chaos...Freightworks, to name a few. This internal model of autonomous companies has proved...

chaos BY DESIGNA Zain Magazine | November 2008 Issue 05

ENTERING THEKINGDOM: LAUNCHING IN

SAUDI ARABIA • ACE IN JORDAN: AIMING

FOR THE MOON WITHNEIL ARMSTRONG •

TECHNOLOGY SAVES A LIFE IN SUDAN

ROCKING ACROSS A CONTINENT:

AFRICA REBRANDSENTERING THE

KINGDOM: LAUNCHING IN SAUDI ARABIA •

ACE IN JORDAN: AIMING FOR THE MOON WITHNEIL ARMSTRONG •

TECHNOLOGY SAVES A LIFE IN SUDAN

3 CHAOS NOVEMBER 2008

At the end of October, former astronautNeil Armstrong took Zain’s bi-annual ACEmanagement meeting for a trip to the

moon nearly 40 years after he stepped on itssurface in what was, and still is, mankind’s mostdaring adventure. The inspirational speech hegave will act as a catalyst to motivate all of us tobe brave and take risks in our personal andbusiness dealings.

This is what has taken Zain to where it is today. Itallows us to succeed in our daring acquisitions,operate in challenging markets and propel us to beamong the world’s top 10 globaltelecommunications companies by 2011.

Back on Earth, the last few months have been themost challenging and rewarding in Zain’s history. Ilook back on them with amazement and gratitude.Today, after our African brothers and sisterssuccessfully undertook the challenge in rebrandingthe beloved Celtel to Zain on August 1, we areunited as one brand on two continents. We alreadyfeel the impact, having exceeded all expectations,much to the delight of all our stakeholders. Thissuccess has been achieved by the dedication anddetermination of all the 10,000 fantastic people thatare the beating heart of Zain Africa.

We made history with our simultaneouscelebrations across our 14 African markets,attended by over 100,000 people and linked bylive satellite. Africa had never seen anything likeit. But it was more than just a first for Africa; theevent celebrated all that is great about Africaand all that is great about Zain.

This launch also coincided with the expansion ofour groundbreaking African ‘One Network’ andthe linking of that service to our Middle Eastmarkets, making it not only the world’s first

borderless mobile network but also the world'sfirst inter-continental borderless network,available to 500 million people stretching fromFreetown in Sierra Leone to Manama inBahrain, an area larger than the USA.

Despite the world’s financial difficulties, Zainsuccessfully raised $4.5 billion through acapital increase to which over 99% of allshareholders subscribed. The amount, whichwill provide the company with the liquiditynecessary to achieve our 2011 ACE targets,was unprecedented. It is a unanimous vote ofconfidence by our shareholders in ourmanagement team, our performance to dateand our expansion strategy.

Finally, I must give a special mention to ourteam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, wherewe successfully launched services at the end ofAugust. Within a short period of two months,and notwithstanding fierce competition, theyhave already welcomed more than 1.2 millioncustomers to the Zain family. It is thebeginning of an exciting venture in this equallyexciting country.

Mahatma Gandhi said: “The future depends onwhat we do in the present.” Our ‘present’policy at Zain is taking calculated risks,choosing unconventional solutions, coming upwith better ideas, testing them and working asone. All are necessary ingredients for acompany to succeed in today’s world.

Why walk when you can fly?

Happy reading!

Dr Saad Al BarrakCEO-Zain

Shoot for the moon. Even ifyou miss, you will land amongthe stars

LETTER FROM THE CEO


Letter from the CEO

REACHING THE TOPMishal KanooBusiness mastermindZaha Hadid Architect of geniusChinua AchebeAfrican literary noble laureatePamela JelimoOlympic Champion

MY CITYRiyadh: Queen of the desertA profile of one of the mostvibrant Arab cities of our time

REAL LIVESMyths, kings and magicThe Ashanti, Ghana’s largesttribe, has a long, proud tradition

TALKING TELECOMThe chaos principlePart 2 of a dialogue with Dr. Saad Al-Barrak on his style of management

CORPORATE SPIRITLiving the dreamZain KSA’s CEO talks about thechallenges of setting up a networkin the Kingdom

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Zain Sudan saves a lifeHow a young man emerged from atragic plane crash with Zain’s help

A drop of happinessZain’s creativity captures the publicimagination

Against all oddsThe amazing story of how the ZainBasketball Team defied the doubters

Backing African talentZain co-sponsors the preeminentaward in African journalism

Driving to successZain has lessons to learn and to teach

‘One network’ honoredZain wins prize for network infrastruc-ture innovation

Dr Saad Al Barrak wins awardsZain CEO wins hatrick of prizes andranks 29th most influential telecomexecutive

When the sword is mightierthan the pen The inspiring story of the fencing AlAyoub sisters from Kuwait who wenton to become champions

Texting against AIDSZain uses SMS messages to promoteHIV education

Investing in the futureZain Sierra Leone helps mothers andtraders with worthy initiatives

Going, going, gone!mtc touch raises $2.5 million byauctioning prestige phone numbers

ACE in the holeZain executives meet at the DeadSea to discuss 2011 goals. First manon the moon, Neil Armstrong givesinspirational speech and we hearfrom a girl called Zain

CONTENTS


Contributors:Lana Captan, Carl Gibeilly,Mathias Klein, AnneRenahan, Thomas Schellen,Norbert Schiller

Photography:Norbert Schiller private collection, Focus Mideast,Zain Group, Reuters

Editing:Vinehouse Media

Color Separation and Printing: www.raidy.com

Produced by: Zain Group Communicationand Investor RelationsDepartment in collabora-tion with Vinehouse Media

P.O. Box 22244 Safat, 13083 KuwaitTel.: +965 464 4444 www.zain.com [email protected]

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SPECIAL SECTION:REBRANDINGAFRICA14 reason to raise the roofZain hosts the biggest party in Africa

Burkino FasoTalent time ChadZain and the Zo gangCongo BrazzavileFunk fusionDemocratic of CongoPapa Wemba rocks!KenyaThe mother shipGabonRaising the roofMadagascarBodo shakes the partyMalawiSpreading the wordNigerAn explosive eveningNigeriaThe sultans of soundSierra LeoneP-Square’s urban rockTanzaniaSpirit of togethernessUgandaAfrican heartbeatZambiaMama Zambia rules

MOBILE LIFEGoing nowhereRoaming charges will soon be athing of the past argues businesswriter Thomas SchellenMobiles on the move!Phone management and cross bor-der solutions in an ever changingmobile environmentKidz are usMobiles can give parents peaceof mind, even when the childrenare out of sight

Trivia to inspire

writing always seeks to bridge theethical and religious dimensions inbusiness dealings with modernity and progress.

Within that context, Mishal Kanoo hasalways been a strong advocate ofeducation, stressing the need forpeople to take responsibility andcontrol of their lives through learningand training. His guiding philosophy,which he applies equally to hispersonal life and to his company, is afervent belief in honesty and a will tolook ahead for opportunities whilekeeping a respectful eye on the past.


REACHING THE TOP

Mishal Hamed Kanoo is known forhis charm and pit-bull mentality:when he has an idea between

his teeth, say his friends, he might bepleasant about it, but he will never letgo. For the boyish-looking entrepreneurwith his winning smile, the world ofbusiness is a natural fit.

At 39, Mishal Kanoo has establishedhimself as the mastermind behind oneof the largest independent, family-owned, group of companies in theGulf region.

The Kanoo Group, which was formedby Haji Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo inBahrain more than a century ago, hasgrown from its early roots as a tradingand shipping firm to become one ofthe most diversified business ventures,whose regional profile has earned it asuperbrand status.

As the Deputy Chairman of the KanooGroup, Mishal Kanoo has successfullysteered and expanded his organizationto encompass a broad range ofindustries, such as shipping, travel,machinery, oil and gas, power andindustrial projects to exhibition services,courier services, insurance, logistics,specialty chemicals and businesscentres, and art and culture. He wasinstrumental in ensuring that each of the11 businesses that make up the KanooGroup benefited from an individualboard with enough authority to makeexecutive decisions internally, includingjoint ventures with a host of suchinternational partners as Maerskshipping, Norwich Union Insurance andFreightworks, to name a few.

