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Siemens receives orders for high-speed networks

In Saudi Arabia, Siemens Communications will upgrade the mobile radio network of Saudi Telecom in the north of the country with UMTS technology, according to a Press statement made available to Khaleej Times here.

It may be noted that Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the region, with a rapidly increasing mobile customer base. A recent Madar Research study showed an 874 per cent increase in the number of mobile subscribers between the period 2000 to 2005. "Siemens built our GSM network. The company has impressed us in recent years with its technology and the way it works," Dr Ziad Al-Otaibi, Vice-President of Saudi Telecom, explained. "We will continue to expand W-CDMA coverage in the country in the future, both geographically and in terms of subscriber capacity," he added.

Saudi Telecom was the first commercial GSM mobile operator in Saudi Arabia. Siemens Communications was neither prepared to make available information on the financial scope of the project agreed with the company from Saudi Arabia, nor to release financial details of the deal with TSI, the company that operates in Afghanistan.

For Telephone Systems International Ltd. (TSI). Siemens Communications is to set up a UMTS network in Kabul to be used by Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC). TSI, whose official headquarters are in New York, and which was founded by the Kabul-born Ehsan Bayat, holds an 80 per cent stake in AWCC. The other 20 per cent of shares belong to the Afghan Ministry of Communications.

Besides 3G technology, Siemens is to supply AWCC with 2G equipment for about 50 towns and cities in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan some 1.5 million people currently avail themselves of mobile telephone services, which amounts to a market penetration of about four per cent.

Meanwhile, following an agreement recently, subscribers of STC Al Jawwal in the Kingdom will be able to receive CNN news on their mobiles.

Info2cell.com, the leading Mobile Application Service Provider in the Middle East, has partnered with Turner Broadcasting System Europe Limited to deliver news from CNN to mobile subscribers of STC.

"Our partnership with CNN reinforces our commitment to constantly deliver high quality valued-added services to our customers. As is the case in most other countries in the region, an increasing number of mobile subscribers in Saudi Arabia are using their mobile phones to stay abreast of latest news and events from around the globe," said Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO, Info2cell.com, which recently opened a fully-equipped branch in Saudi Arabia to cater to growing customer demand in the Kingdom.

With this partnership, subscribers can now receive CNN Breaking News alerts via SMS and MMS in English and Arabic on their mobile phones. A second service on offer is an online WAP portal delivering World News, Middle East News, Sports News and Entertainment News, as well as weather forecasts on mobile phones or Personal Digital Assistants.

"CNN viewers in Saudi Arabia will now be able to access a whole range of news and information on their mobiles. Turner is committed to extending the reach of our content distribution and we are delighted to have secured a deal with Info2cell.com that will expand the availability of our CNN mobile services," said Dima Boulos, Director, Affiliate Relations for Turner Broadcasting.