CITC Announces the Award of the Third and Fourth Projects of the Universal Service Fund

The Universal Service Fund announced today Saudi Telecom Company's win of the Fund's third project, which aims to provide voice communications and broadband internet services in all governorates of Al-Baha region (Al-Baha, Al-Aqiq, Al-Qura, Al-Makhwah, Al-Mandaq, Baljurashi, and Qilwah), and the governorates (An-Namas, Balqarn, and Bisha) in Asir region, and (Al-Qunfudhah) governorate in Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, after the company passed all technical and financial evaluation criteria and submitted a bid for the lowest financial support required to implement this project, amounting to (29,500,000) twenty-nine million five hundred thousand Saudi riyals.

The Fund also announced Saudi Telecom Mobile Company's (Zain) win of the Fund's fourth project, which aims to provide voice communications and broadband internet services in the governorates of (Al-Majma'ah and Rumah) in Riyadh region, and (Khafji, Hafr Al-Batin, and Qaryat Al-Ulya) governorates in the Eastern Province, after the company passed all technical and financial evaluation criteria and submitted a bid for the lowest financial support required to implement this project, amounting to (15,086,288) fifteen million eighty-six thousand two hundred eighty-eight riyals.

His Excellency the Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission and Chairman of the Fund's Executive Committee, Dr. Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Jaafari, said that the Fund's projects aim to deploy voice communications and broadband internet services in remote areas, and contribute to achieving comprehensive, sustainable, and balanced development in all regions of the Kingdom, and the general objectives of the Ninth Development Plan (1431/1432H - 1435/1436H), and are in line with the national economy's long-term strategy, and these projects will, God willing, have an effective impact in narrowing the development gaps between the Kingdom's regions.

For his part, the General Manager of the Universal Service Fund, Eng. Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Mubarak, explained that the Fund has completed all the necessary regulatory procedures for evaluating and analyzing the technical and financial offers submitted by the companies competing for these two projects, namely: Saudi Telecom Company, Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily), and Saudi Telecom Mobile Company (Zain), and that these procedures showed Saudi Telecom Company winning the Fund's third project, and Saudi Telecom Mobile Company (Zain) winning the Fund's fourth project.