Fastlink has been a major contributor to the development and advancement of the information and communications technology sector in Jordan through its expansive network and loyal subscribers, reaching today 1.7 million, which makes Fastlink the favorable provider in a market with an estimated 46% coverage.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary on Friday, September 23rd, Fastlink’s growth and development came as a result of the efforts of Jordanian capabilities. Throughout the past years, Fastlink has fulfilled its share in the development of the national economy, directly, by creating job opportunities and nourishing the treasury through taxes, and indirectly, by availing the mobile phone service which has become a major tool and player in raising people’s productivity towards society.
On this occasion, Fastlink CEO Mohammad Saqer has pointed out that the telecommunications sector’s input to the GDP in Jordan is estimated at 5%, saying that the favorable impact of the mobile sector on macro-economies of developing countries is double that on developed countries.
Fastlink was launched in 1995, and since then has led the wireless communications revolution in the Kingdom. The company has enjoyed wide acclaim on the Regional level, and has been considered as the one of the most dynamic telecommunications providers and the most absorbent and disseminator of modern technologies, providing service through an excess of 1.700 mobile networks covering the entire populated areas of Jordan.
Saqer sees the company as the provider that was able to transform the mobile phone from a consumer’s commodity to a widely spread device as a result of well designed packages and reduced prices, making Fastlink a service accessible to all sectors of society.
“The mobile phone has contributed to an increase in the income of many individuals and groups, whose work relies heavily on mobility,” according to Saqer. International research has revealed that small size enterprises relay solely on the mobile phone, and that 62% of small business owners in North Africa, and 59% of the same category in Egypt were able to maximize their profits by using the mobile phone.
Saqer pointed out that Fastlink has fed the national treasury with an estimated JD1 billion during the past ten years, which came as revenues from direct and indirect taxes, adding that revenues are expected to further increase as the company adopts new expansion plans.
Investments in the company network during the years 2003-2005 have reached USD190 million, and allocations will rise with the increase in the number of subscribers, estimated to reach 2 million users by the end of the year, according to Saqer.
Work opportunities created by Fastlink are estimated at 1000 jobs, which translate into the number of company staff working in various outlets across the Kingdom. The company has also helped create scores of work opportunities, indirectly, through its retailers and agents, who occupy an estimated 15.000 points of sales distributed across various areas of the Kingdom.
Furthermore, research has revealed that direct investment in the telecommunications sector of JD1 is accompanied by indirect investment of JD0.38.
Fastlink’s emergence into the market 10 years ago, says Saqer, has helped increase investments in the Kingdom in the way of building the infrastructure, encouraging investors to venture into the Jordanian market by utilizing the favorable climate, and using Fastlink’s success story as a model and incentive.
In 2003 the majority of stock invested in Fastlink was transferred to the ownership of Mobile telecommunications company MTC in what was considered as the largest individual acquisition in the Middle East, and the biggest private sector investment in Jordan, all of which serving to increase customers’ confidence in the company and in the national economy.
The provision of advanced data services by Fastlink, says Saqer, has also created a new platform of service providers, and thus helped create more work opportunities in the country. There are currently 15 such providers in Jordan, all of whom offer service to the local and regional markets, while some have managed to penetrate international markets. The majority of such companies emerged locally and developed their outreach across the borders.
Advancement is an ongoing process for Fastlink. Saqer says capital investments in the company and an increased customers’ confidence, backed by the Group’s expansion plans and the availability of qualified Jordanians to guide the planned expansion would only lead to a larger contribution to the national economy, and serve to assert the fact that “Fastlink is more than just a mobile phone company.”
