Nawras CEO outlines Broadband Growth at Abu Dhabi Telecoms Summit
Muscat, 24 May 2011 – Nawras Chief Executive Ross Cormack, recently participated in the Abu Dhabi Telecoms CEO Summit. Joining his peers, Cormack took the opportunity to share the latest developments from the Sultanate’s customer friendly communications provider. He spoke of Nawras rapidly rolling out broadband internet to provide the majority of households in Oman with an easy plug and play solution by the end of 2011.
In a lively debate, Cormack joined Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Officer of du, Karim Khoja, Chief Executive of Roshan, Majed Al Mesmar, Deputy Director General TRA, Nasser Bin Obood, Acting Chief Executive of Etisalat and Giuseppe Jannelli, Managing Partner of Accenture.
While addressing the question of where the areas of major growth in the market exist, Cormack responded by saying there are three areas: first is broadband, second is broadband and third is broadband!
Panel members were asked whether they were optimistic during these times, in this region, also in view of the change in business models through the approach of, for instance, Google and Facebook. There was absolute agreement that there are many new opportunities opening up.
The panel also looked at later entrant and incumbent strategies for success. As the challenger mobile operator and broadband provider in the Sultanate of Oman, Cormack was able to talk about the way that Nawras had transformed the mobile market since 2005 and in the same exciting way, is now giving customers choice in broadband internet.
Cormack highlighted the fact that Nawras Home Broadband internet is instantly available from any Nawras Store where friendly professionals check that customers are living within the current coverage area of around 60 per cent of households in Oman. He said that Nawras is building new networks quickly and will have over 80 per cent coverage this year.
After choosing an internet package and buying a modem, customers simply plug in the modem at home to begin surfing the internet. Nawras Home Broadband uses the latest wireless WiMAX technology and even includes free rental for a home telephone line. Prepaid and postpaid options for weekly and monthly broadband data packages are designed to meet different budgets and varying usage styles. Nawras helps customers to select the package that best suits their needs.
Talking about provisions for businesses, Cormack explained that Nawras has also launched a lot of exciting services in this area. He said, “We have dedicated bandwidth Internet for corporate customers. We also have some novel voice packages including non-geographic numbering and we have introduced Ethernet connectivity for corporates.”
Following the previous two editions of the CEO Summit, the event has become one of the leading telco events in the Middle East and the largest in Abu Dhabi. Over 400 of the region’s major operators, vendors and consultants gathered to share challenges, experiences and visions that will help to shape strategies and formulate goals.
Nawras:
Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG was founded and registered in the Sultanate of Oman in December 2004. It launched its service in March 2005 as the second mobile operator in Oman operating under the name “Nawras”. Nawras was awarded the second fixed licence in Oman in 2009, and launched its international gateway in April 2010, its corporate fixed and broadband services in May 2010, and its residential fixed and broadband services in June 2010. Nawras is currently serving more than 2 million mobile customers across the Sultanate. Following a successful IPO, Nawras is listed on the Muscat Stock Market (MSM) under the “nwrs” ticker since 1 November 2010. Nawras is majority owned by the Qtel Group, a leading global telecommunications group, with presence in 17 markets and a customer subscriber base of more than 74 million. Nawras also has a number of significant Omani shareholders which ensures that the company is strongly integrated into the Omani society. Nawras has won a number of awards including Best Employer Asia 2010, Leader in Communications 2010, Customer Service Provider of the Year 2010, and Middle East Mobile Operator of the Year 2007.
About the Qtel Group
The Qtel Group provides a full range of telecommunications services in Qatar and across its presence in 17 countries. Our vision is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020 through expansion in both the MENA region and South East Asia.
For further information please contact:
Julie Amann
Press Manager
e-mail: julie.amann@nawras.om
+968 9510 3669
