Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission’s (CITC) free local roaming service on its 5th phase has included a total of 5,737 villages of Makkah and Al-Baha regions.
The 5th phase of the free local roaming service seeks to achieve 4,801 villages in the Makkah region and 936 villages in the Al-Baha region. By the end of 2021, CITC plans to provide all of the Kingdom’s regions with local roaming services, allowing telecommunications companies to benefit from the other network providers.
The service will also address the needs of network beneficiaries to connect with telecommunications providers, which will expand available options and improve service quality, as well as allow users to access any nearest available network without any additional fees if they are unable to connect with their service provider.
The local roaming service, which was launched in August 2021, will focus on empowering Saudi Arabia’s communities in digital transformation. The CITC signed a commercial agreement with the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) and Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia (Zain), to initiate the local roaming service all over Saudi Arabia.
The service has already covered the majority of Saudi regions on its previous phases, which included, Asir, Riyadh, Qassim, the eastern region, the northern border, Al-Jowf, Madinah, Hail and Tabouk.
It aims to raise competitiveness, improve service quality and user experience, support the digital transformation of villages and rural areas, achieve its objectives, and provide general services.
The commission’s local roaming service includes voice services, internet services, short message services (SMS), in 21,000 villages and remote areas across Saudi Arabia.
