live and work in Saudi Arabia.
Referring to the services offered, he said Mobily would be more customer-oriented in near future. “This is one of our major strategies to be more customer-focused,” said Al-Kaf, adding that the company has already broken all records in terms of subscription and it expects to enlist record number of subscribers at any given time segment. “We are maintaining the fastest rate of growth since the company was launched in Saudi Arabia,” said the CEO.
He pointed out that Mobily had plans to provide more incentives and benefits to its subscribers. Mobily, he said, had already announced reductions for international calls to a large number of countries. Mobily, following the reduction in international call tariffs early this month, is charging as little as SR2 per minute for calls made to Pakistan at any given time and day. The new rates are applicable when customers register their favorite international number and these rates have become now the most competitive in the whole region. The decision to reduce call rates is in line with the promises and policies made by Mobily to provide better services at reasonable prices.
Referring to the Mobily’s participation in community and charitable projects, Al-Kaf said Mobily would always support such projects. In fact, the launch of Mobily is more than just a great leap forward for the Kingdom’s telecommunications sector. It is also an initiative, which now guarantees a sizeable job-creation for Saudis. “We will continue to work as a consortium that combines an unmatched depth of experience in regional telecommunications with Saudi and foreign expertise and knowledge of the local market,” said the CEO.
“On all fronts, Mobily is growing from strength to strength,” said M. Rashid Ali Khan, Mobily’s executive manager for marketing and strategies. Mobily has signed an agreement for international roaming with more than 255 mobile operators around the globe so far covering about 150 countries. “With access to the world’s largest international wireless community, Mobily keeps subscribers connected while visiting other countries without changing his/her number of network,” said Khan, while giving an overview of a major promotion program entitled “Win Your Dream Vacation”.
Anyone who subscribes to Mobily’s postpaid or prepaid package before Aug. 17 will become eligible to enter the lucky draw of SR30,000 each day during the promotion period, said Mobily’s Executive Manager Khan. Mobily services are available at more than 400 points of sale (POS) in over 32 cities across the Kingdom. “There are also plans to cover more cities of the country and eventually the Kingdom as a whole,” said Hamoud Al-Ghobaini, a spokesman for Mobily.
Khan and Al-Ghobaini said that Mobily provided a variety of prepaid as well as postpaid service packages that meet all customers’ needs and fit in different budget requirements. Additional information on services and packages is available on its website mobily.com.sa. Mobily also recently launched a major promotion designed to provide all prepaid and postpaid services subscribers with 56 free talking minutes and 56 free SMS every month for one full year when calling Mobily to Mobily.
Mobily, which has revolutionized the local telecommunications market, is the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, the new mobile service provider in Saudi Arabia. Established in accordance with a 2004 royal decree, the ownership of the company is two-fold: A Saudi ownership comprising public investors holding 20 percent of the company’s shareholding, while private investors own a 45 percent stake. The balance of 35 percent is owned by the Etisalat of UAE.