The governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), Abdullah Al-Darrab, said the commission will stick to its decision to halt free roaming services.
Speaking on the sidelines of a global conference here, he said that no country in the world provides such a service.
“If free roaming services are generating huge profits as some say, all major communication companies would be providing it,” he said. Pointing out the drawbacks of free roaming, Al-Darrab said: “Hundreds of thousands of free SIM cards go outside the country, benefiting expats more than citizens. Our priority is to reduce the cost of local communications to citizens.”
As a substitute for free roaming, he said the CITC asked all communication companies to offer new packages for students on scholarships and families aboard.
Mobily, a Saudi communication company, got an initial ruling from the Grievances Court against CITC to continue offering its free roaming service. The ruling canceled a SR 500,000 fine slapped on the company.
CITC sticks to its guns