This internal model of autonomouscompanies has proved particularlysuccessful for the company and forMishal Kanoo, whose personal fortunehas been estimated at $1.7 billion,thereby placing him in the top 10 ofthe world’s richest Arab personalities.

But Mishal Kanoo’s interests extendbeyond the corporate world. He openedan art gallery in Dubai, where he livesaimed at promoting Arabian art andculture. His company is a major sponsor

of the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre,a corporate member in EmiratesEnvironmental Group and a partner inthe Dubai Quality Group. Given hisextensive knowledge of global capitaland insight into business life in the Gulfregion, he is frequently called upon tospeak at conferences in the Gulf.

Mishal Kanoo continues to writecolumns in local and regionalpublications – he actually made hisdebut as a columnist in Money Worksmagazine upon graduating with anMBA in finance from the University ofSt. Thomas, Houston, in the US. His

Mishal Kanoo


Hadid has also embarked on moremodest projects, such as the designfor a small building in a small Scottishtown, a half-hour’s train ride awayfrom Edinburgh. Her designs forMaggie’s Cancer Centre in the carpark of the Victoria Hospital in theformer mining town of Kirkcaldy weredone on a pro-bono basis. Small andcompact, the work is classic Zaha

London-based Zaha Hadid, whowas born in Iraq in 1950 andstudied at the American University

of Beirut, is only one of a handful ofsuccessful women in the male-dominated world of internationalarchitecture. Renowned for herperfectionism and demandingbehaviour – she has been called a“diva for the digital age” – she is theonly woman to have receivedarchitecture’s most coveted award, theLaureate Pritzker Prize, which she wonin 2004 for her radical and innovativeapproach to architecture.

A Fellow of the American Institute ofArchitecture and a Commander of theBritish Empire, Zaha Hadid is currentlyworking on more than 50 projectsaround the world, including severalventures in the Middle East – all atvarious stages of design, planning orcompletion. These include the DubaiOpera House and Cultural Centre, theSheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi,office tower blocks in Dubai, as well asa project associated with the BahrainInternational Circuit and a Museum ofContemporary Art, also in Bahrain.

Hugely successful now – aretrospective of her work was held in2006 at the Guggenheim Museum inNew York – Zaha Hadid has often hadto fight to be recognised and not all ofher designs have been realised.Nowhere has this been more the casethan in the UK, where her dramaticallyunconventional architectural style,often described as futuristic andradical, has challenged traditionalthinking within the establishment.

An award-winning design for theCardiff Bay Opera House in Wales, forexample, was rejected in 1994 whenlocal councillors managed to convincethe authorities that her designs werejust too high-brow for local people.

She is famous for her controversialand ground-breaking designs, andhas been credited with defining anarchitectural vernacular that is firmlyfuturistic and distinguished byflowing, sinuous lines. However, Zaha

Hadid, but much less high-profile thansome of her other work.

In fact, her best-known works are usuallyon a much grander scale. They includethe Vitra Fire Station in Germany and theRosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art inCincinnati. She is also working on theLondon Aquatics Centre and the GlasgowMuseum of Transport, also in the UK.

Zaha Hadid


Chinua Achebe The Nigerian novelist and poet,

Chinua Achebe, made headlinesin June 2007 when he beat off

such celebrated writers as Philip Roth,Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan towin the highly coveted Man BookerInternational Prize for fiction.

Launched in 2004 as a spin-off fromBritain’s prestigious Booker Prize, theinternational prize – with a value of$120,000 – is awarded every two yearsto a living author who has publishedfiction in English or whose work hasbeen translated into English.

While Chinua Achebe, 76, is bestknown for his first novel, Things FallApart (1958), A Man of the People(1966) and Anthills of the Savannah

(1987), his body of work encompassesmore than 20 books, includingnovels, short stories, essays andcollections of poetry. His first novel isregarded as a classic of worldliterature, with sales estimated at 10million copies across the world, andhas been translated into more than40 languages. This makes him blackAfrica’s most widely read and mosttranslated writer of all time.

He has been called “the father ofmodern African literature.” But ChinuaAchebe’s writing has a globalresonance, particularly in developingcountries, in that he is forever seekingnew words and innovative forms forthe changing realities and societies ofthe modern world.

He illuminates the path forwriters across the world bydescribing his ownexperience related toAfrican politics, the wayAfrica and Africans aredepicted in the West andthe effects of colonizationon African societies. Infact, he became a writerbecause of his indignationof the distorted portrayalof Africans in the works ofEnglish writers. He isintimately well-versed inhis subject. After a spellwith the NigerianBroadcasting Corporationin Lagos in the early 1950s,Chinua Achebe moved toLondon to studybroadcasting at the BBC.During Nigeria’s civil warfrom 1967 to 1970, Achebetried to publicize the plightof his kinsmen, the Ibopeople of the easternregion, who tried toestablish an independentRepublic of Biafra.

He continues to protest thestate of affairs in his native

country, which has been racked bymilitary rule and dictators since gainingindependence from Britain in 1960; andtrue to his conscience, he turned downNigeria’s second highest honour in 2004,namely, the Commander of the FederalRepublic. But the Man BookerInternational Prize for fiction is only themost recent feather in his cap; ChinuaAchebe has received more than 20honorary doctorates and severalinternational literary prizes.

Currently living in New York andparalyzed from the waist down followinga car accident in 1990, Chinua Achebe isa member of the American Academyand Institute of Arts and Letters, andprofessor of languages and literature atBard College. As one of Africa’s finestliterary voices, he continues to play anintegral part in global literature throughboth his writing and lectures inuniversities across the world.


victory – and the first Kenyan woman towin an Olympic title – she clinched thecoveted IAAF (International Associationof Athletics Federations) GoldenLeague jackpot prize worth $1 million inAugust of this year.

This feat is all the more spectaculargiven that Pamela Jelimo only beganrunning the 800 meters months earlier,in April. As an accomplished sprinter,

Kenya’s teenage sensation,Pamela Jelimo, began running atthe tender age of 13 and has

never looked back. At the Bird’s Neststadium in Beijing, the 18-year-old seta devastating pace to win a stunningvictory in the 800 meter event in oneminute 54.87 seconds, therebyachieving a personal best and theninth-fastest performance ever.Moreover, fast on the heels of that

she had won the African junior 400-metre title in 2007, at the age of 17,with a time of 54.93 seconds and hadset a Kenyan junior record of 24.68seconds in the 200 meters.

But she became the breakout track star ofthe Beijing Games thanks to her coach,who saw her great potential and believedshe could break the tape despite her lackof experience in a longer distance. Born in1989 in Kapsabet, Kenya, Pamela Jelimo isalso quick to acknowledge the pivotal roleplayed by her mother, who gave up herown budding running career when shegot married. In turn, Pamela Jelimo is nowset to inspire the next wave of youngathletes, both in Kenya and beyond.

In Beijing, there seemed to be only oneserious challenger: the Russian athlete,Yelena Soboleva, who had clocked thefastest time of the year at one minuteand 54.85 seconds. But on the eve ofthe Beijing Games, Soboleva and sixother Russian women were suspendedby IAAF and accused of usingsubstitute urine in drug screenings.With Soboleva gone, the Olympic racewas Jelimo’s to win.

She ran with a green left shoe and a redright shoe – sporting her country’s colours– her head was straight, never bobbing,and her open hands sliced straight up anddown as a sprinter’s hands. Beyond thefinish and the first Olympic victory lap fora Kenyan woman, Jelimo held her headhigh as she ran with a Kenyan flag trailingbehind her like a cape.

Given her youth, Jelimo’s career is setto skyrocket further, and many believeshe has a shot at breaking one of theoldest and most controversial worldrecords in athletics: the run by JarmilaKratochvilova of the formerCzechoslovakia in 1983 in 1 min 53.28seconds, which was achieved at theheight of the doping era.

“I’m sure she will break the worldrecord,” says Maria Mutola ofMozambique, the 2000 Olympicchampion who finished fifth in Beijing.“When she’s 21 or 22, maybe. She runsdifferent. A very, very fast first lap.”

