Etisalat has set out its vision for creating an appropriate investment environment to enable information and communication technology to drive economic growth in the Arab world.

Speaking at the ITU Connect Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the patronage His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, Etisalat chairman Mohammed Omran said, “The mobile industry’s contribution to socio-economic growth can be amplified with appropriate regulations that support a multiplier effect in ICT investment.”

“Despite having some of the highest mobile penetration rates anywhere in the world, the Middle East and Africa is still in the first wave evolution of telecommunications as it moves from voice mobility to broadband connectivity,” he added.

Mr. Omran added that the emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa must create an appropriate policy ecosystem that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship to unlock the economic value of mobile broadband connectivity.

“Mobile communications is a powerful enabler of economic and social development but the benefits of mobility and connectivity can only be effective with the supportive engagement of policymakers and other stakeholders,” said Mr Omran.

Pursuing and realizing this vision in a country such as the UAE could materialize an ICT industry valued in excess of Dhs100bn by the end of 2016, a more than 130% increase over 2010’s figures.

The ITU Connect Arab Summit, organized in partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS), targets the development of ICT in the Arab World to accelerate economic growth and job creation.

Mr Omran continued: “The vision of a diversified knowledge economy needs a buoyant and innovative ICT sector. We need to train the new generation in the jobs of the future and give them the space and freedom to innovate. We have a huge opportunity to capitalize on the rapid deployment of mobile broadband connectivity to turbo-charge economic growth and social development across the region, but it will take a coordinated effort to realize that potential.”

In addition to discussing the opportunity for the ICT sector to create jobs and power economic growth and diversification, the summit also focuses on the development of Arabic digital content, innovation, infrastructure development and access, and security.

“At Etisalat we have seen how we can improve the lives of people in 17 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia through the deployment of innovative and appropriate technology. We help economies develop through the provision of mobile commerce applications to the un-banked and under-banked, and we’re able to save lives through our innovative mHealth platform, ‘Mobile Baby’. This is the power and value of development in the ICT sector,” concluded Mr Omran.

The conference was inaugurated yesterday by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar in the presence of a number of world leaders, ICT Ministers and the Arab League Secretary General, Mr. Nabil Elaraby. Etisalat’s delegation to the ITU Connect Arab Summit was led by the company’s Chairman, who was accompanied by the Etisalat Group’s CEO, Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar and Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Eng. Ahmed bin Ali.

Dubai The UAE’s two telecom operators — etisalat and du — Thursday announced progress in their planned deployment of high-speed fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) networks.

Etisalat, which earlier chose French Alcatel-Lucent to deploy the 4G network, has recently tested a new light Radio Metro Radio Outdoor (MRO) product making the lightning-fast data connection over the operator’s commercial 4G LTE network.

Du Thursday said it has assigned US-based Cisco to the 4G network.

Etisalat lately invested Dh6 billion in the 4G roll out that has resulted in creating ‘thousands’ of stations, and extends LTE services through the major cities to cover 80 per cent of the population.

“In October, Alcatel-Lucent and etisalat signed an agreement to jointly develop the most sustainable and efficient way to meet this demand using the groundbreaking light Radio portfolio. This successful trial of the latest technology marks a major milestone in making that promise a reality,” etisalat said. Although 4G handsets are yet to be made available to the end-users at a mass level, the technology readiness will help the UAE enhance its global ranking in e-commerce and e-readiness, analysts say.

The latest release of Household Download Index has ranked the UAE at the top position in the GCC and ranked 41 and 33 globally for the download and upload speeds, respectively.

Subscriber growth

“The UAE positions itself as technology leaders by offering faster and cheaper per mbps internet, as compared to other competing nations in the GCC. The high adoption rate of cloud computing, fast and reliable internet are among the main contributors to internet subscriber growth and the effective cost per megabit per second rate,” Vivek Malhotra, Principal Consultant, Information and Communication Technologies Practice, South Asia and Middle East, Frost & Sullivan, said.

