RIYADH, 18 April 2006 — The Kingdom will be allowing more foreign businessmen to invest in the information and communications sector, especially in the field of fixed and mobile telecommunications services. The move aims at promoting healthy competition in the country.
The announcement was made by Dr. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), at a press conference yesterday also attended by Abdulrahman Al-Fehaid, deputy governor of CITC.
The CITC governor explained the licensing procedure leading to the selection and award of new fixed and mobile services by the end of this year. The CITC is providing three options to the operators of ICT services ranging from technology and service specific to technology neutral and service specific and technology and service neutral. All the options relate to the provision of voice, data or video services based on specific technology. The details have been posted on the CITC website www.citc.gov.sa.
“This process marks an important step in the liberalization of the telecommunications industry in the Kingdom. There is a strong demand for the fixed and mobile services and the introduction of competition should increase the variety, availability and affordability of such services and will benefit all sectors of the Saudi economy,” said the CITC governor.
Referring to the fixed and mobile licensing schedule, Dr. Al-Suwaiyel said public consultation on the regulatory framework, which started yesterday, would be completed by May 6. Between the second and the fourth quarters, CITC will wrap up other items in its schedule, such as public consultation on relevant policies and licensing, seminars and road shows, announcement of the licensing criteria, receiving of applications and finalization of license awards.
The whole process will be transparent and interactive in order to take on board the views and suggestions of the prospective investors.
The Kingdom’s ICT sector, he pointed out, is characterized by under-investment in the fixed telecommunications infrastructure, resulting in lower broadband penetration. “The CITC is, therefore, of the opinion that the chosen regulatory framework must promote a structure which ensures market attractiveness of, and hence new investment in, the fixed telecommunications market, despite voice traffic migration to mobile networks.”
The governor said the CITC is in the process of reviewing the current industry and regulatory environment as well as anticipated future developments. This review will enable the CITC to revise its fixed and mobile services’ regulatory framework that will foster the adoption of advanced applications and services at affordable prices, supported by a state-of- the-art network infrastructure.
He pointed out that the CITC is inviting interested parties to participate in the public consultation process, and comment on the proposed regulatory framework to be adopted by the CITC in the future licensing of fixed and mobile service providers.
This public consultation document seeks comments from interested parties in a manner that will help the CITC in setting up a regulatory framework specifically in the licensing of fixed and mobile service providers. “The CITC considers the participation of the public an important aspect of the due process, given the CITC’s mandate and the importance of further liberalization and deregulation of the ICT sector in the future,” the governor said.
