Within a Maximum Period of 60 Days: Communications Commission Requires All Companies to Expand Coverage in Villages and Hamlets

His Excellency Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, directed, following his inspection visit to Al-Jumum Governorate in Makkah region and its affiliated villages and hamlets, that telecommunications services in remote areas not be limited to a single service provider, based on the difficulties in communication raised by residents of the area to His Excellency the Minister. The Communications and Information Technology Commission accordingly required all mobile telecommunications service providers to offer domestic roaming and network-sharing services among themselves for 21,000 population centers, comprising villages and hamlets, affiliated with 147 governorates across various regions, representing 16% of the Kingdom's population.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission affirmed that it has required mobile telecommunications service providers in remote areas to provide domestic roaming service within a maximum period of (60) days; to enable users to obtain coverage in villages and hamlets regardless of the service provider and not limit it to a single service provider, and to ensure that the quality of service for visitors to those areas is not affected, in addition to service continuity and ease of access to all basic telecommunications and internet services (emergency, banking, service entities).