“The internet penetration was more than 75 per cent in 2011 which was among the highest rate in the region. With households’ broadband penetration of nearly 56 per cent, the UAE is soon expected to be the leader and the first country in the world to have 100 per cent household broadband internet penetration through FTTH technology.”

Alcatel-Lucent showcased the capabilities of its new light Radio Metro Radio Outdoor (MRO) product.

Stephen Carter, President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “We are happy to have the opportunity to work with etisalat to leverage light Radio to address their business needs. The work completed as part of this successful project has yielded valuable data about how service providers such as etisalat can very easily deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s metrocells to transform the mobile broadband experience for their customers, while at the same time reducing their power consumption, costs and equipment footprint.”

Du will use the Cisco ASR 5000 Series as its mobile internet evolved packet core (EPC) platform to provide greater network performance and intelligence. LTE 4G will allow du’s five million mobile customers to even more readily access their internet services, providing an effortlessly fast service with speeds up to 150mbps.

Hatem Bamatraf, du’s executive vice-president, Network Development and Operations, said, “This new 4G LTE network ensures that du will continue to deliver the most advanced, innovative mobile services to mobile customers across the country.”

Kalaam Telecom Bahrain, the first alternative telecom services operator, staying true to its corporate-focused strategy, recently installed a backbone link connecting Bahrain Financial Harbour to Kalaam’s fully redundant network operating from Almoayyed Tower.

Veer Passi, Chief Executive Officer of Kalaam Telecom speaking at an announcement luncheon, held recently at the Capital Club said, “The installation at Bahrain Financial Harbour further entrenches Kalaam’s commitment to providing alternate telecom solutions to the corporates that are not only innovative but also resilient and cost effective. The connectivity to BFH allows businesses in BFH to avail of high capacity bandwidth options of upto STM4 (600mbs) and innovative service options like bandwidth-on-demand and burstable bandwidth, which allows companies, the flexibility to scale up and down their requirement as and when needed. With a 24 x 7 x 365 network operations centre (NOC) and customer care centre (CCC), both manned by a team of highly-qualified staff, we afford our customers the highest levels of service and quality.”

“The network link to BFH is designed to provide high capacity data and voice solutions, to corporate offices located in East and West Towers and the Harbour mall. The link enables seamless Internet connectivity with enhanced dedicated data speeds and provides redundancy & load balancing options with a pre-existing link. The link also enables customers to host in-house mission critical applications with complete peace of mind by continuous 99.99% uptime guaranteed by Kalaam Telecom. Further, the link also reduces performance issues that may be experienced with International and Local IPs. Extensive data delivery testing was conducted by our Network Assurance team on all the floors of BFH to ensure the last mile connectivity is up to the standard,” explained Srinivasan Arumugam, Network Infrastructure Manager.

Etisalat, telecommunications company with operations in 17 markets across Africa, the Middle East and Asia has selected Jasper Wireless, the connected devices platform for machine-to-machine (M2M) and consumer electronics, during the MWC 2012 to wirelessly connect machine-to-machine (M2M) and consumer electronics devices across Etisalat’s mobile network properties.

Etisalat will use the Jasper Wireless platform to accelerate market entry of new categories of connected devices on its network and profitably connect and manage a range of embedded wireless devices.

Jasper Wireless’ ability extends to a variety of M2M connections and supports Etisalat’s work in vertical markets such as construction and infrastructure, retail, and oil and gas.

Commenting on this partnership: - Mr. Essa Al Haddad, Chief Commercial Officer Etisalat Group said “Etisalat is at the forefront of using advanced technologies and net networks that change people lives.

He went on to highlight the new study from Machina Research that finds that M2M connections will grow from one billion in 2010 to 12 billion in 2020, of which 2.3 billion will be wireless wide area network connections. Mobile network operators can expect to take EUR40bn of the EUR714bn M2M market in 2020.

