Saudi Arabia's top 3 telcos get additional bandwidth

Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Mobile Telecommunication Co. of Saudi Arabia (Zain Saudi), and Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) have been awarded mobile phone licenses for a total bandwidth of 80 megahertz (MHz) in the 700, 800 and 1800 MHz frequency bands.

The licenses were obtained in a frequency auction organized yesterday by the Kingdom’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).

The frequencies will allow mobile operators to meet the increasing demand for telecommunications services and increase the speed and quality of internet connections, the CITC said in a statement.

In a bourse filing on Monday, STC said it had purchased additional spectrum in the 700 MHz and 1800 Mhz bands for a total value of SAR 1.56 billion, to be paid in equal installments over 14 years starting from 2019.

Meanwhile, Mobily said it had bought additional spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands for SAR 130 million.

The company will also pay an annual usage fee of SAR 73.29 million for the two bands, it added.

In a separate statement, Zain Saudi said it had purchased additional spectrum in the 700 MHz and 1800 Mhz bands for a total value of SAR 84 million, to be paid in equal installments over 14 years starting from January 2019.

The company will also pay an annual usage fee of SAR 54 million for the spectrum, which will be available starting H2 2018.

Zain Saudi will fund the total annual fees from its operating cash flows and existing cash reserves, it added.