LONDON-State-run Saudi Arabian operator Saudi Telecom Co. is set to be joined by a competitor in the GSM market by July. The license for the country’s second GSM operator will be awarded to one of 11 consortia made up of regional telecom players, such as Orascom Telecom, Etisalat and Mobile Telecommunications Co.
Until now, STC has enjoyed a monopoly in wireless services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a subscriber-base of more than 7.5 million.
In preparation for this competition, STC is investing around $1.6 billion each year to overhaul its network infrastructure, as well as in offering value-added services to boost its revenue and help to maintain a share of the Saudi mobile telecom market.
STC predicts that the liberalization of the mobile sector will impact pricing in the short term, with decreased prices expected to drive penetration within the country and by expanding cellular network infrastructure to remote areas.
“STC is confident that a new player will expand the market and drive further growth, rather than restrict STC’s market share. The penetration of the telecom sector here is less than the international average, which indicates that there is strong potential for growth in the Kingdom,” commented Khalid Abdullah Al Molhem, executive president, STC.
