Saudi Mobily Resumes Selling Pre-Paid SIM Cards After Suspension

Saudi Arabia’s second-biggest telecom operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has resumed pre-paid SIM card sales after a two-week suspension by the regulator over provisioning requirements, the firm said in a bourse statement on Saturday.

“Mobily announces that it resumed pre-paid SIM sales to new subscribers on Wednesday evening,” the statement said.

The Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has “ensured that the company has met all regulations related to providing pre-paid mobile calling services”, the firm said in the statement, a reference to a September order on SIM registration rules.

Mobily had said last month the financial impact of the suspension would be “insignificant.”

The CITC said that, as of Sept. 28, all pre-paid SIM users must enter a personal identification number when recharging their accounts and this must be the same as number registered with their mobile operator when the SIM card was bought.

These requirements also apply to Mobily’s rival operators Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Zain Saudi.