Pamela Jelimo


MY CITY

Located 600 meters above sea level ona fertile plateau, in the heart of theArabian Peninsula, it remains a placeof beauty and wonderment.

To fully appreciate Riyadh’s significantplace in Arabian history one must firstunderstand the origins of its name. InArabic the plural of Riyadh is rawdha,

which means gardens, in particular thegreen meadows that form in the desertafter the spring rains. For ages Riyadh,appropriately dubbed “the Queen ofthe Desert,” was a small oasissettlement and a welcome refuge formany a weary traveler who journeyedacross this vast and desolate land.People saw it as beacon for trade and

As the sun’s first rays sweepacross the desert they are metby a shining fortress of modern

skyscrapers rising up out of theArabian sands. Riyadh, the capital ofSaudi Arabia, is one of the mostspectacular and modern cities of ourtime, cautiously blending its traditionalpast with today’s modern world.

Riyadh:Queen of the desertNorbert Schiller profiles one of the mostvibrant Arab cities of our time


commerce. Besides having its ownwater supply, the oasis was covered indate palm trees.

The origins of Riyadh can be traced backto Pre-Islamic times when it was calledHajr and inhabited by the Banu Hanifatribe. Later Hajr became the capital forthe province of Al Yamamah, whosegovernors were responsible for most ofcentral and eastern Arabia during theUmayyad and Abbasid eras. In 866 Al-Yamamah broke away from the AbbasidEmpire, only to fall under the control ofthe Ukhaydhirites, who in turn movedthe capital to the nearby settlement ofAl Kharj. After Hajr lost its position ofbeing the regional capital, it fell intodecline and was divided into manyseparate settlements.

In the 14th century the young Arabexplorer and chronicler Ibn Battuta, setout on a journey from his nativeTangiers, in what is today Morocco,and for the next 30 years traversedoverland across Africa and Asia to asfar away as Beijing. During his journeyhe passed through Hajr on his way toMecca, and described the settlementthere as having “many water canalsand trees.”

The earliest reference to the namechange from Hajr to Riyadh comesfrom a 17th century traveler who madereference to an event that happenedin “Riyadh” in 1590.

In 1737, Deham Ibn Dawwas, whovigorously resisted the expansion of aWahabbist state by the Saud clan, tookcontrol of all of Riyadh settlements andconsolidated them into one town andthen build a wall around it to protectthe town from attack.

In 1744, Muhammad Ibn Saud from thenearby town of Diriyah, determined tocreate an Islamic state, made alliances

with other rulers and then set out toconquer the surrounding areas whichincluded Riyadh. Ibn Dawwas, who ruledRiyadh, formed his own alliances withother clans and for the next 30 years thetwo sides battled it out until 1774, whenIbn Dawwas finally capitulated andsurrendered. Diriyah remained thecapital under Ibn Saud and the period oftime following the war became knownas the first Saudi state.

In 1818, Mohammed Ali of Egypt,working on behalf of the Ottomans,sent a force to Arabia and destroyedthe capital of Diriyah which effectivelyended Saud’s rule and the first Saudi

For ages Riyadh,appropriatelydubbed “theQueen of theDesert,” was asmall oasissettlement and awelcome refugefor many a wearytraveler whojourneyed acrossthis vast anddesolate land


State. In 1823 Turki Ibn Abdullah revivedthe Saudi State and this time madeRiyadh its capital. The second SaudiState lasted until the ladder part of the19th century when it fell to the Saudismain rival, the Al Rashid clan. The AlRashids held on to power until Abdul-Aziz of Ibn Saud finally conquered themin 1902. Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud later wenton to unite the whole Kingdom of SaudiArabia into one country in 1932 andmade Riyadh its capital.

Once the secretive walled city of the19th century, Riyadh began to slowlyopen up after it became the kingdom’scapital city. In 1932, the total area ofRiyadh was 8.5 square kilometers;today the city is more than 1,600square kilometers. In the 1960s thepopulation of Riyadh was 50,000;today the population is nearly 5 millionand growing.

Riyadh up until the 1970s lived in theshadow of the kingdom’s Red Sea portcity of Jeddah. For centuries Jeddahwas the trading center and thegateway into Arabia, particularly forMuslim pilgrims going on Hajj toMecca and Medina. However, with theoil boom of the 1960s and 70s, thebalance of power began shiftingeastwards to Riyadh and to the centers

of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry,Dammam, Dhahran and Kholbar. Revenues from Saudi Arabia’s vast oilwealth were quickly turning Riyadhfrom a sleepy capital to one of themost powerful cities in the world. Tomeet the demands, city plannersworked feverishly to expand the city’sinfrastructure. Expatriate skilled andunskilled workers were brought in fromAfrica, the Arab world and Asia tomeet the demands. Wholeneighborhoods sprang up over night -shopping centers, sporting venues,schools, universities and industrialzones. Riyadh was going through amassive transformation, and unlikemany other cities in the region, the cityplanners put a lot of thought into the“master plan” so as to build a city thatwould not only cater to the here andnow but well into the future.

Most of the high-rises in Riyadh todayare less than 20 years old. Its skyline inthe business and banking districts arefast becoming a showcase for modernarchitectural design. Riyadh boastsone of the best transportationnetworks in the world. A series ofbroad highways connects to all theoutlying areas of the city givingpeople easy and quick access toalmost anywhere in Riyad;

underpasses and flyovers have alsobeen put in place at critical junctionsto ease congestion. To give thecapital a feeling of still being part ofan oasis, many avenues are lined withtrees and date palms, and there arenumerous parks.

As the region continues to develop itsfinancial sector, Riyadh has put itselfinto position to be the leader. The KingAbdullah Financial District (KAFD) willbe the largest and most advancedfinancial center in the region,surpassing the Dubai Financial Center(DFC) and the Bahrain Financial Center(BFC). The site will be spread over anarea of 1.6 million square meters withtotal floor space of 3.3. million squaremeters. It will be the headquarters ofthe Capital Market Authority (CMA), theStock Exchange and the CommodityMarket, as well as other serviceproviders such as accountants, auditors,lawyers, analysts, rating agencies,consultants, and IT providers.

One of the most important attributes ofthe KAFD will be the FinancialAcademy which can take up to 5,000students. The purpose of the academyis to train the current and futuresgeneration in skills needed to getahead in today’s competitive climate.Besides state of the art office space theKAFD will have residential space,sporting and leisure facilities, shoppingareas, open spaces with parks plus40,000 available parking spaces.

A lot has changed since King AbdulAziz Ibn Saud came to power over ahundred years ago. Its main attractionwas that it had its own water source.Even though the wadis (valleys) havelong dried up, the mentality of the cityhas changed little. Riyadh todayremains a very conservative city whichmodernization has failed to change.The people of Riyadh still hold on totheir traditional Islamic values, and forthis reason the city remains a place oftranquility and stability in an oftenturbulent region.

Zain began operating in the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia in August, 2008.


The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hasmade it its mission to develop sixnew cities from scratch within a

generation. The first new city was theKing Abdullah Economic City (KAEC),announced in December 2005, and theKingdom and its investment authority,SAGIA, have promoted the city throughpublic relations efforts and through thesheer size of the $26.5 billion plan.Since then, international media haveused KAEC as a peg to report on thesocial situation and investmentpotential of the Saudi kingdom, whosevast realm is still relatively unknown tomillions of otherwise well informedglobal media consumers.

Besides the KAEC on the central RedSea coast not far from Jeddah, the otherfive locations are at Jazan, further southat the entrance of the Red Sea, Hail, inthe kingdom’s north central region wherePrince Abdul Aziz Economic City is beingbuilt, and Madinah, site of theKnowledge Economic City. Two othercities are to rise, one in the industry-driven Eastern Province and one in thenorth-western province of Tabuk. Thecosts for the new cities, excluding thetwo locations, have been estimated at aninitial, very conservative SAR 260 billion,or $70 billion.

Each city will be an economic and socialcenter with specialization in areas rangingfrom petrochemical manufacturing totransportation and logistics, and as manyas five million people will find their homesand livelihood in the six cities.