Al Haddad added “for us the Jasper Wireless platform is about more than just M2M, it’s about opening up new markets and creating new opportunities for our customers.

“Markets such as the Middle East present massive opportunities for mobile operators connecting industrial and consumer electronic devices,” said Cindy Patterson, executive vice president, worldwide sales, Jasper Wireless.

“The freedom from a legacy fixed network, the geographical expanses that need to be covered and the constant striving to innovate and compete make it ripe for wireless M2M services. The Jasper Wireless platform will enable Etisalat to quickly and profitably deploy connected devices at scale, maintain the flexibility to react to the fast developing M2M market and all while enjoying the lowest total cost of operations.”

As consumer electronics and M2M devices come to market with embedded connectivity, market success depends on finding the right business models to reach disparate population segments.

“Jasper Wireless has developed the applications and services that support highly flexible business models as well as the automation of operational processes, including custom device provisioning, instant activation, real-time diagnostic tools and detailed billing and usage reports, ensuring a superior out-of-box end-user experience.

Etisalat, one of the largest telecom operators in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, is participating at the International Mobile World Congress which is held in Barcelona between the 27th of February to March 1st, 2012.

Attending from Etisalat group is H.E. Mohammd Omran, Etisalat Chairman accompanied by H.E. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Etisalat group CEO, amongst number of top executives from across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

During the four days of the conference and exhibition, Etisalat’s delegation will participate in number of events and get acquainted with the latest innovations in technical industries, advanced communication solutions, networking as well as value-added services from around the globe. Etisalat achievements and accomplishment will be highlighted during the speeches delivered by the company delegates to the conference.

It is to be mentioned that this conference and exhibition are regarded as an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences between decision makers in communication-related fields. Numbers of meeting and business networking sessions will be conducted during the conference between Etisalat management and senior officials and decision makers in the communication sector aiming at mutual agreements and cooperation.

Etisalat’s participation in the conference this year takes place after the company announced its of end of year results 2011, where its revenues hit - Dhs11.6bn before the deduction of the government royalty fees and increase in the global subscriber base to exceed 167 million in 17 different countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Etisalat offers 2 million job opportunities and has a staff of 53,000 employees.

Etisalat group’s senior vice president corporate communications, Engineer/ Ahmed bin Ali said, “We are content to participate at the Mobile World Congress 2012, which is considered an international gateway for all the latest developments in the world of networks, mobile devices and its applications.”

He added, “We are honored to have high level executives presenting the group and its accomplishments as well as the future and the importance of the communication sector in the Arab region and the job opportunities this growing sector comes to offer.”

“We have ensured this year to increase our investments in the exhibition and participated with a double size two floor stand located in Fira Barcelona at a size of 330 square meters. The stand will give our visitors the chance to spot the latest and innovative products provided by Etisalat group and try them in easy and comfortable ways,” he stated.

On the other hand “Etisalat” has been nominated for four categories this year at the prestigious MWC to include Mobile Baby, m/Commerce, Touch N Go and Etisalat- DotMe.

The conference is held yearly in Barcelona, in Spain, and considered as hub for exchanging creative ideas innovation in the mobile communication industry. The conference will start on February 27th, and for four days. 1400 companies from 59 countries are participating in the conference exhibiting their latest developments, technologies and applications. They will also meet to close deals and share futuristic visions and insights.

The conference tackles all communication-related issues of mobile phones, their applications and the affect on individuals’ social lives in addition to discovering the importance of mobile phones in many significant sectors such as business, healthcare and media.

Etisalat Group announced that Etisalat Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Saleh Al Abdooli as Chief Executive Officer for Etisalat UAE and Mr. Saeed Al Hamli as Chief Executive Officer for Etisalat Misr, one of the largest and the most successful subsidiaries of Etisalat Group, effective April 2012.

