Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010
Gulf News
Riyadh The Saudi Shura (Consultative) Council has urged the authorities to reduce the cost of mobile phone calls.
The council said mobile phone calls in the kingdom cost more than those in neighbouring GCC states.
The issue cropped up after members of the council discussed a report from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on developments being made in the ICT sector during a regular session on Sunday.
The Shura Council is a legislative body that advises the king on major national issues. Its 150 members are appointed by the king.
One member of the Council asked the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to take action and put an end to the high cost of mobile phone calls and SMS messages.
Essential service
“Mobile phone service is not a luxury but it has become an essential service like water and electricity,” Hamad Al Qadi said. He added that the charges for water and electricity are less than those for mobile phone services.
Some members have been very fierce in expressing their views to the extent that they called for the dissolution of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology saying that it is only wasting public money.
There are three licensed mobile phone operators in Saudi Arabia namely: the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain. The operators charge between 0.25 and 0.50 Saudi riyal for a one-minute local mobile phone call.
saudi arabia
By Abdul Nabi Shaheen?Correspondent
Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
