Mobily selects Orange Business Services to advise on ‘Smart City’ solutions for Saudi Arabia

Riyadh 26th Oct 2009

Mobily, a leading telecommunications operator in Saudi Arabia, has appointed Orange Business Services, the business services arm of France Telecom, to provide consultancy and recommendations relating to ICT opportunities in the rapidly growing ‘smart city’ real estate market in the Kingdom.

Orange Business Services has developed substantial real estate sector experience in the Middle East working with the major developers and telecoms operators over the last three years.

Saudi Arabia has the largest economy of all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and has a rapidly growing population, especially in the young, middle income group which is partly fuelling demand in this sector. The development of the real estate sector in the Kingdom, especially the new economic cities and campuses, has continued throughout the economic downturn that has hit much of the region’s real estate industry, following the recent boom.

Advanced ICT services will be key contributors to the ability to attract business to many future real estate developments. The scope of the Orange Business Services consultancy engagement includes working jointly with Mobily to assess current market opportunities matched against Mobily’s service offering. One of the outcomes of the engagement will be to define the best delivery and operational model for the company to approach the market.

Lionel Reina, Vice President of the EEMEA region at Orange Business Services, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Mobily to undertake this consultancy project. As a pioneer of Smart City solutions in the Middle East, Orange Business Services brings substantial experience related to systems integration and the development of value-added broadband services such as IPTV. This experience will help frame our examination of the Mobily business case for developing a range of solutions for Smart Cities and for the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia in general.

Mobily’s intention is to provide solutions to support both the largest of the new cities currently being created, as well as the smaller-scale clusters and communities.”

Dr. Eyas S. Al-Hajery, Mobily Senior Vice President of Wholesale said:  “We are excited to be working with Orange Business Services to lead developments for the Saudi market”. Anticipating rapid go-to-market plans for real estate communities and economic cities, Dr. Al-Hajery, added, “Mobily is well positioned to provide innovative telecom, data, and smart ICT e-services with attractive commercial business models to real estate developers and partners providing value added services to both enterprise and residential communities.”

Orange Business Services is the business arm of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. Mobily operates the Saudi National Fiber Network and has extensive access networks including 3G/3.5G mobile broadband, WiMax wireless broadband and MPLS/IP fixed-line circuits.

About Mobily

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was established in 2004 by a consortium led by Etisalat, the UAE based telecom conglomerate. Mobily is the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, renowned as the second mobile service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The awarded 25-Year telecommunication mobile license was complemented by a subsequent purchase of a 3G license. Mobily is the 1 ^st Saudi communications company to get an operation license for 3 ^rd generation services and beyond. In December 2004, Mobily was listed on Tadawul Stock Exchange. Today, Mobily equates to 40%+ market share of the mobile subscriptions in the Kingdom.  In March 2008, Mobily was granted approval by CITC (Communication and Information Technology Commission) to acquire Bayanat al-Oula which was a licensed Data Service Provider for a price of SAR 1.5 Billion. And, in November 2008, Mobily acquired absolute majority stakes in Zajil, the leading Saudi ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Mobily owns vast majority shares in the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) composed with 12,800 KM of structured fiber cable, panned into 7 fully protected rings covering 35 Saudi cities plus access to 60 major hub sites for telecommunications prime points of presence, and complimented with 20 inter-metropolis fiber loops in major Saudi cities. Furthermore, Mobily is a lead investor in prime global submarine cable projects that are expected to be operational in the near future.

About Orange

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With 124.5 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. At the end of 2008, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros (25.5 billion euros for the first half of 2009) and at June 30, 2009, the Group had a customer base of 186 million customers in 32 countries. These include 125.5 million mobile customers and 13.4 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers worldwide. Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number two provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies. The Group's strategy, which is characterized by a strong focus on innovation, convergence and effective cost management, aims to establish Orange as an integrated operator and benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. Today the Group remains focused on its core activities as a network operator, while working to develop its position in new growth activities. To meet customer expectations, the Group strives to provide products and services that are simple and user-friendly, while maintaining a sustainable and responsible business model that can be adapted to the requirements of a fast-paced and changing eco-system. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information: www.orange.com, www.francetelecom.com, www.orange-business.com

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.