What do Universal Service and Universal Access mean?
Universal Service (US): Provide a mobile voice service with indoor signal strength to all localities with population between 100 and 5,000 as well as to administrative centers.
Universal Access (UA): Provide a mobile voice service with outdoor signal strength at least 10 Km from the localities with population below 100 people.
How many localities in the Kingdom will be served through USF?
The number of targeted localities is around 20 thousand.
What is the total number of individuals who will be covered by USF projects?
Approximately 4.8 million individuals will be covered by the USF projects in eligible localities.
How can anyone asked USF to cover a certain locality?
As per the USF Strategic Plan, every year an operating plan will be prepared to cover part of the targeted localities. If there is any locality not included in these plans, it can be added by sending a request through CITC complaints system on
this link.
How USF projects are being financed? Does any ICT company contribute in USF budgets?
Since its establishment, the USF projects are financed exclusively through government subsidies. Currently, there is no contribution from telecommunications companies in the Kingdom to support the USF's projects.
According to the USF strategic plan, when will the USF complete covering all targeted localities in the Kingdom?
By the end of 2017.
Does Universal Service Providers obligation toward targeted localities expire once the projects are completed? Is there another role after providing services?
Universal Service Provider obligations doesn't expire once the projects are completed. The USF agreement is a 2-year obligation for project implementation, providing services to targeted localities, monitor service availability and quality and also handling any complaints received regarding these localities. After the USF agreement expires, the Universal Service Provider is obligated to continue serving targeted localities and also to serve any locality with population 5,000 or less in targeted governorates within the framework of the terms and conditions of its license issued by CITC.