As the projects, led by KAEC, have movedfrom initiation and pure planning to theirimplementation phases, the timeestimates and investment numbers arebeing revised and are looking to go up.For KAEC, master developer Emaarannounced that it is on track for deliveringphase one by 2011 – which means that10% of the total city will have beendeveloped. Estimates also say now thatthe flagship of the new Saudi urbanism willbe completed by 2030 and cost probablysomewhere near or above the threshold of$100 billion. For the four cities indevelopment, some conservative costestimates are now talking of $160 billion.

In the Europe during the Middle Ages,cities stood for bourgeois freedoms,powering individuals in their ability towithstand the dominance of feudallords. During later centuries, cityfoundings expressed ideological,political, and cultural concepts andambitions, growing in places as diverseas Novosibirsk and Brasilia.

The economic dimension is shared asacommon priority by all cities, but so arecultural and social axes that defineexistence. The new Saudi cities willattract and invigorate economic activityduring the next 25 years due to theirextensive investment needs, buildingactivities and the generation of wealthopportunities for young Saudi citizens –the latter being one of the main reasonsbehind the entire concept of thekingdom’s economic cities.

At the same time, and on a level that isbeyond the imagination of everyday lifetoday, the new cities will be among thefirst cities designed for the communicationage. If the whole is more than the sum ofits parts, the largest cities would have tobe the most productive places on earth. Inthe past, this was not the case, becausethe cities that grew or were planned forearlier ages had to fall short of therequirements for creating an optimumenvironment for human spirit, mind,relationships and industry.

The vision of building new cities for the21st century involves the possibility ofdeveloping the first cities where thecurrent best practices and lessons fromthe past are implemented. In theireconomic potential, these cities wouldthen represent a laboratory fordeveloping communication andinteraction structures that are beyondeverything we have seen and that willexceed much that we have been able toenvision or imagine, just as the 20thcentury defied the expectations ofthinkers in preceding eras.

The cities that lead the globalknowledge economy age and evolutionof wiser societies will incorporatecommunication as their backbone – andhere, very realistically, a greaterincentive for a telecommunicationscompany with the vision of globalleadership cannot be imagined.

Cities in the sandThe creation new financial hubs in KSA


REAL LIVES

The history of the Ashanti – orAsante – is rich with myths, kingsand the magical properties of

gold, which still plays a central role inthe traditions and life of Ghana’slargest tribe.

According to one Ashanti myth datingback to the 17th century, a wise priestcalled the tribe together in an effort tounite the nation some 300 years ago.Raising his eyes up to the sky, hecommanded a symbol from it thatwould somehow unite the Ashantiforever; and amid heavy thunder andgreat darkness, it came. A golden stool– low and deep-seated, almost like asaddle with sturdy legs – appeared,

floating down from the heavens to landon the lap of the priest. Even now, thatstool represents the essence of Ashantiunity and is a spiritual link to every kingwho has passed.

More than legend, this myth hasbecome enshrined as fact, with thepower of all Ashanti chiefs resting inthe possession of a stool. It is theequivalent of a throne and theultimate power of the tribal king, theAsantehene, bound up in theownership of the more powerfulGolden Stool, which is secreted awayin the king’s palace, and is said to beso sacred it has never even touchedthe ground. Successive generations of

Asantehenes have taken power in aceremony described as ascending tothe Golden Stool.

The current Ashanti king, OtumfuoOsei Tutu II, was enstooled in such aceremony in 1999. Heralded by theblowing of hollowed out elephanttusks, mmenson, he arrived dressed inbatakarikese, a talisman-studded war-dress, complete with fabulous goldornamentation as worn by previousgenerations of battle-bound kings.Carried aloft in a palanquin with abundle of leaves sticking out of hismouth to signify humility, he wascheered on by handkerchief-wavingcrowds and surrounded by courtiers

Myths, kings and magicThe Ashanti, Ghana’s largest tribe, has along and proud tradition


The Ashanti went from being a tributarystate of Denkyira, the foremost Akanpower during the 16th century, to aconfederation of states and ultimately acentralized and hierarchical kingdom

with blackened faces who struckexecutioners’ swords and chanted warsongs. Drummers beat out ancientrhythms on fontonfrom and barrel-shaped atumpan talking drums, whileantique muskets boomed in thebackground. Such traditions remainimportant to the Ashanti, who are partof the Akan nation that dominatedgold mining and trade in the region inprevious centuries, and whose rootsdate back to the 1200s. The Ashantinow number about 7 million people,some 30% of Ghana’s population, andspeak Asante, or Twi, which is very richin proverbs, the use of which is seen asa sign of wisdom. The president ofGhana, John Kufuor, is Ashanti.

Occupying a large swathe of fertile landin the south-central part of the countryabout 300 km from the coast, the Ashantialso inhabit adjacent areas of Togo andCote d’Ivoire. The area is denselyforested and mountainous in parts, andthe Ashanti capital Kumasi – once thecentre of the great Asante kingdom thatwas established in the 1670s by KingOsei Tutu – was the geographic meetingpoint of two powerful trading systems,the Sudanic empires to the north acrossthe Sahara and the gold-mining Kwamanforest region, which traded south withEuropeans.

The Ashanti went from being atributary state of Denkyira, theforemost Akan power during the 16thcentury, to a confederation of statesand ultimately a centralized andhierarchical kingdom.

Known as powerful warriors, the Ashantiwere one of few African peoplescapable of resisting Europeancolonizers, and they aligned themselveswith the Dutch in an attempt to limitBritish influence in their region. Despitefour wars with the British, foughtbetween 1823 and 1896, the Ashantikingdom was incorporated into Britain’sGold Coast colony. Relations betweenthe British and the Ashanti graduallyimproved, and in 1926 the Asantehenewas given ceremonial control overKumasi and full control over his kingdomin 1935. Even after British rule came to

Ghana’s President John Kufuor is Ashanti


an end in 1957, Ghana’s constitutionmade provision for traditional rulers likethe Asantehene.

The male Asantehene may be theultimate symbol of power, but for theAshanti, the woman also has a specialimportance. One of only a handful ofmatrilineal societies in western Africa,lines of descent, inheritance, landrights, property and titles are tracedthrough the mother, and women tendto dominate the market place.

At the same time men really holdultimate power in most matters, andwhile children are deemed to receivethe vital qualities of flesh and blood,mogya, from the mother, according totradition they inherit the father’s soulor spirit, ntoro, and are also thought toreflect his personality. Men also rulethe roost at home: the Ashanti

All rituals, mundane or not, however,require some form of decoration, andthe Ashanti have built up a reputationas expert artisans for their skilledironwork, pottery, gold and woodcraft,which rivals figurines from Europe andthe Americas, and most well known,for weaving the dazzling bright andmulti-colored kente cloth

traditionally live in an extended family,in homes set around a courtyard, andit is the oldest brother who is usuallythe head of the household and mustbe obeyed by everyone.

As the legend of the golden stool shows,the Ashanti’s long history is imbued withthe importance of the spiritual and thesense that all kinds of parallel lives co-exist with the human one. They believe

Kente-clad Ashanti with US President George W. Bush


that the universe is peopled with all sortsof spirits, the greatest of which is Nyame,the supreme one or sky god, whocreated and heads a pantheon of godsand spirits.

In fact, the Ashanti believe that themingling of the male spirit, krah, withfemale blood during intercourse is acatalyst for conception. They alsobelieve that during the first eight daysof its life, a baby is a ghost child whocan be snatched back out of life by itsghost mother in the spirit world,desperate to get her child back. If thechild lives, the family holds a ceremonyto affirm that the child has successfullybridged the river between ghost andhuman existence and has finallybecome a true human child.

Linked to these beliefs is theimportance of ancestors, who are themotivators for many ceremonies. As a

result, funerals are huge, costly events,and can last for several days; everyonein a particular village is expected toattend. These days most Ashanti areProtestant Christians.

In contrast to funerals, marriage is notseen as a particularly important ritualfor the Ashanti, who are polygynous.And while girls tend to get betrothed– usually to a cousin – immediatelyafter a puberty ceremony, this ismerely because this is considered thenext step in life rather than asignificant event.