A strong leader with a proven track record, Saleh Al Abdooli has been for the past five years the CEO of Etisalat Misr. His leadership years in the Egyptian market have been a great success story in the telecom industry and have earned him a great reputation and several international awards as a leader of one of the best third entrants in mobile operation worldwide. He has achieved remarkable results in the mature Egyptian market that had been dominated for about a decade by a duopoly of two giant operators, Vodafone and Orange (Mobinil).

His Excellency Mohamed Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said, “Etisalat Group enjoys a wealth of experienced leaders that achieved series of great successes starting since it has started expanding into international investment back in 2004. Etisalat also has invested heavily and continuously in the development of its human capital which is the cornerstone of its success. Today the number of UAE nationals employed in Etisalat’s foreign operations exceeds 70 UAE citizens.”

Omran also stressed that the Etisalat Group utilizes flexible restructuring strategy to reflect the challenging and changing markets conditions.

Al Abdooli has succeeded in breaking the duopoly in the Egyptian market decisively and transforming the industry into a field for innovative competition. He has demonstrated a great ability to meet and exceed challenging business objectives in an extremely tough business environment. Despite the fierce competition, he has led Etisalat Misr from a startup operator to a full-fledged competitor that leads the market in technology, innovation, and growth and sets the standards for competition to adopt and follow. In less five years of operation, Etisalat Misr today covers 99% of the populated areas in Egypt with its 2G/3G networks and leads the market in 3G Broadband subscriber.

Commenting on Saleh Al Abdooli’s appointment as CEO of Etisalat UAE, H.E. Mohamed Omran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Etisalat, said: “Saleh Al Abdooli is the best choice for this position.I am confident that with his demonstrated leadership abilities, Saleh Al Abdooli will take Etisalat UAE to a new level of performance.”

H.E. Ahmed Julfar, Etisalat Group CEO, said: “Saleh Al Abdooli is assuming his new role as CEO of Etisalat UAE at a time when the company needs to continue its innovative leadership and fortify its competitive position in the UAE market. His great execution skills combined with his strong ability to motivate, lead, and improve customer services will be very much needed at the helm of Etisalat UAE.”

Saleh Al Abdooli said: “I am honored and excited to lead Etisalat UAE. Having successfully accomplished my mission in Egypt, I am glad to move to a greater challenge in the UAE and use my experience and expertise to serve my home country. My primary objectives in my new role will be to achieve a high level of staff engagement, better customer experience, and greater value for shareholders.”

Saleh Al Abdooli is a graduate of University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, where he established a brilliant academic record and got his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and his Master’s degree in Telecommunications with honor: GPA 3.99/4.0

Commenting on Al Hamli’s appointment as CEO of Etisalat Misr Julfar added: “Saeed is one of the great Etisalat leaders with a proven track record. He is the right person for the Egyptian. Al Hamli, who comes from diverse technical and commercial backgrounds, enjoys more than 20 years of experience in the telecom industry. Since he joined Etisalat in 1991, he has held a range of managerial and executive positions and demonstrated remarkable performance.”

Al Hamli has worked both inside and outside the UAE, a diverse exposure that has enriched his knowledge of the industry in various competitive business environments. From 2007 to 2011, he worked as the CEO of Etisalat Afghanistan where he achieved excellent business and operational results.

Commenting on Al Hamli’s appointment as CEO of Etisalat Misr, Mohamed Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: “Saeed Al Hamil has the right international experience to assume his new role and to continue the remarkable performance of Etisalat Misr in the Egyptian market.”

Al Hamli said: “It is an honor to be appointed CEO of Etisalat Misr at this interesting time in the history of Egypt. I will capitalize on the great success story of the company to achieve new breakthroughs and take the company to a new level of performance.”

Al Hamli holds Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, USA and Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the American University of Sharjah.

Etisalat enjoys a wealth of experienced leaders. Mr. Nasser bin Obood previously held the position of Acting CEO. During that period he demonstrated great determination and commitment in completing strategic projects and achievements such as Etisalat’s nationwide fibre optic network.

