I was a bit upset when I saw a “For Sale” sign on the front door of a call cabin. It is very sad to see what is happening to these cabins which once provided employment to many Saudis with no education beyond middle school.
The call cabins were once the golden goose for Saudi Telecom and generated some very substantial profits for the company.
The main problem is in the company-approved discounts which have benefited the company but did nothing for the phone cabins. Over the past months, STC reduced its prices which effectively discouraged people from using phone cabins. The company instituted an international price reduction campaign without considering the effect the campaign would have on the phone cabins. The call cabin owners were left with two choices — complain to newspapers or close down.
For a while, the fight between STC and call cabin owners has been a running feature in local newspapers. The cabin owners say that their prices are 25 percent more expensive than the service provided by STC.
I am not a call cabin investor or owner nor I am taking sides with STC. I am, however, against a price war between STC and Etisalat which will impact unfavorably on many members of the public. We do not want a price war because the two companies will suffer as well as their investors. And sooner or later, we will find thousands of Saudis who were once employed in the call cabins on the streets looking for work.
