On an instruction of CITC Gov. Abdul Rahman Al-Jafari, the heads of the three mobile operators have already agreed to charge 55 halalas per minute on international incoming roaming calls and to allow subscribers to move their numbers. A spokesman from Zain said that the deadline given to all mobile operators to abide by these rules is Feb. 25. Under One Network, Zain’s customers traveling to six countries — Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Sudan and Iraq — could make calls at local call rates and receive them for free as well as linking into Egypt’s Mobinil.

“In compliance with the rule, we have withdrawn the free service for incoming roaming calls within the network from subscribers in Saudi Arabia, while retaining the other facilities offered by us,” he said, pointing out that Zain does not know how far the other two operators have responded to this rule. “An agreement should be followed by all three parties involved in the deal.” Saudi Telecom Company and Mobily were the first two mobile operators in the Kingdom enjoying a customer base of more than 10 million subscribers.

The CITC issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday insisting that all three telecommunications operators in the Kingdom must end free international roaming for received calls to their customers. The CITC claimed the move is to ensure that the three telecommunications companies do not “tamper with the fair competitive environment.” Although CITC’s move would boost revenue for all three, they have not welcomed it. An official at Mobily (which along with STC provides free call reception to a select number of customers when abroad) told Arab News on condition of anonymity that while it respects the role of the telecom operator, “the CITC regulations do not prevent us from offering free service to our customers.”