Motorola’s Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS) has signed an expansion contract for Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks with Jordan’s Fastlink mobile network. The total value of the contract is approximately $19 million and includes hardware as well as software and services.
Through the network expansion, Fastlink, which is owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), will accommodate a subscriber increase of more than 20 percent over its existing capacity. Fastlink is the largest of all telecommunications networks in Jordan with a customer base of 900,000 subscribers.
In 2002, Fastlink launched the Kingdom's first nationwide commercial GPRS network mobile service on a Motorola network. Building on this regional milestone, the company went on to launch the first Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) in Jordan, and tested the first GPRS and MMS roaming in the Middle East.
Fastlink also contracted with Motorola's GTSS to install an overlay GSM communications system on its 900 MHZ network. Motorola deployed its Horizon GSM infrastructure solutions to support the systems and expand Fastlink's nationwide network. With this latest contract, Fastlink now is preparing for a second wave in the Jordanian mobile boom that is predicted to more than double mobile penetration over the next three years.
MTC was established in 1994 as a joint venture between Motorola and Jordanian investors. Fastlink started commercial operations in September 1995 and was the first operator to introduce mobile phone services into Jordan. In 2003, Fastlink became a subsidiary of MTC. Since its inception, Fastlink has increased its subscriber base at an exponential growth rate, with the number of users currently exceeding 900,000 and representing 75 percent of total market in Jordan. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
