RIYADH, 13 January — A number of Internet service providers (ISPs) in the Kingdom are planning to take joint legal action against SaudiNet, the Internet division of Saudi Telecom Company, for promoting unfair competition. They said they will file a lawsuit at the Court of Grievances.
Sources close to ISPs told Arab News that the case would be filed after reaching an understanding with a law office in Riyadh. They accuse SaudiNet of using unfair methods to push them out of the market.
These methods, they claim, include marketing free Internet connection service for several months, the exploitation of distinguished clients and officials, and ruining the reputation of other ISPs.
Dr. Abdullah Mousa, vice president of STC for SaudiNet, dismissed the allegations as baseless and said they could not be supported by any evidence.
"Unlike other companies, SaudiNet has been licensed by the Council of Ministers to provide Internet service. It has received a license from the Internet unit of the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology," Mousa told Arab News.
He emphasized that STC is committed to the rules and conditions related to the Internet service, including prices.
"Some ISPs have announced prices violating the set limits while some others use satellite dishes to provide the service in violation of regulations," he added.
Ever since it was launched in May last year on a commercial basis, Mousa said SaudiNet did not offer any free time deals to its clients.
"Of course, we offered free time service before that date for about two months to certain parties to introduce our service to them," he conceded.
Mousa said SaudiNet wanted to provide quality service and does not want to have too much pressure on its network. "This has prompted government departments and private agencies to make use of our service."
Mousa, however, expressed his company’s readiness to cooperate with any neutral party to investigate to make sure whether its service was harmful to other ISPs.
But the ISPs strongly criticized the STC saying the latter was both "the judge and executioner" as it sells the service and then again competes with the ISPs.
They also pointed out that the losses incurred by some firms as a result of unfair competition in the market had reached SR30 to SR50 million.
They warned that the future of Internet service in the Kingdom would be in jeopardy if the situation continues as the big losses suffered by the ISPs would force them to withdraw from the market.
"The ISPs will not able to make substantial profits in the short run only by providing Internet service just as most ISPs around the world. So they have to provide other value-added services such as designing and developing websites, electronic service solutions, information security and so on. They can make additional profits by providing these services," he pointed out.
But the ISPs were not satisfied. They said they would not be able to provide any additional services at a time when they make losses and when SaudiNet threatens to enter new areas of services into which they too want to venture.
