Saudi Mobily and Zain’s dispute could take up to 6 months to be resolved, Asharq alAwsat

A legal dispute between Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), the second-biggest mobile phone company in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Zain could take up to 6 months in court to reach a final resolution in an arbitration procedure related to Mobily’s claim for Zain to pay  SR2.21 billion, Asharq al Awsat newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

A court adjourned yesterday the first arbitration session between the two companies so that both mobile operators could reach an agreement on a place to handle their dispute by Dec 15, 2014.

A dispute has started between the two companies over the application of a 2008 contract under which Mobily would provide services including domestic roaming and site sharing to Zain Saudi, an affiliate of Kuwait’s Zain, which began commercial operations that year.