WiMAX Network in the Middle East

ARTICLE

WiMAX Network in the Middle East

By Basharat H. Ashai, Market Analyst - Asia Pac & Middle East
Contact the author at Basharat@maravedis-bwa.com

Interview with
Mr. Esam Zainal
Network Director
ZAIN BAHRAIN

ZAIN is a major telecommunications operator across 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa region, providing mobile voice and data services to more than 45.7 million customers (as at March 31, 2008). They operate under the Zain brand name in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Sudan. In Lebanon the company operates as mtc-touch. Zain operates under the Celtel brand in sub-Saharan Africa. The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Zain had a market capitalization of over US$29 billion (as at 31 March, 2008).

ZAIN acquired a WiMAX license in Bahrain in January 2007, and has since rolled out residential and enterprise services to compete with incumbent ADSL packages.

Maravedis: What are the various license obligations that WiMAX operators have to meet in Bahrain?

ZAIN and Mena Telecom, the two WiMAX operators in Bahrain, have to meet some license obligations. One of the obligations is related to coverage. We have to have a population coverage of 40% within 18 months, 65% within 30 months and 95% within 48 months, from the date of receiving the license. In our case we launched with 95% population coverage from day one. Mena Telecom has to launch the WiMAX service by July 8th of this year. Otherwise some penalities will be imposed.

Maravedis: Tell us about ZAIN’s WiMAX network deployments so far

We have rolled out commercial WiMAX network in Bahrain only. We went commercial with WiMAX in Bahrain in September 2007. We are also looking at deploying WiMAX networks in the countries where there is a wireless broadband market opportunity.

Mravaedis: How is your company positioning itself in the mobile WiMAX vs Fixed WiMAX versions?

Our network in Bahrain is a fixed WiMAX network. The license as it is today does not allow for mobility. Although in the future the regulator has said it will relax some conditions and will allow for mobility in 2010. We chose to go for fixed WiMAX because it is more mature and is certified by the WiMAX forum. We will also be looking at mobile WiMAX as and when the standard matures. If we see advantages in mobile WiMAX, we will definitely consider it.

Maravedis: Which markets are you catering to with your WiMAX services?

We address both the residential and the enterprise markets. More than 50% of our market is residential.

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For more information you can contact the author. Basharat@maravedis-bwa.com