RIYADH, 11 November 2007 — Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has launched the Mobily Connect router on Saturday amid increasing demand for broadband Internet service in the Kingdom, it said in a statement yesterday.
“The MobilyConnect router is based on Huawei’s E960 3G router and is ideal solution for small office, home office users, are the four Ethernet LAN ports on the back of the E960, and the device’s ability to distribute broadband Internet service using WiFi to serve up to 32 users.
The router can be managed through a web interface that can be accessed from any computer that is connected to the router via one of the four LAN ports or through WiFi. The router can be laid flat on a table, tilted or wall mounted. The router has a high gain antenna, making it ideal for indoor installations.
The router can also be used as USB modem, with full phonebook and SMS sending functionality with power being fed to the device from a PC USB port, as opposed to an external power supply.
“All you need is the MobilyConnect router and data SIM card, five minutes later you have broadband Internet service for almost three dozen users,” said David Murphy, chief marketing officer.
“When we launched the MobilyConnect in May and its elder brother the MobilyConnect USB, we wanted to put broadband Internet in the pockets of users, with the MobilyConnect router, we can now deliver Internet right into the living room of those users,” Murphy said.
Mobily claims over 30,000 broadband Internet users, the majority of whom connect using the Huawei E620 PCMCIA and Huawei E220, and use Mobily’s high value high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA).
“There is tremendous pent up demand for broadband Internet services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Murphy said.
“As part of our commitment to addressing broadband Internet needs, we want to address that demand in a timely manner,” he added. “Five weeks, five days or five minutes?”
Murphy said he wanted people seeking broadband Internet service to drive home and start surfing.
In September, Mobily made a strategic move toward expanding its Internet broadband service and signed a memorandum of understanding with Bayanat Al-Oula to acquire the data communication operator’s shares for SR1.5 billion.
