Nawras CEO Ross Cormack addressed 3G conference in Dubai

Nawras, the Sultanate’s customer-friendly communications provider, had a strong presence at the influential 3G conference held in Dubai on the 11th and 12th September 2006. Mr. Ross Cormack, Nawras Chief Executive Officer, addressed the delegates with a speech entitled ‘Driving Competition and Innovation - Activating 3G Mobile Services in Oman’. He also appeared on a panel considering important regulatory matters affecting GCC countries over the next few years. The conference heard speakers from most of the major Regional Operators and attracted an international audience of over 1,900 attendees. This record attendance reinforced the event as one of the region’s leading mobile shows attracting the top decision makers in the field of telecommunications.

Under the broader heading of Market Liberalisation & Competition, Cormack took delegates through the way Nawras revolutionised the mobile market in Oman, launching in March 2005 with a record-breaking implementation program. Today the company can proudly look at an achievement of over 27% market share with over 450,000 customers. Nawras provides more than 95% national coverage including national roaming and now has an amazing 171 International Roaming partners in 85 countries. Elaborating on the series of Nawras “firsts”, he explained that Nawras is the only operator in Oman granted a 3G licence, with an ongoing pilot in major cities.

Ross Cormack, said, “Nawras is the only operator in Oman with a 3G licence, allowing services like Video Telephony, TV/Video Streaming and internet access at faster than ADSL speeds. We are currently using this as a trial network with the intention of learning how corporate customers can really benefit from this service prior to its commercial launch. At Nawras, we are dedicated to continuing to deliver pleasingly different quality, service and prices and to keep introducing ‘firsts’ to the market so our customers will always have a great customer experience.”

Cormack continued his presentation by talking about Nawras Internet, launched in April 2006. He moved on to outline Nawras Mobile Email features and spoke of his Broadband Vision for Nawras, to provide a mobile product fulfilling all needs for voice and data via one ‘box’.

The conference as a whole explored new ideas and plans, and shared expertise within the assembled Middle Eastern and Gulf operator community. Participants benefited from insightful market analysis and industry comment presented by the leaders of many important operators including Osman Sultan CEO du in UAE, who outlined the details of the planned second telecom operator’s launch in the UAE. Khalid Al-Kaf, CEO, Mobily, Saudi Arabia, discussed driving competition in Saudi Arabia and Majd Shweikeh, CEO, MobileCom, Jordan, spoke about developing attractive Prepaid Pricing Plans to maximise ARPU. Mohammed Al Qamzi, CEO of Etisalat, gave the welcoming address and was one of the panellists for the MENA Strategic Leadership Summit – Common Challenges and Future Opportunities.

The event was part of the larger GSM World Series 2006, which comprises a total of 13 conferences being held all over the globe from India to Russia, North Africa to Central Asia. This event offered an excellent learning and networking platform to help take advantage of the huge market potential.
As the first licensed operator in the Sultanate to activate 3G services, Nawras will be responsible for bringing the next phase of Mobile Broadband communications to Oman over the next few years. Nawras and network partner Ericsson have been working hard to implement 3G services to meet licence commitments. The introduction of 3G will further strengthen Nawras’s position as the clear leader in the Omani Mobile Broadband market. The first 3G video call in Oman was made in December 2005 with Nawras now offering an expanded 3G network covering selected areas in the main cities of Muscat, Salalah, Sur, Nizwa and Sohar. The current trial is being undertaken by a number of corporate customers who are able to make and receive video calls and browse the Internet at high speed. Any customers are welcome to try out the 3G service free of charge, by visiting one of the Nawras Stores, where sales staff members are happy to explain the possibilities that this exciting service will open up.

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