Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator has awarded three new MVNO licences. Of five applicants, the winners were Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, which will launch on STC's network, Lebara on Mobily's network and Axiom Telecom on Zain's network, the Saudi Gazette reports. Local companies FastNet and Safari were the losing bidders. Saudi Arabia will become the second of the six Gulf Cooperation Council members after Oman to allow MVNOs.
The CITC did not state when the MVNOs would launch services, only that the winners now had 90 days to provide the necessary documents to move to the next phase of obtaining their licences. The aim of the new licences is to lower prices, improve customer care, increase job opportunities and stimulate competition in the sector, the regulator said.
