RIYADH – Saudi Arabia's telecom regulator awarded on Wednesday mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) license to two new companies – Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia and Jawraa Lebara. The Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) Governor, Abdullah Al-Darrab, handed over the licenses to the companies. Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia has teamed up with the Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) while the London based Jawraa Lebara will offer the service together with its operator Mobily, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Al-Darrab said in a press statement that the license has been granted for a period of 10 years, with a condition that the company shall start offering its commercial services within one year. “By giving the license, CITC aims to expand the options in front of the consumers as well as to improve the services, create more innovations, and offer diverse package of services. The regulator will announce the winner of the third MVNO license, which will tie up with Zain Saudi, the Kingdom's third mobile operator, after completing the licensing procedures,” he said. CITC started the application process for three MVNO licenses in early 2013. With licensing of the two new firms, the number of mobile operators in the Kingdom rose to five. The virtual mobile operators do not own the networks they use but instead lease capacity from conventional operators, usually paying them a percentage of revenues as well as fees. Virgin and Lebara are expected to launch services by the end of June. Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, is an affiliate of Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA), which is partly owned by the Virgin Group. – SG
