The Communications and Information Technology Commission's (CITC) order for the country’s operators to reduce wholesale call charges came into effect on May 1, with the hope that it would eventually reduce prices for consumers.

Wholesale call tariffs refer to what one operator charges another for allowing incoming calls to the latter’s subscribers. The CITC decided in February to reduce the costs of wholesale calls between operators by 40 percent.

The CITC board had approved a reduction in prices on fixed and mobile communications networks. The price ceiling for wholesale local voice call services on mobile communications networks will be 15 halalas instead of 25 halalas, while the price ceiling for wholesale local terminal voice call services on fixed communications networks will be seven halalas instead of 10 halalas.

The new tariff will be mandatory for the three mobile service operators — STC, Mobily and Zain. The operators have announced that they would be offering special cheaper packages for consumers this month, according to a report in a local newspaper.

Operators are allowed to postpone introduction of the new rates if they have valid reasons for doing so, which should include financial, technical or organizational factors.

The governor of the CITC, Abdullah Al-Darrab, said recently that the government wants to ensure it protects the interests of users and promotes competition.