ALCATEL-LUCENT
Alcatel-Lucent has signed a multimillion-euro frame contract with Saudi Telecom to expand and upgrade its existing broadband network to serve an additional two million residential and enterprise customers by the end of 2010. Underserved customers in areas of the Kingdom will now be able to enjoy innovative triple play services such as IPTV and converged communications. The network upgrade is made possible by the enhanced aggregation and transport features of Alcatel-Lucent’s broadband access, IP, optical and services solutions. “Our strong presence in Saudi Arabia and our long-term history with Saudi Telecom enabled us to understand its network requirements, and work together to provide the best solution in an optimal time frame,” said Vincenzo Nesci, Alcatel-Lucent’s VP for MEA. Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its packet optical transport solution for DSLAM traffic aggregation and Ethernet business services.
BANKMUSCAT
BankMuscat, a major financial services provider in Oman, has selected HP and Avaya to meet its growth objectives by consolidating its existing disparate technology infrastructure into an integrated and unified business system. BankMuscat is the largest bank in the country with over 40 percent market share and 121 branches. The implementation coincides with the bank’s decision to move to its new headquarters and includes HP’s portfolio of energy-efficient data centers, blade servers, Superdome and HP ProCurve networking solutions as well as Avaya’s IP telephony for 1600 user endpoints and a complete unified communications suite. In order to meet its business objectives and deliver efficient customer services across the bank’s branches in Oman, BankMuscat wanted to reduce the complexity of its legacy systems and move its diverse banking functionality to a flexible and scalable infrastructure. “We are confident of the support and system overhaul that HP and Avaya are carrying out,” said John A. Cooper, chief information officer, DGM technology and operations, BankMuscat.
MOBILY
Mobily’s data and voice services had a positive impact on the dramatic increase in its profits for the third quarter of 2009, says Mobily’s Chief Marketing Officer David Murphy. He believes that Mobily’s strategic plan of acquiring 99 percent of Bayanat Al-Ola, expanding WiMax coverage and mobile broadband reflected positively on the company’s profits. On Monday, Mobily posted a higher-than-expected rise in net profits. In a statement, the company attributed the 50% jump in profits to the rising number of its more post-paid voice and broadband subscribers. The Kingdom’s second-largest mobile service operator made a record SR807 million in the three months through Sept. 30, which is one and a half times greater than the SR539 million it made in the same period a year earlier.
QATAR FOUNDATION
As part of its mission to prepare young people in Qatar and the Arabian Gulf region to become future leaders and innovators, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development has launched its “Discover Education City” recruitment campaign. The program includes informational events for students, their parents and school counselors in select cities in Qatar and throughout the region. The series began with a college fair in Doha on Oct. 14 at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar at Education City, and will travel to Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Morocco. A priority of Qatar Foundation is to promote excellence in education in the region, and Education City is its flagship project. Education City offers a synergistic environment where students can share facilities, cooperate on research projects, and forge relationships with businesses and other organizations in the public and private sectors. It is home to branch campuses of six internationally renowned universities, said Dennis Roberts, associate VP for faculty and student services at Qatar Foundation.
DANA GAS
Dana Gas, described as the Middle East’s first and largest regional private sector natural gas company, has announced two more significant gas discoveries — Faraskur-1 and Marzouk-2 — in one of its concessions in the Egyptian Nile Delta. Together, the two wells are expected to add 86 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas to the company’s Egypt reserves. The Faraskur-1 discovery, which is alone expected to add up to 73 bcf to the company’s Egyptian reserves, is located in the West El Manzala Concession. The well was spudded on Aug. 31, reaching a total depth of 2,900 meters, on Sept. 27. The well found 21 meters of gas in the Upper Abu Madi formation, and additional minor amounts in the Kafr El Sheikh and Lower Abu Madi formations. Dana Gas CEO Ahmed Al-Arbeed said: “The discoveries at the Marzouk-2 and Faraskur-1 wells represent the eighth and ninth discoveries from our 2008-09 drilling campaign in the Nile Delta. The extensive planning that went into the drilling campaign is continuing to yield very positive results.”
ICC Solutions
Umm Al-Qura University has signed a strategic partnership with ICC Solutions & Communications Company to provide medical students at the university with virtual, yet realistic training experiences, using state of the art clinical simulation software. For the first time in the history of Saudi universities, students will be able to examine, assess and apply their medical skills on virtual patients, based on real life cases, to help them master their education and bridge the gap between theory and practice. Dr. Waleed Abu Al-Faraj, president of Umm Al-Qura University, said: “The clinical simulation program, provided by ICC Solutions, is one of the highly advanced educational software that can provide several virtual medical cases, allowing researchers and medical students to examine and study different illnesses.”
LG
LG Electronics, a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, has launched the LG-KS660, the company’s first full touchscreen handset equipped with dual SIM card slots. Designed for the demanding life of today’s businessperson, LG-KS660’s slim design and convenient productivity tools help users manage their time well and work more efficiently. “According to surveys we’ve conducted, mobile handsets have become an essential part of everyday life, for both consumers and businesses. Business has been made more efficient thanks to text messaging and easier communications when away from the office,” said Simon Lee, GM, LG Electronics in Saudi Arabia. “With this in mind, LG developed the LG-KS660 with dual SIM to provide more useful and smart touchscreen for business people.” Dual SIM capability allows users to operate both SIM cards and use multiple functions simultaneously.
ALJ/MIT
An MIT Pan Arab Business Plan Competition was recently launched in Riyadh at an event attended by officials, academics and businessmen. The program is supported by Abdul Latif Jameel Company (ALJ) and is aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs across the Arab world to establish their own businesses. Already more than 500 entries were received — after the soft online launch on Oct. 1 — from applicants for the 2010 MIT Arab Business Plan Competition. This year, it is estimated that the competition will raise 20 percent more applications than last year from 24 countries, surpassing the 1,650 entries received for the 2008 competition from 17 Arab countries. MIT Enterprise Director Hala Fadel lauded the efforts of Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, a graduate of MIT in 1978, for his commitment and support. “These efforts demonstrate a clear belief that education and the concept of individual initiative are two key factors to ensure future success in the Arab World beyond the next five to ten years,” said Fadel. Fady Mohammed Jameel, president of ALJ International Social Programs, outlined the efforts of the MIT business plan competition. “
KBR
KBR has been awarded a contract by Al-Jubail Fertilizer Company (Al-Bayroni), a SABIC affiliate, to provide engineering, procurement and supply of proprietary equipment for Al-Bayroni’s existing ammonia plant located in Jubail. Under the contract, KBR will provide engineering design, procurement and installation support services for a new auxiliary boiler and a reformer convection section for the ammonia plant, which was originally built in the 1980s utilizing KBR’s ammonia technology.