All rituals, mundane or not, however,require some form of decoration, andthe Ashanti have built up a reputationas expert artisans for their skilledironwork, pottery, gold and woodcraft,which rivals figurines from Europe andthe Americas, and most well known forweaving the dazzling bright and multi-

colored kente cloth – from kenten,meaning basket – once a royal andsacred cloth worn only duringimportant ceremonies by members ofthe royal family but now sowidespread that it has become one ofthe best known African textiles.

While ritual, ceremony and myth remainimportant to the Ashanti, the notion ofthe tribe is less significant now than itwas 100 years ago, and most Ashantitend to think of themselves in a nationalrather than a tribal context. These daysbeing Ashanti is significant for linguisticand cultural reasons, rather than interms of identity.

At the same time, a sense of awe andveneration for the past is still verymuch a part of Ashanti life, meaningthat the old myths and their particularpoetry survive and are still relevantafter all these years.

King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II with Queen Beatrice of the Neatherlands


TALKING TELECOM

The chaos principle There has been great interest in learning more about Zain Group’smanagement culture. Zain Group CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak recentlyspoke to consultants of the global management consulting firm,McKinsey & Co, on the challenges and methods in management for aglobal communications company. In the second of a two-part interview(see CBD #4 for Part I), Chaos by Design quizzed him on the essentialsof the managerial style used in leading Zain Group on its path ofglobal success

What is your approach in managing the simultaneousgrowth in diversity and in size? We have to operationalize synergies as we go into morecountries and more companies, some of which are betterthan us. All the time, we have to think of ‘operationalizing’synergies between these countries and build a learningcapability – i.e. when we capture knowledge we want it tostay, and we want it to spread. We also want the operationson the ground to embrace the vision and uphold our plans,

aspirations, culture and be in the forefront to take it forwardand get out of this historical fight between head and tail,between the group and country operations. It has been thedownfall of so many multinational corporations.

Was leveraging the group’s diversity the only strategicchallenge?No. You have to balance your financial profitability andgrowth because we are a very conservative company. Our


shareholders are used to receiving hugedividends at the end of each year. Howto keep up profitability while investingheavily into the future of the company –this was a paradoxical and verychallenging combination, but we haveto do both at the same time.

What about technological challenges?For us action is a surer way to the futurethan analysis. The main challenge for usis not managing the hard side, thetechnology. The real challenge is managing the intangibles;managing the tangibles and the hard side is easy. Theintangibles are the vision, culture, brand knowledge,relationship networks, and values and ethics. As theleadership in the group, our eyes and hearts are focusedon all of these areas and we must make sure that we fulfillthem to their best level of effectiveness. It is not aboutworrying whether we have deployed the network or not.There are people who can take care of these things. Theengineers in the field do this. The intangibles are managedby what we call the three Cs: commitment, capacity and,above all, choice.

What makes the three Cs so special?We need to know how to make choices in a verycommunicative and congenial way. We need to know howto garner commitments and build capacities. These are notproducts of machines. They are the result of people talkingto each other, of what we call strategic conversations. Therole of leadership in Zain is to know how to managestrategic conversations. This means you must make surethat all the conversations in your organization, whether inthe alleys and corridors or in the meeting rooms, arestrategic talks that add to your life as a person, as a

The more you engagepeople in passionatedialogue, the more loyaltyyou have and the morequality relationships youhave - not only withpeople in general but alsowith the community thatyou try to serve

community, and as an organization in every direction. If youknow how to manage this huge dialogue in and aroundyour organization, you can go places. As a result of thisstrategy, we have taken our market capitalization from $2.5billion in 2002 to hover around $25 billion today. We haveclose to 56 million customers and operations in 22countries, making it the fourth largest company in theworld in terms of geographic coverage with over 15 millionsquare kilometers covered. A population mass of over 600million people is in our range in the territories where ZainGroup companies are licensed operators.

Managing this sounds like a script for a mission impossibleOur lever in managing this change and transforming thecompany is purely a case of managing the passion of themost diversified human portfolio. It is a big challenge if youthink about it, but it is the only option to appeal to an Arablike myself, a Bedouin coming from the heart of the desertof Arabia, or to a very sophisticated French gentleman whocomes from Paris. We are proud to have a customer who isa farmer in the Congo and lives 800 kilometers away fromthe capital and someone who lives in Lebanon where allkinds of intricacies mingle together to produce the bestkind of population.


The only way to appeal to all of these people as humanbeings is through their passion and nothing else. Thereforemanaging passion in a very strategic, very human and veryaspiring way is the major challenge for leading such adiversified group of people. This applies even if you have asingle company; it applies much more if you have thisdiverse group. We have 15,600 people in the group withvery diverse backgrounds, and we operate in economieswhere on one end the GDP per capital is $300 per year andon the other end it is $20,000 to $25,000.

Besides the wide social and economic differences amongthe people you serve, Zain also runs many of its networksin countries that companies from developed markets oftenconsider high-risk. How do you manage this risk of aninternal conflict or regional war? Do you not have to makecontingency planning for a huge loss of business when aconflict breaks out like the 2006 summer war in Lebanon?We are in Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Chad, Niger, Mali,Democratic Republic of Congo – areas that are exposed torisk of conflict. From the perspective of an outside observer,one may wonder how people can operate successfully inthis high-risk environment. However, the equity that isassigned by customers to our services increases in times of

conflict. It becomes much more valuable to our customersto be able to call their families and friends or conduct theirbusiness by using their telephone. The combatants alsooften shy away from harming the networks because theyrely on them for their human needs. Even in the 2006Lebanon conflict, the integrity of our network wasmaintained, and the traffic increased.

Do conflicts then just mean business as usual from amanagement perspective?Not at all. Peace is definitely the most beneficial state forour business. When you take a country in a steady state ofconflict, like Iraq, the cost of our security and of maintainingthe equipment and operating the networks is increasedsignificantly. But in those countries where there is aninherent greater cost of doing business, our customers arewilling to offset the higher cost because the service is worthmore to them. If a country exits a steady state of conflictand returns to peace, we will immediately reduce the costto our customers. In Lebanon, as another example, werebuilt stations after the 2006 conflict that we had noobligation to rebuild under our management contract. Weare not a company that just talks. We are doing things notbecause we want to get attention but because we really

21 CHAOSNOVEMBER 2008

believe that they will prove to our customers that we arepartners, and partners in the long term. Furthermore, weare living proof that when you operate in a disasterenvironment this also gives you an opportunity to show yourvery best and learn how good you can be.

Will this possibly be an edge in managing future challenges?To accomplish our vision of becoming one of the top tenglobal operators, we will have to have a footprint in thedeveloped world and economically advantaged societieswhere competition is certainly fiercer. But I believe we willbe able to take some of our learned experiences andcreate an advantage out of those that we can leverage in aglobal context.

You appeal to people through fundamental sharedhuman passions, and this relates to choices and commitments. How do you fulfill the third C ofbuilding capacity?Building capacity is where the ACE – Accelerate,Consolidate and Expand – strategy comes in. ACE is anexecution strategy for building this very sophisticatedapparatus for managing a global market, becoming aleader and joining the ranks of the top ten. Accelerate

means we take advantage of accelerating the growth in veryhigh-growth areas especially in Africa and the Middle East.Consolidate means we want to capture group-widesynergies and also consolidate financially. Expansion in 2007critically targeted several areas, two of the largest marketsin the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iraq which togetherhave almost 50 million inhabitants, as well as Nigeria, whichhas a population of 180 million.

This is an interesting point. Zain has added new marketsand grown to a scope where it is not possible topinpoint a single home market. Other global companieshave started from a large home base and integratednew markets but were always stuck with a certainelement of origin that dominated their identity. For Zainas group and as brand, it seems that you have newlydefined yourself as a global company and have nochoice but to be global.Don’t forget that Kuwait is a large country. Together withChina, we are 1.3 billion people. I always say that we take alot of pride that our country is in this part of the world andour success shows that we have other things to export thanoil and some dysfunctionalities. But it is an amazing aspectof our culture at Zain that each time we integrate somethingnew, it only helps strengthen the brand because we havethe ability to absorb.

