Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Communications Commission (SCC) last year to serve as the regulator for the Kingdom's telecommunications sector in advance of the long-awaited opening up of this sector to private investment. The first phase of this privatization scheme is a proposed floatation of 30% of the shares in the monopoly telecommunications operator Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) by year-end: 20% to Saudi private investors and 10% to the two state-controlled pension funds. In July 2002, the SCC promulgated a set of rules to regulate and encourage private sector investment in the Kingdom's lucrative telecommunications sector. The rules are designed to encourage competition among various service providers and limit the ability of any one provider to exercise monopoly powers. Service providers with a dominant market position, for example, are required to obtain SCC approval for tariffs. They must also offer interconnecting service providers the same commercial terms and quality of technical access provided to their own divisions, subsidiaries or affiliates.
September 30 2002