RIYADH, 14 December 2007 — As part of its preparations for Haj, Mobily’s has reached agreements with international telecom companies, making it the biggest mobile operator to provide a wide range of roaming and international services in the Kingdom, said Humoud Al-Ghobaini, senior manager of corporate communications at Mobily in a statement yesterday.
The accords cover voice services with 385 mobile operators, MMS and GPRS services with 150 operators in different parts of the world, he said.
“Now, pilgrims or visitors to Saudi Arabia can easily send multimedia messaging back to their countries by using their home SIM cards, or using Mobily SIM cards, so they can be connected not only through voice but also through vide clips and photos. This is a unique service by Mobily and was introduced for the first time in the Kingdom by the Kingdom’s second mobile service operator two years ago.” AL Ghobaini added.
“Yet this year, we have expanded the international network of this service to include all GCC countries, most of Arab countries, and international countries that have this service, including some operators in India, Malaysia, and Pakistan.”
Mobily has completed its showing for this year’s Haj season by boosting capacity of its own network in the holy sites by 58 percent compared to that of last year’s season. The company also added 82 more coverage sites in the same areas.
Dr. Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Jafary, governor of Communications & Information Technology Commission (CITC), on Sunday inspected Mobily’s locations in the holy sites. This year, Mobily participates in the Haj season for the third time. The company had used new and modern techniques to cover crowded areas that have proven effective in the past two seasons. During the last Haj season, more than 850,000 pilgrims used Mobily’s network, which is considered the most sophisticated in the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, 38 sales outlets and information booths have been set up for the service of this year’s guests, where Mobily’s “Rihal” prepaid package will be sold. Pilgrims will also be shown how to utilize the local network and make use of Mobily’s services. Selling points are found in Makkah and Madinah airports, seaports, ihram points and holy sites.