So you have an actual advantage where other multinationalcompanies struggle because of the overpowering influenceof their engrained corporate pedigree? Right. That there is no pedigree which we have to align withor transform something into means we have only theexercise of absorption and improvement of the whole. Thelack of pedigree could be both a strength and a weakness,but we are leveraging all of the strengths from it so ourculture becomes accessible to everyone. This is our industryand our model. Our brand ignites passion inside andoutside the organization. The more you engage people inpassionate dialogue, the more loyalty you have and themore quality relationships you have - not only with people ingeneral but also with the community that you try to serve.

If a country exits a steady state of conflict andreturns to peace, we will immediately reducethe cost to our customers. In Lebanon, asanother example, we rebuilt stations after the2006 conflict that we had no obligation torebuild under our management contract. Weare not a company that just talks


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Living the dreamZain KSA’s CEO talks about the challengesof setting up a network in the Kingdon

The start of commercial services on August 26 markedthe third formal milestone in the creation of ZainGroup’s network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after

the acquisition of the license in March 2007 for $6.1 billionand the new company’s highly-subscribed public listing on22 March 2008.

Zain Group, which expects to have over 60 million customers bythe end of 2008, has very ambitious plans for its Saudi familymember. Growth to three million customers after 12 months ofoperations is part of the plan, and in the long run, the group isconvinced that it can stake a successful claim to one third of thekingdom’s mobile market, offering customers today’s andtomorrow’s standard services.

The Saudi venture is easily one of the more daring expansionmoves in the young story of a group whose steps from aKuwaiti national telecoms provider to an intercontinentalcommunications player have been anything but timid.

Zain has entrusted the role of chief executive officer of its Saudioperation to its former Chief Strategy Officer and Saudinational, Dr. Marwan Alahmadi, who previously taught thegroup’s entrenched competition in Bahrain how to shake intheir boots. As chief operating officer of Zain Bahrain, Dr.Alahmadi coached his team in succeeding as a new entrant in amature market. These efforts were crowned by climbing above40% market share, group insiders point out.

From the very onset of reaching out to Saudi customers,Zain Saudi has taken steps that were unprecedented – butthen imitated quickly by new mobile operators in othercountries – such as offering 50% lifetime discounts on alltheir local and international calls, SMS and data transfers.Offered initially to the first 500,000 new customers, theintroductory package was available until early October andcertainly made a splash in the market where itdemonstrated that Zain Saudi’s growth strategies are freshand customer centric.

Chaos by Design asked Dr. Alahmadi about his vision forZain Saudi Arabia.

How many miles have you traveled in Saudi Arabia sincethe start of 2008?That cannot be counted. I traveled everywhere, from thecities to the desert to the high mountains. Saudi Arabia is a

huge country, and this vastness of the territory makes it sochallenging to cover the country with telecommunicationsservices. However, from day one of our operations, we havebeen providing our services to an area covering 95% of thepopulation.

What does that mean in terms of the number of citieswhere Zain service was available when you launched onAugust 26?In another way of expressing the reach of our service, thecoverage of our own network includes about 43 cities and15 highways that crisscross the kingdom at 4,000 kilometersin length. This serves about 55% of the population. For therest of the coverage area, we use national roaming. Thecustomer who travels from our direct coverage area into aregion where we have no own network will seamlesslycontinue receiving service through national roaming. This iscommon practice among telecommunications carriers invery large countries.


What does a company have to do inorder to reach such a territorialcoverage scope in a country likeSaudi Arabia?Covering 55% of the population is amajor achievement. The population inSaudi is around 27 million, but it isnot only the size of the populationthat matters. Saudi Arabia is a vastcountry and a very difficult terrain. It isvery diverse, from mountainous areaswhere we have erected towers at2,500 meters above sea level, to theseaside cities and the desert. Fifty fivepercent means that we have installedaround 1,400 cell towers in SaudiArabia and expect this to double inthe next few years. By comparison,we cover all of Kuwait with 1,200towers, and in Bahrain, 108 towers do the job.

Can you describe some of the stepping stones forreaching this service level?The readiness of the organization has become higher andhigher since we succeeded in completing the initial publicoffering early this year. A very important step was thefriendly user launch in the summer. In two months of testoperations in July and August, we could measure the entirecustomer experience – meaning all functions, not just thetechnical network performance. Another stepping stone wasthe start of sales for vanity numbers on July 28.

If we look for a moment at the technical aspects, how didZain meet the challenges posed by the climate andenvironmental situation?The active components and the electromechanicalelements in the network have to be prepared for theenvironmental conditions; for example, you have to havemultiple air conditioning units in very hot areas. You needuninterruptible power sources, UBSs and generators. Inopen areas with a lot of wind you have to adjust the celltower structures. If a certain building structure doesn’tgive you the result you want, you have to change thestructure to assure that there is no impact on themicrowave which requires very careful alignments. By theway, this is not a differentiator for us. The network wasimplemented by the same contractors that have done itfor the other two operators.

But you have sought your technical differentiation marks?Yes, we do our own benchmarking for meeting thechallenging conditions. As you know, the regulator has setbenchmarks for network quality that all operators have tomeet. But as we have been doing three benchmarkingprocesses of our own in testing our network quality since thestart of 2008, we have seen ourselves improve from one suchexercise to the other. We have found ourselves to be either atpar with the benchmarks achieved by the better of the twoexisting operators, or even better than the higher of the two.

Was the benchmarking done in-house?It was done with an independent organization that did tracktests, sometimes even including tests in enclosed areaswhere the testers would carry the equipment on their backto do these precise tests indoors. During those tests, thesystem makes a call every two minutes, using three SIMcards. We gather all this information and analyze it, and as Isaid, we have gone from one level of quality to a higherlevel to the point where our single cells are either equal tothe best in certain areas or better than the best.

How many man hours did you invest in testing thenetwork overall?This is very difficult to estimate. We cannot quantify the numberof man hours that have gone into testing the network becauseour testing is a continuous and very dynamic process.Benchmarking is a pure engineering task, and they show ustheir results. However, the entire team of Zain Saudi has beeninvolved in testing the network and giving feedback to improveit. From every trainee in the customer call center to Zainexecutives on our travels across the country, everyone has beentesting the network performance. Even the CEO of Zain GroupDr. Saad Al Barrak, would use his visits to test the network.

This sounds as if you made your own job more difficultthan it could have been.It is very possible that we could have built a network that would

AT A GLANCE: ZAIN KSA (as of 30/09/2008)Date: Operations commenced on August 26, 2008Customers: 966,000Coverage: 43 cities, 15 highways, 4,000 km, 95% of thepopulationNetwork: 1,400 cell towers, plus national roamingGrowth: Unlimited!

Carrying out charitable work during religious occasions


have covered only five cities and provided service everywhereelse through national roaming. The amount of requiredresources would have been far lower if we had settled for lesscoverage and less quality. We could have launched muchearlier. But even in the bid for the license, we committedourselves to that high level of coverage and quality. The onlyway to control the quality is to have your own network.

From Zain’s announcements made earlier in 2007 on theexpected start of the Saudi operation it is clear that therewere delays in the project. Can you address the reasonsfor these delays?There were several weighty factors. One was theinterconnection with the other two operators. We achievedthis [interconnection] with one of the two early in the year;with the other one it took us until June.

Was this a technical issue? It was a negotiated commercial agreement under thesupervision of the regulator and unfortunately, with oneoperator it did initially not go as smoothly as it should have.The other reason was our insistence on having the highquality of the network that we installed. We also made it apriority to be in full compliance with all requirements fortelecommunications operators from day one, includinginformation requirements on the identity of subscribers. Wecould have compromised on such points, but we took thetime to implement them for all our sales and with all agents.By being more compliant, we offer more comfort, and weare today ahead of the curve of compliance with regulationsthat all operators have to follow.

