JEDDAH, 23 April 2007 — People who run out of cell phone credits or have been barred from making outgoing calls after going over their bill-limit in prepaid cell phone contracts can still call by taking advantage of a reverse charge system launched by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) on Saturday.
STC has launched the service entitled “Ala Hisabi” (On My Account)” along with another service called “Voice SMS.”
“The caller can be a client of SAWA or a post paid service while the receiver must be a post paid service client,” said Jameel Al-Mulhim, marketing manager at Al-Jawal. All that the caller has to do is dial *199* followed by the required telephone number together with the hash (#) key.
When receivers take the call, they hear a voice message saying that the call will be registered at their expense. People then have an option to accept or decline by pressing star to say yes or hash to say no.
“This service is more efficient than the ‘Please Call Me’ service,” said Motaz Sindi, a 24-year-old Saudi engineer.
Sarah Al-Harbi, 25, said that the service is useful especially in emergencies.
