zain in saudi arabia signs $1 billion mobile network deal
Nokia Siemens Networks will supply a full turnkey 2G and 3G mobile network to Saudi Arabia
Zain in Saudi Arabia and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) today signed a deal worth $1 billion over the next three years for Nokia Siemens Networks to supply Zain with 2G and 3G mobile network services in Saudi Arabia. Global communication enabler Nokia Siemens Networks will supply a full suite of facilities, including the network core, radio enablement, software and applications and managed services. The managed services contract is for five years from a dedicated local network operations centre.
The contract also includes network planning, implementation, project management and systems integration, logistics management, multivendor maintenance, field services and network optimization for the base station sites.
“This project will set the benchmark for future mobile communications in the Kingdom and in the GCC,” said Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi, Chief Executive Officer of Zain Saudi Arabia. He added that as information exchange is continuing to play an important role in the developing economies of the region. Providing high quality communication services to both businesses and individuals has become critical to improving the performance of individuals, businesses and economies. “This development will greatly accelerate and enhance such improvement,” he added.
Zain expects that it will commence providing commercial mobile voice and data services in the Kingdom in 2008.
Dr. Walid Moneimne, Chairman for the Middle East and Africa region of Nokia Siemens Networks said that the opportunity to supply advanced technology and services to the Kingdom demonstrated the commitment of Nokia Siemens Networks to support Saudi Arabia’s economic development. “E-business and rapid, reliable information exchange is vital to modern economies. We are proud to be involved in this very important project.”
Ahmed Othman, Nokia Siemens Networks, Head of customer business team for Zain, said that the technology used in the implementation of the contract would produce savings for Zain while giving customers the very latest in reliable services.
“We expect that there will be savings in both capital expenditure and operational expenditure and allows for a fast rollout of the service in Saudi Arabia,” Othman explained. “This results in a win-win deal for both our customers and Zain.”
Zain’s recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia has attracted significant local talent who will be involved in the operations of the new network.
“We were the first mobile operator in the region and have grown to cover six Middle Eastern - soon seven with KSA - and 15 sub-Saharan African countries,” Al-Ahmadi said. “We look for competent and focused managers to support our growth, and we have many on board now who are ambitious to provide the best possible service to our customers, a feature that has driven our group from the start.”
Zain, formerly known as the MTC Group, is a leading telecommunications mobile provider in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa and was recently awarded the third mobile telecommunications licence for Saudi Arabia. Currently Zain has over 15,000 employees providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to more than 42.5 million active individual and business customers.
