RIYADH, 7 June 2006 — Mobily signed here yesterday an SR1 billion contract with a consortium of Saudi and French companies for laying a 12,600-km fiber-optic cable network to provide high-speed data transmission services in the Kingdom.
Mobily CEO Khaled Al-Kaaf signed the contract with the members of the consortium consisting of Integrated Telecom Company, Bayanat Al-Oula for Network Services and Thales Saudi Arabia Ltd.
“The implementation of this network will signify the introduction of a new landmark in the telecom industry, as it will lead to the expansion of the telecom infrastructure capable of providing a wide spectrum of services both in the short and long run,” Al-Kaaf said.
This telecom network will pave the way for advanced data and communication services, such as video, voice messages and broadband Internet access. The project, known as the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN), will be implemented in two phases. The fiber optic network will cover Alkhobar, Dammam, Riyadh, Buraidah, Al-Qassim, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and some townships within this belt by the end of this year in the first phase of the project. This belt accounts for over 70 percent of the telecommunications traffic. The project will usher in the era of “fiber to your home” with download speeds from 5 to 100 Mbps, and 2 Mbps for uploads. This would facilitate high-speed access to Internet and other services. Currently, Internet service in the Kingdom costs considerably higher than in developed countries. For example, a 512 Kbs satellite connection through Orbit costs over SR600 ($160) per month.
A broadband cable connection in the US through a comparable cable television provider costs about $45 per month with a connection that is three to four times faster, allowing home users to engage in high-bandwidth Internet functions, such as watching streaming television programs or quickly downloading purchased movies through iTunes.
Current Internet services in the Kingdom that can offer this type of usability can cost well over SR1,000 a month. The state-owned Saudi Telecom Company offers the lowest rates through its DSL services.
Al-Kaaf said that considering the unprecedented expansion in the telecom sector, the project was designed in a unique scalable way that enables the capacity to be augmented tenfold in the event of a surge in demand.
Fiber optic cables are able to transmit greater amounts of data than can be trafficked through phone lines. Recent advances in fiber optic technology will allow the Kingdom to leapfrog over the installation of slower data transmission hardware still being utilized in countries with more advanced data transmission services than currently available in Saudi Arabia. New fiber optic cable uses paired bundles of fibers that double the speed of data transmission from conventional fiber optic cable.
Speaking on behalf of Thales Saudi Arabia, Raul Korjon, the CEO, said the company, which already has a work force of 1,000 employees in the Kingdom, would recruit an additional 100 Saudi employees for the SNFN project. They will be put through a rigorous training program prior to being put to work.
Later, speaking to Arab News, Mohamed Basafi Al-Amoodi, chief technical officer of Mobily’s network operations, said the company, whose Saudi manpower comprises more than 80 percent of their work force, would recruit more Saudis for implementing the SNFN project. He pointed out that, besides providing job opportunities for Saudis, it would also stimulate the national industry, since the fiber optic cables would be manufactured in the Kingdom. The cost of telecommunication services would also come down following the deregulation of the market, he added.
According to Humoud Al-Ghobaini, manager of corporate communications at Mobily, within less than a year, Mobily services have covered all cities in the Kingdom through the establishment of a modern network, achieving a total of two and half million subscribers in a relatively short period of time.
