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For an insight into the mobile communications industry in the Gulf, BM spoke with Kim Askjaer, Chief Technical Officer at FRiENDi Mobile.

BM. Much has been made of the ongoing deregulation within mobile and international traffic in the Middle Eastern telecoms sector. What are your thoughts on this?
KA. Compared to Europe and USA the competition on the telecommunications sector is quite immature in the Middle East. Competition within mobile communications has only been introduced in recent years, and termination of international traffic, Internet access and other forms of communications are still monopolized in most countries across the region.

The consequences for customers (business and residential) are:

• Higher prices
• Less choice
• Lower service quality

Many studies in telecommunications and other industries support these statements, so I’ll not delve further into that. For customers and the national regulators the focus should be to support the deregulation of telecommunications since this leads to attractive offerings and better competitiveness.

BM. FRiENDi mobile’s vision is to "become the leading pan regional access-network independent telecom service provider in Middle East & North Africa”. Have you faced any problems with regards to infrastructure when you have been deploying your services?
KA. Currently there are no Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in the MENA region, since until recently this business model was not allowed according to the telecommunications regulation in any country. Late 2007 Jordan and Oman issued licensing rules for MVNOs; and FRiENDi mobile as well as others are pursuing this opportunity. This development from infrastructure competition, which was just introduced in recent years, to service competition is a natural market development.

So our first and most important challenge has been to assist regulators and network operators in realizing that the introduction of MVNOs is a relevant and welcome development of the Middle East telecommunications marketplace.

We have not experienced any significant problems with regards to infrastructure, since we integrate with the mobile network operators using the international telecommunications standards and have had our MVNO platform in operation since the beginning of 2007.

BM. What is the current telecoms market like in the region? Have you experienced major growth in mobile communications and where do you see the market going in the future?
KA. The actual and forecasted penetration in the mobile market in the Middle East is shown in this table (source GSM Association):

The mobile industry in the Middle East is therefore characterized by high growth, albeit with significant national variations, since penetration by the end of 2007 ranges from 15% (Yemen and Afghanistan) to more than 100 percent (Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait).

BM. What role does technology have to play in FRiENDi mobile? Can you tell us something about your latest offerings?
KA. Our focus is not to provide the latest technologies, but to provide the services that our target segment really needs. Our vision and mission statement says:
Personal relationships and family ties are the essence of humanity; people everywhere strive to belong to families, groups and communities who share interests and backgrounds. Mixed societies created by the globalization of the work force have created the need for communications solutions capable of closing the gap between families and communities created by distance and national borders.

Our services and technology investments therefore focus on making it easy and affordable for customers to stay in touch with their loved ones, e.g. by providing news from back home and community services.

BM. The region is currently facing ongoing labor shortage problems, with many companies having to recruit from overseas. How does FRiENDi mobile approach this problem? Do you think there needs to be investment in local talent?
KA. We have not found it difficult to attract the right talent locally, however, when it comes to specific experience from MVNOs, obviously nobody within the region have worked under this business model. We do therefore recruit staff, preferably with a telecommunications background, and train them in the specific setup and practices that apply to MVNOs.

BM. You have over 20 years of experience in communications. Are the challenges facing you in the Middle East different from those in Europe?
KA. The overall agenda in the Middle East telecommunications sector is growth and international expansion, while the European agenda is focused on consolidation and cost-cutting. This reflects the difference in market maturity between the two regions, where the Middle East is still in the growth part of the business cycle.

About Kim Askjaer
With a background as MSc Eng. (Math and IT) and an Executive MBA, Kim Askjaer has 20 years experience in the telecommunications and IT industry with top-management responsibility for the development and operations of the technical infrastructure of mobile operators, MVNOs, fixed-line operators and Internet service providers.

About FRiENDI
FRiENDi mobile is an innovative telecommunications company that offers mobile services across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which is a proven business model that brings significant benefits to end-users, telecom operator partners and the general societies of the countries where FRiENDi mobile operate.