3G services to be operational in first quarter of 2010

AMMAN - Third Generation (3G) services will be operational in the first quarter of 2010 in Amman and some governorates, Nayla Khawam, the chief executive officer of Jordan Telecom Group. (Orange), said Sunday.

Khawam also announced that Orange Jordan has signed a partnership and cooperation agreement with Ericsson for assisting the operator to launch the 3G mobile technology in the first quarter of 2010.

In August, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) granted the group a license to introduce the 3G services in return for JD50 million and rejected an offer by Zain, which the TRC said asked for more incentives and exemptions.

According to a statement received by The Jordan Times Sunday, Khawam explained that the service will be operational over several stages; the first will cover Amman and some governorates and will be followed by other stages that include other governorates.

Khawam stressed the importance of the agreement with Ericsson, highlighting the operator's commitment to cooperate with Ericsson in order to ensure the establishment of the new network in line with latest systems and technologies so as to offer 3G services with exclusivity in the first phase.

She also expressed her confidence in the capabilities of Ericsson to meet this technical and functional challenge to implement the network in stages so as to achieve many of the benefits thereof; to provide better voice service coverage and wireless high speed Internet connection, as well as to enable the user to benefit from a set of new services, including making video calls, sending and receiving multimedia messages and others.

"The provision of 3G services with breakthrough capacities, capabilities and services will enhance the development of Orange's competitive position in the Jordanian market, especially as it was able to attract more than 1.8 million 2G customers to date," she said.

For his part, Tareq Al Saadi, the head of account unit for Ericsson in the north Middle East region, said Ericsson will design and construct the new network, which includes the implementation of several broadcast stations across the Kingdom, as well as to operate them for a year now and manage their quality, in addition to providing technical support services and other supporting services such as training and others.

Jordan Telecom Group (JTG) will enjoy a year of exclusivity from the moment of commercially operating the service after which other mobile operators will be allowed to introduce 3G services should they meet the same conditions met by JTG for introducing the service.

By Mohammad Ghazal