Was the Saudi rollout the first time that Zain built a newnetwork in a mature market?No. Out of the 22 countries in Zain’s portfolio, we had onemarket in Tanzania where we were the fourth operator whenwe entered and in Bahrain we entered a mature marketwhich at the time had 100% mobile coverage. However, themarket’s maturity in Saudi Arabia is high not only in

penetration levels but also in the complexity of services. Weare really in a market where almost every imaginable serviceis already being offered. It is very tough to compete wherethe bar of service quality and diversity is set high. At thesame time, the market is extremely rewarding. Theestimation is that the mobile communications market inSaudi Arabia will grow 140% in value in the next four years.And broadband internet is only at 8% now. The window forexpansion is wide open.

Would that mean that you also look at offering more thanmobile services in Saudi Arabia?We would look at mobile and at wireless services; we haveno plans to get into terrestrial services, at least in themedium term. Combining mobility with access toinformation is another synergetic level of improvement ofproductivity. Mobility and high-speed access to informationis one of the magic combinations to increase theproductivity of the individual and the economy as a whole.

What will be your main focal points on value-addedservices, and where do you see your comparative edge?I think that the small share of such services in the overallaverage revenues per user shows that this area is not yetfully developed in the KSA. We are ensuring that weprovide our users with the flexibility and the convenience ofcustomizing their portfolio of value-added services ratherthan offering a one-size-fits-all package. That will, in myopinion, already be a great differentiation in the market.

You have gathered information and user experiencefeedback during the summer after you gave service tofriendly users. How much feedback did you receive?We got tremendous feedback with almost 3 million callslogged in two months by almost 9,000 friendly users. Wedesigned the feature so that feedback was rewarded and so wegot a lot of feedback, improvements and suggestions. Theadvantages of our friendly user launch were first that we couldtest the processes and services and channels and secondly that

Dr Marwan Alahmadi and senior management at the launch of Zain Saudi Arabia on August 26, 2008. One month later, the operation had welcomed 1m customers


it was a live experience of on-the-job training for our teams.Thirdly, it was a way of gauging the market. We did a survey inwhich we found that almost 90% of the people who were giventhis service said they would continue with Zain Saudi. That inmy opinion, is a high acceptance rate.

What are your customer targets?We said we expect our fair market share, and in our owndefinition this means one third of the market. We areconfident that we can reach this market share of 33% overthe long term. We have to be realistic, so we aim at five toseven years. Based on structural elements and the marketitself we see this as realistic.

How many customers do you expect to have by the end of 2008?We are expecting at least two million.

This means adding well over 500,000 customers eachmonth until the end of the year. Do you expect the samespeed of growth for 2009?To be frank, these are preliminary estimates, and I have toadmit that they are very aggressive. We have set ourestimates and expectations very high and will adjust as we go.

What are the revenue potentials that you see in the Saudimarket, for instance in terms of monthly average revenueper user, or ARPU?The estimates are currently that ARPU for prepaid mobileusers in Saudi Arabia is around $20 to $25 (per month) and$30 to $35 for postpaid accounts. We are definitely aiminghigher than that, for several reasons. The first is the OneNetwork, our borderless service. We expect that foreignersliving in Saudi Arabia as expatriate employees will use the‘One Network’ in significant numbers, especially as thenetwork will expand. The ‘One Network’ will be attractive toexpatriates, and at the same time it will reduce ourcustomer acquisition costs, increase utilization and reduce

churn, or the loss of customers. If you minimize churn by 10%only, you double your profitability within eight years.

But you will not focus on price in competing for newcustomers?That is right. We will focus on quality and customer satisfaction,however, initially we will have special promotions.

You undertook a massive effort and investment for enteringthis market. In one sentence, what is the importance ofSaudi Arabia for Zain? Imagine a country where international minutes alone reachalmost 1 billion minutes a month. If you compare this to the restof the GCC or even the rest of Zain operations, nowhere will youreach that number. The size of the business makes Saudi Arabiathe focal point of activities in years to come for the whole group.

Given Zain’s overall customer base, the Saudi customers willperhaps be 1.5% at the end of this year and 2% of groupcustomers y the end of next year. How does that make youfeel?The value share of Saudi Arabia is enormous and growing,just taking the examples of mobile internet and the impact ofthe six economic cities. The company can easily be acompany with $4 billion in revenues within ten years, perhapsearlier. If we do not include Kuwait, Saudi Arabia is clearly thebest prospect for value creation among all countries whereZain is active. Risk factors in Saudi Arabia are way lower andthe potential is way higher.

Do you expect young Saudis to use value-added mobileservices at a lower or higher rate in future? The main influence on those born after 1980 is the ITrevolution. In every middle-income household in Saudi Arabiayou find computer and internet connectivity, and you will findat least three high-end gaming devices. These kids will notsettle for voice and SMS. Mobile internet is a worldwidetrend but I expect it to be stronger in Saudi.

The main influenceon those born after1980 is the ITrevolution. In everymiddle-incomehousehold in SaudiArabia you findcomputer andinternet connectivity


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Zain Sudan saves livesOn Friday, June 27, 2008, an Antonov 12 cargo plane crashed in southern Sudan, killing seven of theeight crew members. The only survivor was Mohamed Hamza, a young air operations officer. How theCivil Aviation Authorities managed to save his life shows how Zain’s mobile culture has succeeded inembedding itself in the community. For if it hadn’t been for Zain, Mohamed would have surely perishedin the jungle

Mohamed Hamza, whofrequently made the cargoflight from Khartoum to the

southern Sudanese capital of Juba,was unusually apprehensive on thatfateful Friday when the Ukrainiantwin-engined plane took off at 06:50.Roughly 30 miles south of Khartoum,the weather abruptly deteriorateddue to a thunderstorm, and the pilotrequested a lower flight level. But

suddenly the cockpit dimmed, and Mohamed could see thelightning “literally bombarding the dark cabin.” Secondslater he lost consciousness due to a drop in cabin pressureand oxygen levels.

The Antonov had lost hydraulic pressure and power due toa direct lightening hit. The plane rapidly spiraled downtowards a thick jungle in the Upper Nile State in southernSudan. The impact was so severe that Mohamed wasthrown clear from the plane. Sadly the seven crew membersperished at once in the burning wreckage.

When Mohamed came-to, he found himself lying in the middle of a reptile-infested jungle with a broken leg. However, next to him there was the pilot’s suitcase.He instinctively opened the bag hoping to find a sharpinstrument to help him in tearing off his jacket to easebreathing. As well as a broken leg, he was suffering from asphyxiation due to the fumes and smoke. WhatMohamed found instead was a mobile phone. Heimmediately switched it on; the Zain logo appeared on the screen, and Mohamed called his father, a manager in the company that owned the doomed plane.

At around 09:00 that Friday, Salih Hamza did not receivethe landing notification he was waiting for. Nervousnessturned to panic as he contacted the airport tower, only toreceive grim news. He was busy trying to contact the civilaviation and the civil defense authorities when he got acall from an unregistered number. Hamza said that he wasreluctant to answer that call as he was preoccupied by thefate of his son and the plane. But answer he did, only tohear Mohamed’s weak voice.


The father contacted Zain-Sudan. He learned that it wasthe only mobile telecomprovider with coverage in thatarea and with a LocationPositioning Service. He wasprovided with his son’s exactcoordinates in Upper Nile Statein south Sudan

Immediately, search helicopters were mobilized from the statecapital of Malkal and an oil field in the adjacent Unity State.Mohamed was found with a broken leg in a swamp-infestedarea of the huge Al Zarzor jungle (north of Malakal), at around16:30 that Friday.

Mohamed’s worst fears were the hyenas that usually roamthe jungle after dark, as Mohamed was not in a positionto defend himself or even fend off the wild predators.Mohamed’s arrival at Khartoum Airport, safe and happy,was a milestone in the history of rescue and mobiletelecommunications. And it was all thanks to Zain.

Hamza says that the surprise was too much to comprehend. Hewas overjoyed that his son was alive but distraught at the newsthat the crew had died and the plane was lost. He contactedthe civil aviation authorities to inform them of the news and wasdismayed to learn that means of locating the wreckage and theonly survivor were extremely poor and almost nonexistent.Hamza was then inspired to contact Zain-Sudan.

