JEDDAH, 1 May 2006 — Saudi Telecom Company has launched a Local Based Services (LBS) that enables Al-Jawal customers to locate the Qiblah in addition to other places, such as hospitals, hotels, shopping centers and restaurants.
This service, along with new discounted rates for international calls, is the latest in a series of offers by STC to its customers. It is convenient for travelers to locate petrol stations based on geographical locations by receiving short messages (SMS) or multimedia messages (MMS) showing the requested map of the location.
LBS includes three types of services: Daliluk (your guide), Al-Musafer (the traveler) and Qiblah (the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah toward which Muslims pray).
To use the Daliluk service, customers must type the word SMS and the requested location. For example, they can send ‘SMS Banks’ to 100100 and they will receive an SMS informing them of the nearest bank. In case customers want to locate the place through MMS, they can follow the same steps with the word MMS instead of SMS. Daliluk is able to locate a variety of places including ATMs, airports, banks, borders, car showrooms, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and others. If users want the whole list of categories available for Daliluk, they can simply send ‘CAT’ to 100100.
Al-Musafer is a guide for travelers. In case they need help or have lost their way, they can send the letter ‘E’ to 200200 and they will receive an MMS map of all related services for travelers. If worshippers want to locate the Qiblah, they can send an SMS with the word ‘Qiblah’ to the number 100100 and receive for free an MMS that contains the direction of the Qiblah. In order to activate the service, customers have to either type 1010 in an SMS and send it to 902, call 902 or visit one of the Al-Jawal customer services center in the Kingdom. For SAWA customers, the service is already activated by default.
Service activation is free of charge and there is no charge for monthly subscription. The charge is set for receiving the SMS and MMS. It is SR 0.4 for receiving SMS and SR 0.8 for MMS for SAWA and postpaid users. The Qiblah service is free of charge.
Another new service offered by STC is the multi-SIM service, which was implemented more than a month ago. Customers can have two extra SIM chips with the same phone number. One of the chips is activated while the other two are connected on stand-by mode. With this service, customers can insert one of the chips in laptops in case the customer is a Jawal-Net user, the other in his car and the third in his mobile phone.
“The service allows users to keep all three SIM chips in their machines without moving them from the mobile phone to the laptop and to the car,” said Ammar Tobba, spokesman for STC. “However, if users use one chip, they cannot use the other two at the same time,” he added. Customers can keep all the services they already have on their numbers after implementing the multi-SIM, including the family & friends service, which allows them to have a 20 percent discount on some of outgoing calls.
Registration fee for the multi-SIM service is SR50 paid once and a monthly charge of SR4.
STC offers new discounts up to 25 percent, beginning today on international calls. The offer covers all countries in the world. For Al-Hatif customers, there is a discount of 25 percent when calling from phone cabins, using prepaid calling cards or registering for the family and friends service. Al-Jawal customers are entitled to a 20 percent discount if they are registered to the family and friends service.
STC announced its last discounted rates on international calls in the middle of 2005.
Regular callers to GCC countries are charged SR1.30 in peak time and SR1.10 for off-peak. Callers to Egypt and Sudan are charged SR 1.80 in peak time and SR1.70 off-peak. Callers to Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon are charged SR2.10 in peak time and SR 2.00 off-peak. Callers to Syria are charged SR2.20 in peak time and SR 2.10 off-peak.
Calls to Morocco and the United Kingdom are SR2.60 and 2.40. Calls to Turkey are SR2.30 and SR2.10. Callers to Sri Lanka and Indonesia are charged SR2.30 and SR2.20 off-peak. Calls to the United States, India and Pakistan are charged SR2.00 in peak time and SR1.80 off-peak. Calls to Bangladesh are charged SR2.50 and SR2.30. Calls to the Philippines are charged SR2.70 and SR2.60.
Callers who are registered for the family and friends service and who call from phone cabins or use prepaid calling cards will receive larger discounts.
Calls to GCC countries are charged SR0.98 in peak time and SR0.83 in off-peak time. Calls to Egypt and Sudan are charged SR 1.35 and SR1.28. Calls to Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon are charged SR1.58 and SR1.50. Calls to Syria are charged SR1.65 and SR 1.58. Calls to Morocco and the United Kingdom are now SR1.95 and SR1.80. Calls to Turkey are charged SR1.73 and SR1.58.
Calls for Sri Lanka and Indonesia are charged SR1.73 and SR1.65. Calls to the United States, India and Pakistan are charged SR1.50 and SR1.35 off-peak. Calls to Bangladesh are SR1.88 and SR1.73. Calls from the Philippines are charged SR2.03 and SR1.95.
