Mobily all set to offer Wimax services in Saudi Arabia

Usha Prasad

BANGALORE, INDIA: Mobily, the telecommunication arm of Etihad Etisalat Co, has entered India by setting up its wholly owned subsidiary Mobily InfoTech India Pvt. Ltd. Mobily, which is also the second GSM operator in Saudi Arabia, provides GSM, 3 and 3.5G voice, data, and multimedia streaming services with speeds up to 7.2 mbps. As part of its expansion plans, Mobily is getting into the Wimax space as well.

Talking to CIOL, Ahmed Al Oraini, CEO, Mobily Infotech India Pvt. Ltd., tells us more about the services offered by Mobily and its Indian arm.

Excerpts :

CIOL : What services does Mobility Infotech India Pvt. Ltd. offer to the parent company?

Ahmed M. Al-Oraini: Mobily InfoTech India is the company's first subsidiary outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will provide IT solutions and consulting services in the areas of billing, mediation, customer relationship management (CRM), revenue assurance, and service provisioning among others to the parent company. It's currently in the process of establishing a research and development center to cater to the software development and consulting services.

CIOL: You say the subsidiary is specialized in providing IT services. Elaborate?

Oraini: The key services include exporting and servicing software, hardware and programmes, particularly in connection with wire-line and wireless telecommunications services and platforms. Mobily Infotech is also into advising and consulting services related to connectivity solutions, data processing, and system analysis and machine services for solving or aiding business solutions.

CIOL: Mobily grew to become the second GSM operator in Saudi Arabia in less than three years. What's the success secret?

Oraini: There are a large number of factors that led to the great success of Mobily But if I will single out one reason, it would be people. The team members of Mobily family are the key pillars of every part of this success story. Their commitment, technical excellence, innovation, and dedication is the key to all of this.

CIOL: You are firmly grounded in the Asia, Middle East and North Africa. What is the customer base?

Oraini: Etisalat group today operates in 17 countries in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Mobily operates in Saudi Arabia as the second GSM operator with a customer base of 11 million customers representing 43 percent market share.

CIOL: Tell us about Mobily getting into the Wimax space?

Oraini: As part of Mobily's expansion plan, Mobily has just acquired another company, Bayanat, which is licensed to Wimax services. We see big potential on these services for both corporate and individual customers. The deal was approved last week and we are in the process of developing the offerings portfolio in this area.

CIOL: What is the total market size of telecom industry in Saudi Arabia? What percentage of it has Mobily grabbed?

Oraini: When Mobily entered the Saudi market, the penetration was less than 40 percent. Mobily saw a fats growth of more than 100 percent in less than three years, and today, Mobily has a 43 percent market share in the Saudi market.

CIOL: How is the Broadband service penetration in Saudi Arabia?

Oraini: In Saudi Arabia the penetration is not very high although there is huge demand that is expanding exponentially. This represents one of the biggest potential areas in the telecom services in Saudi Arabia.

CIOL: Mobily's customers experience a new dimension of communication services? How do you score yourself when compared to your competitors in offering value adds?

Oraini: Mobily has always been innovative in introducing new offerings and services to the Saudi market marking it with the tag of innovation. Although Mobily is the second GSM operator, it is the first 3G operator. The high quality services provided by Mobily includes Video Call, Live TV, Video/Audio on Demand, High Speed Internet, in addition to Multiplayer Gaming, which attracted large number of customers to enjoy the service. As a result of this, the World GSM Association has rewarded Mobily as the largest 3G operator in the Middle East and North Africa.

The most popular service is the high speed Internet which enables a customer to enjoy access to the Internet while on the move with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps (mega bits per second), and soon we will be launching 14.4 mbps speed.

CIOL: Are there any new products/service offerings in the pipeline from the Mobily stable.

Oraini: There are a number of them, and we are focusing on two areas for the time being. The first is corporate and high value customers. The second is life style based offerings. In the latter, offerings that match the life style of a specific segment will be developed. For example, the needs of a businessman or a woman is different from that of a student. The requirements of a frequent traveler is different from those of a low-income group. Mobily is continuously tailoring its offerings to the requirements of these groups.

CIOL: Any plans of entering the Indian telecom market? If it happens, how would you position yourself amidst the leading players here?

Oraini: Although we do not have specific plans for the Indian telecom market, we are watching closely. What we are seeing today is only the first step towards a bigger organization that will grow rapidly. We believe the Indian market is very promising and has very high potential. We are looking for the right opportunity and partners to make that decision.

The positioning of Mobily in the Indian market (whenever it happens) would depend on market need and the chemistry of the participants. Mobily has always focused on providing high-level customer service and innovation in its offerings. The exact positioning can only be decided after take the first step in this regard.