Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. "GO"
Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Co. (Arabic: شركة اتحاد عذيب للاتصالات ) is the second fixed-line operator to acquire a license from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (Saudi Arabia) (CITC) to provide fixed services including voice and broadband services in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Background
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” was established in 2008 as a Saudi joint stock company, the company’s major shareholders are Atheeb Trading Company (16.1%), Batelco (15.0%), Al-Nahla Trading Company (13.7%), and Traco Trading Ltd Co. (5.8%).[1]
Other founding shareholders include Saudi Internet Ltd Co., Atheeb Ltd. Co. for Computer and Communication, and Atheeb Maintenance and Service.[2]
Board of Directors
| Board Member | Position |
|---|---|
| HRH. Abdulaziz Bin Ahmad Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud | Chairman |
| Shaikh Mohamed Bin Isa AlKhalifa | Board Member |
| Mohamed Wajjih Bin Hasan Shurbatli | Board Member |
| Peter Kaliaropoulos | Board Member |
| Khurshid Ahmed | Board Member |
| Saad bin Omer Albaiz | Board Member and Secretary |
| Sultan bin Khalid AlTurki | Board Member |
| Abdulaziz Bin Abdullatif Aljazzer | Board Member |
| Husam Hashem Sadagah | Board Member |
| Raed Kayyal | Board Member and Former Acting Chief Executive Officer |
| Abdulrahman Bin Abdulaziz Mutrib | Board Member |
Management Team
On June 13, 2010, Etihad Atheeb Telecom board of Directors announced the appointment of Raed Kayyal as acting Chief Executive Officer on to replace former Chief Executive officer Ahmed Abbas Sindi.
Management Team as of June 13, 2010.
| Name | position |
|---|---|
| Zaid Al Shabanat | CEO - Chief Executive Officer |
| Suliman Al Zahrabi | Deputy CEO - Chief Commercial Officer |
| Abdulrahman Mutrib | Acting Vice President, Human Resources & Administration |
| Ameen Myrchant | Chief Financial Officer |
Founding and IPO
Etihad Atheeb Telecom was one of ten applicants to bid for a public Fixed Services License on March 10, 2007, The Board of Directors of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), chaired by His Excellency, Eng. Mohamed Jamil Mulla, Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the CITC Board, approved the list of eligible applicants for Fixed Services Licenses on April 15, 2007, which included Etihad Atheeb Telecom and two other operators, following the license announcement, Etihad Atheeb Telecom acquired a 3.5 GHz frequency spectrum covering 13 regional divisions across Saudi Arabia valued at over five hundred Million Saudi Riyals ( $ 138 million).
On February 25, 2008, the Saudi Cabinet approved the establishment of Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. as a Saudi joint stock company with an authorized capital of SAR 1 billion ($266 million), As part of the approval by the Saudi Cabinet, Etihad Atheeb Telecom would 25% of its shares in initial public offerings (IPO).
On January 2009, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. announced its initial public offering (IPO) of 30% of the company’s shares with a total value of Three Hundred Million Saudi Riyals, at a price of Ten Riyals per share. Etihad Atheeb Telecom IPO marked the first IPO in Saudi Arabia since all new offerings had been halted in August 2008 in the midst of unfavorable market conditions as a result of the global economic crisis.
The announcement was made during a press release chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Aziz bin Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz where he stated:
- “With the launch of the new IPO, A new chapter begins in the history of telecommunications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the introduction of new fixed lines would pave the way for the kingdom’s economy to shift to a new Knowledge based economy. Etihad Atheeb Telecom is a Saudi joint stock company operation in the Saudi market with a strong financial solvency and targeting local beneficiaries, our policy is in line with recommendations of the First Arab Economic summit, which call for the liberalization of the telecom sector, and the private sector’s engagement in the development process.”[3]
The IPO closed successfully on February 2, 2009 with coverage in excess to (350%), the company’s IPO had been significantly oversubscribed, and analysts interpreted the over subscription as a positive indicator of confidence in the IPO market of Saudi Arabia.
