Travelling to Saudi Arabia requires every tourist to be aware of the prepaid phone operators available in the country. As of the moment, there are three available GSM and 3G prepaid phone operators in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) (AL JAWAL)Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) and MTC Saudi Arabia (zain SA). The mobile prefix for Saud Arabia is +966. Their currency, 1 Saudi Riyal = 0.22553 Euro. The electricity in Saudi Arabia is 127 and 220 Volts with electrical frequency of 60 Hertz. Time Zone is GMT +2.00.
The first prepaid phone operator available in Saudi Arabia is the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) (AL JAWAL). STC is a Saudi Arabia based telecomunications company that was established in 1998. The company offers fixed telephony or land line (Hatif), post paid and prepaid phone lines (Al Jawal) and Internet services. They are considered as the largest telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia in terms of market share, subscribers and number of employees. Currently, Saudi Telecom Company extends its services to over 142 million subscribers in ten different markets including Saudi Arabia.
The prepaid phone card for Saudi Telecom Company is called “Sawa.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is SAR 100 which includes 100 free credits. Sawa is valid for 180 days upon its activation. The net frequencies of Saudi Telecom Company are GSM 900 and WCDMA 2100. The logo for this prepaid phone card is KSA while its net code is 420 01. Sawa offers calls to its subscribers from Monday to Sunday: calls to Al Jawal for SAR 0.65 and all other calls for SAR 0.85.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- SMS to Al Jawal – SAR 0.25
- Other national SMS – SAR 0.35
- International SMS – SAR 0.45
- National MMS – SAR 0.55
- International MMS – SAR 0.65
Voicemail: Same rate as the local calls to Al Jawal
Data Calls: GPRS – SAR 2.00/MB
*To activate GPRS send an SMS “2000″ to 902 (GPRS services is automatically active for Sawa and Lana)
International Calls: International prepaid phone calls available, see here.
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here.
Debiting Method: 1/1
Refills, Credit and Validity: *There is always a grace period of 28 days plus another 60 days before the deactivation of the SIM card
SAR 10/10, 3 days
SAR 20/20, 7 days
SAR 50/50, 30 days
SAR 100/100, 90 days
SAR 300/333, 365 days
Second on the list of prepaid phone operators available in Saudi Arabia is the Etihad Etisalat Company or most commonly known as Mobily. The company started its operations in 2005 making them the second largest mobile communications company in Saudi Arabia. Mobily is the first telecommunications company to launch 3G services in 2006 and TD-LTE (4G) networks in 2011. In 2007, Mobily now has over 6 million subscribers and 0.5 million 3G users.
There are three available prepaid phone cards for Mobily, namely: Anees, Wafeer and Rihal. The activation fee for Anees and Wafeer is SAR 75 with 75 free credits while SAR 50 with 50 credits for tourists who wish to use Rihal. The validity of Anees and Wafeer cards is for 120 days (extendable) while 180 days (not extendable) for Rihal users. The net frequency for Mobily are GSM 900 and WCDMA 2100. The logo for this prepaid phone card is Mobily while its net code is 420 02.
There are four available voice tariffs under Mobily: Fallah, Blue wave, Hala and Rihal that offers calls from Monday to Sunday. Fallah offers: calls to Mobily for SAR 0.35 and all other calls for SAR 0.65. Blue wave offers: calls to Blue wave for SAR 0.35 and all other calls for SAR 0.65. Hala offers: all calls for SAR 0.55. While Rihal offers: all calls for SAR 0.95. Rihal prepaid phone cards are dedicated to tourists, visitors or people staying in Saudi Arabia for a short time. International prepaid phone calls for Rihal is available, see here.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- National SMS – SAR 0.25
- International SMS – SAR 0.50
- National MMS – SAR 0.40/50KB
- International MMS – SAR 0.75/50KB
Voicemail: SAR 0.25
Data Calls:
- GPRS/3G – SAR 0.004/KB
- There are also 2 Data options including 5 or 20 MB for SAR 10 and SAR 25 per month
International Calls: International prepaid phone calls available, Anees and Wafeer
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here.
Debiting Method: 1/1
Refills, Credit and Validity:
SAR 10/10, 3 days
SAR 30/30, 10 days
SAR 60/60, 30 days
SAR 90/90, 90 days
SAR 150/150, 120 days
SAR 240/240, 240 days
Third available prepaid phone card in Saudi Arabia is the MTC Saudi Arabia or known as Zain KSA. The mobile communications company zain was founded in 1983 in Kuwait and launched in Saudi Arabia on August 26, 2008. Being the newest telecommunications company to operate in Saudi Arabia, Zain KSA assures its customers of improved voice, messaging, multimedia, call management, data and other services in the country. Zain KSA provides voice services, SMS and MMS services, SIM applications, 3G and 3.5G services. Currently, the company has reached 93% of Saudi Arabia, 43 cities and 67 highways.
The prepaid phone card for Zain KSA is called “Prepaid.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is available upon request. Prepaid phone card is valid for 120 days plus 30 grace period upon its activation. The net frequencies for Zain KSA are GSM 900/1800 and WCDMA 2100. The logo for this prepaid phone card is zain SA while its net code is 420 04. Prepaid offers all calls from Monday to Sunday for SAR 0.55.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- National SMS – SAR 0.25
- International SMS – SAR 0.50
- National MMS – SAR 0.55
- International MMS – SAR 0.65
Video Calls: SAM 1.00 per minute (available only to other Zain numbers)
Voicemail: Same rate as the local voice calls
Data Calls: GPRS/3G – SAR 2.00/MB
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here.
Debiting Method: 1/1
Refills, Credit and Validity:
- SAR 10/10, 3+15 days
- SAR 20/20, 10+15 days
- SAR 50/50, 40+15 days
- SAR 100*3/100*3, 120*3+15 days (the 100*3 refill has 300 SAR of credit divided in 3 blocks of SAR 100 each with a validity of 120 days)