The Shoura Council is scheduled to discuss this week the implications of the decision of the Commission for Information Technology and Communication (CITC) to ban receiving roaming international calls free of charge and the exchange of international calls through a single network at local call charges. Dr. Khaleel Ibrahim, member of the Shoura Council, said the Council will discuss the commission's decision as part of its discussion of a report on telecommunications and information technology. He considered the CITC ban on receiving roaming international calls free of charge to be “an unsuccessful step”. He said the role of the CITC is to protect competitiveness between companies in the sector. Dr. Ali Al-Jihani, a legal consultant, said on Friday that the CITC does not have the right to impose its ban. “If the decision is implemented by the CITC and if it is proved that it is in public interest, then the CITC must compensate the telecommunication companies,” he said. Many telecommunication companies have set up a number of projects according to signed contracts between companies, he said.