Commercial Launch
On March 18, 2008, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. announced a $ 165 Million WiMAX 802.16e infrastructure contract with Motorola, The contract included construction of the first phase of infrastructure with a comprehensive service package including end-to-end delivery of network planning, installation, optimization and support services, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. also contracted with each of ZTE and Wipro.
His Royal Highness, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, was elected Chairman of the Board of directors and the company launched its commercial trademark “GO” (Arabic: جو ) on February 18, 2009, in a large ceremony held in Riyadh.
Later in March 2009, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” commenced the trial phase of its WiMAX network.
Early registration Campaign
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” received the official approval from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) for its license on April 5, 2009, following the license, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” announced its “Early registration Campaign” in Riyadh & Jeddah, the early registration campaign continued for two months prior to the Official launch.
Commercial Service Launch & Expansion
On June 6, 2009, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” held a press conference to where the company announced the commercial launch of its WiMAX Broadband internet services, covering Riyadh city .
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” also announced a $ 48 million contract with China ZTE Corporation, under the agreement, ZTE will help Etihad Atheeb Telecom construct a high-speed WiMAX network covering five major cities in Saudi Arabia, including the eastern region, In addition to 300 WiMAX base stations.
By August 2009, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” had expanded its WiMAX network coverage to cover fully Jeddah & Al Medina, Followed by The holy city of Makkah in September, by the end of 2009 Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” had fully covered western region of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its WiMAX network.
On January, 2010, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” announced the official launch of its services in the Dammam and Khobar, followed by an expansion to include Al Hafouf City and Al Qatif City, thus fully covering the Eastern region by the end of January. In total, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” cover 11 cities with its WiMAX network, it is noted that Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” have exceeded the requirements of its license by covering 5 regions in the course of 9 months.
Voice Service
On November 15, 2009, the company announced the launch of its nomadic voice services, formally marking the end of Saudi Telecom 's STC land line monopoly in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Etihad Atheeb Telecom CO. “GO” is the first operator to offer nomadic voice services over WiMAX in the region.
Technologies
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” is considered a pioneering provider of 4th Generation broadband services in the kingdom, the company’s WiMAX network is based on the latest IEEE 802.16 standard, also called Broadband Wireless Access) which allows for mobility & ease of access, extensive and detailed RF planning were implemented using Motorola’s industry leading RF planning tools.
To ensure enhanced communication services and connectivity with wire line and wireless access, The planned IP Multi-Media Subsystem (IMS ) solution is fully compliant with the industry standard layered IMS architecture, with communications between elements in different layers by standard interfaces to attain high system stability and flexibility, The system will also support all types of customer access and all local & global traffic including Voice, Broadband and Multimedia.
Routing issues are addressed through a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) solution, which is based on a carefully engineered network designed to specifically attend to network problems such as speed, scalability, quality-of-service (QoS) management, and traffic engineering.
Products and services
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” provides Broadband Internet services over WiMAX, advanced fixed line VoIP services, and Fax services.
Fiscal Year Report
On May 2010, Etihad Atheeb Telecom “GO” released the annual results of its first fiscal year, which began with the establishment of the company on February 26, 2009 and ended on March 31, 2010:
- Net loss of 400 Million Saudi Riyals
- Loss per share amounted to 3.79 Saudi Riyals
- The total loss amounted to 44 Million Saudi Riyals
- Operating losses amounted to 380 Million Saudi Riyals
- Pre-Incorporation costs amounted to 20.5 Million Saudi Riyals
There were no comparable figures as it was the first fiscal year, Etihad Atheeb Telecom “GO” stated it attributes such losses to the recent start of operations, revenues are recorded for only three months as the company fully initiated its business on January 1, 2010,upon the completion of its network in the eastern region, while expenditures are recorded for thirteen months since the company's establishment on February 26, 2009.
Events and CSR
During less than a year into operation, Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” participated in over five international Telecoms sector events including:
- ITU Telecom World 2009 - Geneva
- The 9th Global Symposium for Regulators 2009 - Lebanon
- Telecoms World Middle East 2009 - Dubai
- Jeddah Economic Forum 2010 - Jeddah
- Broadband Global summit - Dubai
References
- ↑ http://www.tadawul.com.sa
- ↑ http://www.tadawul.com.sa
- ↑ Press release on the company's website