Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator has awarded licenses to two new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), bringing the total number of mobile telecom companies inside the kingdom to seven.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said in a statement on Wednesday that the new companies are Integrated Telecom Mobile Company (ITC Mobile) and Future Networks Communications.

Companies with MVNO licenses can provide users with services, including voice calls, internet, SMS, voicemail, media services, and more, without owning any towers or frequencies. The provision of these services depends on the MVNOs renting or purchasing capacities from service providers with infrastructure and then providing services to subscribers.

Earlier, STC, Mobily and Zain were the only mobile telecommunications operators in Saudi Arabia. In 2014 CITC offered MVNOs licenses to Virgin and Etihad Jawraa.

The Saudi telecommunications sector is estimated to contribute 5.3 percent to the national GDP, with a market size that reached 69 billion riyals ($18.4 billion) in 2020, growing by 4 percent from the previous year. Capital investments of telecom service providers amounted to 17.6 billion riyals in 2020, and the mobile telecom services penetration reached over 135 percent.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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