Kuwait based, Zain has announced that it will launch its mobile network in Saudi Arabia tomorrow (26th August), and connect it to the group's borderless roaming service, One Network. At launch date, ZainÃ's coverage area will initially cover 53% of the population in 36 major cities and 14 highways spanning over 4,000 kms.
The remaining coverage area to reach 95% of the population will be attained initially through a complimentary countrywide roaming service. The company will also introduce HSDPA services to approximately half of the Saudi population at launch. ZainÃ's network will be further expanded in stages to eventually cover the entire Kingdom.
On this momentous occasion, Zain Group CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak said "we are delighted to have launched services in the economic powerhouse of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we intend to fulfill our promise to offer the community world-class telecom services. The experience and resourcefulness of all 22 Zain operations are all committed to supporting the Saudi operation. Coupled with the impressive economic growth that the Kingdom is experiencing, we are confident that all our stakeholders in the Kingdom and beyond will reap excellent rewards in future years."
Zain in Saudi Arabia has committed investments of over US$1.5 billion in the development of the network. Recently the operation undertook a long testing phase with 9,000 mobile users that proved invaluable. "It gave our technical staff and customer care personnel the sufficient understanding and experience to improve and finesse many of the services that makeup our world-class network. We have invested heavily and we are now ready for the challenges ahead, confident of success. We are targeting equal market share along with the two existing operators in the years ahead", commented Dr. Marwan Alahmadi, CEO of Zain in Saudi Arabia.
From July 26, 2008 Zain offered people the opportunity to reserve a special number, with tens of thousands registering their request. On launch date, the operation will have 160 official Zain outlets, over 3,000 authorized distribution points of sales and the operation estimates that over 40,000 independent businesses will act as resellers of recharge cards. The operation currently has a 2100 strong workforce.
Zain Saudi Arabia is a publically listed company on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
Posted to the site on 25th August 2008
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