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Motorola nabs $165 million contract for 802.16e in Saudi Arabia
Equipment vendor continues wireless winning streak across the Kingdom with Atheeb
Motorola, Inc. announced a $165 million WiMAX
802.16e-2005 infrastructure contract with Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication
Company (Atheeb) that will enable the
new service provider to offer broadband wireless services to subscribers in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Motorola will deliver a fully integrated end-to-end
nationwide WiMAX solution.
The contract includes the delivery of Motorola's new WAP 800 access point,
featuring smart antenna technology, plus a comprehensive service package
including end-to-end delivery of network planning, installation, optimization
and support services. Broadband will be available to customers across the
Kingdom, reaching into areas of demand that until now have been underserved.
Atheeb was awarded a WiMAX license in 2007.
Batelco, a 15% shareholder in the
Atheeb consortium, has been planning the WiMAX network over the last year,
according to a comment from WiMAX Day. Much of the operational expertise in
running the network is expected to come from Batelco.
Nearly 17% of the Kingdom's 27.6 million citizens have access to the Internet,
according to Internet World Stats data from December 2007. The 4.7 million
Internet users have propelled the country to number two in total users for the
Middle East region. However, only 218,000 of those users have access to
broadband speeds.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a good market for Motorola, who announced a
turnkey GSM/HSPA contract with Zain (formerly the MTC Group) valued at $335
million earlier this month.
By Jeff Orr
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