Saudi Telecom must pay 10 million riyals – nine years after fine was issued

Abu Dhabi: A Saudi court has fined Saudi Telecom (STC) – the largest telecom operator in the Kingdom – 10 million riyals, almost nine years after the telecom regulator’s decision. The court turned down an appeal by STC and the ruling against is now final.

It was nine years earlier that Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for competition (GAC) had issued the fine. The Authority said the fine was a result of the company “abusing its dominant position by imposing special conditions on the sale or purchase transactions, when dealing with another facility, in a manner that places it in a weak competitive position in relation to competing firms.”

Dialling up penalties

Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator imposed more than 38 million Saudi riyals in fines on the three main telecom companies for violating regulations, a statement from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said.

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was fined 17 million riyals and Zain Saudi Arabia was fined more than 11 million riyals.