Etisalat’s Board of Directors commended Mr. Nasser’s efforts during his role as Acting CEO and will announce his new leadership role soon.

In the context of the strategic partnership between the Saudi Telecom Company ‘STC’ Group and Apple Corporation, a delegation of Apple corp. led by Mr. Pascal Cagni, the Vice President and also the General Manager for Europe, Middle East, Africa & India paid a visit to the headquarters of STC Group on Monday, in Riyadh.

Visiting Group’s complex to meet with STC leaders, underscores that the meeting was atop of their agenda as well as reflecting the expanding bilateral relations between these two giant firms.

However, the visit reflects, furthermore, their mutual keenness to promote this strategic partnership in order to boost their capabilities to provide clients with the best of services and products, alike, in addition to put solutions at their avail, for any glitches they may face.

During the visit, Apple’s delegation was received by the CEO of STC Group Eng. Saud bin Majed Al-Daweesh and CEO-STC Jameel bin Abdullah Al-Molhem.

The visit falls in line with STC Group aspiration to keep in touch with its world partners in the domain of technology and smart products, a merit that would, eventually, reflected positively on customers, by providing them with the best of up-to-date innovative of the industry, notably on the front of digital solutions and smart technologies.

On this occasion, it is noteworthy that STC has moved ahead of the market by introducing iPhone 4S, thus, managed to maintain its leadership by providing various smart and tablet sets.

Along with that, it launched a host of a new Packages and Options to meet customers’ needs and to keep pace with their expectations.

Milsatcom Middle East spotlights region as key growth area for commercial satellite industry

Abu Dhabi, 23 January, 2012: The global government and military communications market is projected to be worth US$9 billion by 2018, and the Middle East will be a key growth region for the commercial satellite industry, an expert has said today.

Gordon McMillan, Director of Government Services for global satellite network provider Inmarsat, said that the increasing adoption of commercial satellite communication systems by government and military users, coupled with exponential demand for greater bandwidth, presents excellent opportunities for commercial satellite providers.

“As military budgets come under increasing pressure, the commercial satellite industry fulfils an increasingly greater proportion of the communications needs of government and military customers,” said McMillan, who was speaking at Milsatcom Middle East, which opened today at the Park Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

Organised by Streamline Marketing Group, the two-day conference has been developed specifically to meet the satellite communications needs of the Middle East military, government and security agencies.

Added McMillan: “The impact of this is that in the future, fewer dedicated military satellite communications systems will be launched, and military forces will need to augment military systems with greater use of commercial satellite communications networks.
“Commercial satellite communication systems that are designed with military and government users in mind will provide these users with a greater degree of flexibility in how they fulfill their communications requirements, for land, sea and air operations.”

McMillan was one of thirteen industry speakers at Milsatcom Middle East today addressing delegates on the role of the commercial satellite industry in future military satellite communications operations.  He said that the need for access to greater amounts of information in all forms, including data imagery, live motion video, and voice on large platforms, whether at sea, on land or in the air is stretching the capacity and flexibility of military and commercial systems alike.

He added: “The fluid and asymmetric environments encountered by today’s security forces will become more complex and challenging, both politically, and operationally, placing an even greater emphasis on the need for real-time, accurate information to support decision making.

“Among many others, these trends will present great opportunities for those commercial satellite providers that can assemble and deliver an adaptable combination of a global, secure communications network supported by products, services and applications that enable and enhance the flow of information for military commanders and soldiers.”

McMillan said that according to independent research the global government and military satellite communications market was worth an estimated US$4 billion in 2010.  More than 40 per cent of Inmarsat’s global business is from military and government customers, with the company planning to launch four new satellites in the next three years, adding significantly greater bandwidth and in-orbit resilience to its overall network.

“The Middle East has been, and will continue to be a very important region in the context of government and military communications,” McMillan continued. “Milsatcom Middle East provides an ideal platform for the commercial satellite industry to speak directly with senior regional military commanders to better understand their current and future requirements for satellite communications.”

Milsatcom Middle East features 17 regional and international expert speakers from the commercial military satellite communications industry, discussing changing battleground realities, connectivity, network security, emerging trends and regulatory concerns of one of the most active military satellite communication markets in the world.

Staff Brigadier Hamad Juma al Niyadi, Commander of Electronic Warfare for the UAE Armed Forces delivered the opening address, examining the evolution of military satellite communications in the Middle East.  Joining him was Maj. Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Senior ICT Advisor Center of Excellence & Development of the UAE Armed Forces.

Other panel discussions included military satellite communications trends and opportunities, and challenges while planning next generation military satellite communication services.

Other speakers included Koen Willems, Director, Newtec, Tareq Al Hosani, CEO, Yahsat, Shawkat Ahmed, Chief Commercial Office, Yahsat, Gerard Donelan, Head of Public Sector Projects, SES Astra, Nikolas Faller, Director, EMEA, Astrium, and Robert Cleave, Vice President, Lockheed Martin.  The Conference Chairman was satellite communications consultant John Yates.

Batelco, Bahrain’s leading Telecommunications Company held an opening ceremony to re-launch its revamped shop located at Bahrain International Airport. The shop, which is open 24/7, has been renovated to meet the highest standard of telecom retailing, and provides a wide range of Batelco services including Inet Broadband, Mobile Services & Handsets, Fixed and Business Lines.

“Batelco continuously seeks to provide the best experiences possible for its customers. The airport branch offers a comprehensive array of our products and services in a convenient location within the arrival lounge,” said Batelco Group Media Relations General Manager Ahmed Al Janahi.

Batelco’s Retail Shops can be found in 18 different locations across the Kingdom:-

• Bahrain International Airport - Arrivals Lounge
• City Centre
• Arad - Muharraq Club Commercial Centre
• Manama - BCC (Bahrain Commercial Centre)
• Exhibition Road - GOSI Centre
• Seef Mall
• Bahrain Mall
• Hamad Town - Souk Waqif
• Isa Town - Isa Town Mall
• Riffa - East Riffa Souq
• Najibi Centre - Alosra Supermarket
• Country Mall - Janusan Roundabout
• University of Bahrain - Student Affairs Building
• Sitra Mall - Sitra Area
• The Centre - Nuwaidrat Area
• Al Murjan Centre
• AMA University
• Ramli Mall

Batelco also recently signed a strategic partnership with BBK to provide the Bank’s customers’ with a full range of telecommunication services.

Dubai, November 26, 2011 – In its endeavor to increase coverage, convenience and value for customers, Etisalat today announced its alliance with Lloyds TSB in the Middle East, part of one of the world’s most established and respected banking Groups, to enable Etisalat bill payments through the bank’s branches, powered by Etisalat’s eZeepay service. 

The eZeepay service facility will allow customers to check on their outstanding payments, make payments and renew the Wasel service through payment facilities provided by the banks’ branches. The solution will provide a convenient and alternative payment channel to customers, whilst providing a wider reach and easier accessibility for Lloyds TSB in the Middle East to connect with its customers.

Commenting on this initiative, Paul Baker, Head of Money Transmission and Account Services from Lloyds TSB in the Middle East said: “Not only does this service provide our customers with a more efficient way of paying their Etisalat utility bills, but it also provides us with the opportunity to introduce additional settlement channels through the Ezeepay channel.”

Commenting on the service, Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Business Solutions at Etisalat said: “Etisalat’s focus has been on developing customer centric solutions that increase the convenience, coverage and value for the end user. Our collaborative initiatives, alliances and innovative services such as eZeepay, not only offer convenience to our customers, but also reiterate our focus on developing customer centric solutions.” 

Etisalat has developed many interactive payment channels for customers including - Online Payment, eZeepay, BizDirect services, mPayment services and Mobile Money Remittance.