He learned that it was the only mobile telecom providerwith coverage in that area and with capabilities of LocationPositioning Service. Hamza was provided with his son’sexact coordinates in Upper Nile State in south Sudan.

The plane in which Mohamed Hamza was travelling was an Antonov 12, similar to thisaircraft that crash-landed in central Africa in 2006


CORPORATE SPIRIT

A drop of happiness Zain’s advertising and branding team explainshow creativity captured the public imagination

Creativity and big budgets are available in all bigcompanies, but they are worth nothing without the rarecombination of trust and fun. At Zain, our campaigns

are executed after a thorough study of both consumers’insights and our insights of what consumers want.

A vivid example was the Blind Love ad, which tells the storyof a visually impaired man who sees his partner as the mostbeautiful woman in the world. Part of loving this concept ishow aligned it is with the Zain brand, inviting people to findbeauty in what they see. But our biggest hits to date mustsurely be our Qattoura and Ramadan ads.

RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD Right after the Blind Love, we started living through theheadlines of every news medium by highlighting theshortage of water in the region. As part of its CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) efforts in contributing to ourpromise of creating “A wonderful world,” Zain wanted toraise awareness of this issue through an engaging andentertaining TV commercial that was also a call for action.Qattoura is a clip that follows the long journey of a waterdroplet until it fulfills its duty and our needs.

Everything about Qattoura was unexpected. It was originally a4-minute videoclip that was ‘soft’ launched on a couple of

channels with no feedback. When Zain ran out of ads, it decidedto cut it to a one-minute clip to fill in the media space. To this day,the company celebrates the decision that took Zain to a wholenew level, one that brought it closer to people’s hearts.

The TV commercial went on air on February 28th and is stillrunning on several regional and local TV stations in thecountries in which Zain operates. Now people who know Zainsing the Qattoura song. The ad is a vivid example of what Zainstands for: the freedom to explore new concepts, to trustintuition, to be different, creative and fun, and most of all tobe sincere, responsible and close to our consumers.

HOLIDAY SPIRIT“Wow! His voice is wow. God bless him. Zain’s ads are reallygreat and creative, all of them. Keep up the good work andthanks for posting it!”“It’s my favorite commercial. I was searching for it. I swearsometimes I kept waiting for it on MBC.”“Thanks Zain. I have become a true fan now. It’s a great clip.” “Very nice! A company that touches our everyday lives.”

These are just a few of the comments people posted on YouTubeafter watching Zain’s Ramadan ad. It featured a ten-year-old boy, abeautiful song, a touching story and a warm feeling, all factors thatcontributed to the commercial’s huge success.

Dear Zain,I just finished watching you newad on MBC 1. I nominate you for“Most Admirable Company in theMiddle East” award. Wishing youall the best in your work.PS: keep up the good social andeducational work in thecommunity.DR. SAMED AL ABSI - Sana'a, Yemen

In the beginning, they wereinspired to change our world.Their strength, their skills, theirsweat, all streamlined and distilledinto one concept: us. We'vebecome beautiful! Wow! What awonderful world!WALE ALABI - Ibadan, Nigeria


Hammoudi, the little boy who decided to help a poorcandy shop owner bring in more customers through asong about mercy and helping others, won the people’schoice award. It was broadcast for two weeks, and, just asit was about to be dropped, public outrage demanded itbe returned to the screens. The viewers wantedHammoudi’s greeting instead of promotions for our latest services.

Like Zain’s ‘One Network,’ no matter how different peopleare, they all enjoy one sun, breathe one air, touch onewater, communicate through one network and enjoy agood TV commercial. That is Zain’s commitment: to bringgood times through its communications.

Zain is grateful for the freedom to explore new conceptsand for trusting its intuition in the research it haspainstakingly carried out. It is also grateful for theseconds its viewers spare watching its commercials, fortheir approval and support, and most of all, for always,always expecting more. This is why Zain is different.

Dear Zain,I would like to thank Zain’s media office forits educational ads. I really enjoy seeingmy child singing and learning goodmanners from your ad. I wish all success toyour company.GHAIDA SALMAN - Bahrain

In fact, in the first week of its launch, the Ramadancommercial had made it into hundreds of blogs withthousands of positive posts. One school even addedHamoudi’s song as part of its curriculum. People got our message: we greet viewers instead of selling them a product.

How was the success measured? More than 2,000 blog postswith positive comments could be one answer, but to Zain, itwas the goose bumps its viewers experienced and the tearsshed that were the real indicator of acceptance and success.

Ramadan is the final exam season for every advertiser, thehighest benchmark, and therefore, not surprisingly, mostcommercials fail. It is the season where TV viewership is atits peak, when people watch TV to pass time until theybreak their fast. Later, family gatherings start in front of their favorite programs.

This year, Zain dominated the TV arena with theecommercials, each with its own distinctive flavor.


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Against all oddsThe amazing story of theZain Basketball Team andhow it defied the doubters

In early 2002, Dr Nasouh Kadri was tasked by the CEO ofZain Jordan (then Fastlink) to create and head a Socialand Community Affairs department. The Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) culture within the company andthe region had not yet properly been established and sothe idea of creating a basketball team came up proposedas a means of interacting with the community and, at thesame time, promoting the company name both in Jordanand across the region. It was a bold move In the late 70sand early 80s Jordan basketball had dominated theregion, but by the end of the decade standards haddeclined to pitiful levels and Jordanian basketball all butvanished from the regional radar.

This did not deter Dr Kadri. In June 2002, that the Zain theSport Club (with the focus mainly on basketball) was

established and registered at the Jordanian Ministry ofYouth. One month later, in a concerted bid to restore theprestige of Jordanian basketball, the Zain Basketball Team,part of the Zain Sports Club, was formed and registeredwith the Jordanian Basketball Federation.

At its first press conference, the club managementannounced that the team would win all localchampionships. It went on to promise that in the club’ssecond year it would aim for either first or second place inthe Arab and Asian club championships. And if that werenot enough, the club announced that in its third year itwould win the Asian championship.

Looking back it is easy to see how these predictions weredismissed as empty boasts. The objectives were seemed


impossible, but the ridicule and the sarcasm merely servedas an incentive to the management of the club’s variousteams to work hard and diligently fulfill these promises

In 2003, his Royal Highness Prince Hamzah Bin Al- Hussein,the honorary President of the Jordan Basketball Federation,declared that the game could go professional, a decisionthat was in line with the blueprint for success that had beendrawn up by the club from the outset. It was a plan thatwould apply Zain’s own policies, philosophy andmanagement culture to the running of the club, infusing aproper system of human resources, PR and marketing.

The Jordanian Basketball Federation along with almost allregional and international basketball federations, allows each

team to have 10 local players as well as two or three foreignplayers. The club knew it had to compete against local andregional teams that had 30 to 50 years of experience andwere ready to vigorously defend their titles. The club neededa plan and strategy to restore the balance of power.

The Zain Sports Club’s management searched for professionaland semi-professional basketball players around the worldwho were either of Jordanian origin or who were eligible for aJordanian passport and citizenship. A few high-caliber players,such as Sam Daghlas and Enver Shwabzooqah, were foundplaying college basketball in the USA. Dubbed the “MigrantBirds,” they have been playing for Zain since 2003 and areconsidered among the top regional basketball players.

Daghlas was born in Zarqa, Jordan, but his family emigrated tothe US when he was seven. Sam is the only Arab player froman Arab team to play in the Lakers NBA Summer Camp. EnverShwabzooqah is a Sharkasian Jordanian who was living inLaguna Beach, California, where his father was a prominentcontract lawyer who emigrated from Jordan to the US withEnver’s grandparents when he was just six years old. Enver wasliving comfortably in Laguna Beach with his parents but choseto live in Jordan and play basketball for Zain. During his firstyear, Enver was the best position three man and three-pointshooter in the Arab World. During the 2nd and 3rd years he wasthe best position three man and three-point shooter in Asia.

Since the club’s inception, the Zain Sports Club’s managementhas recognized the importance of developing youth groups.The importance of this was twofold: firstly to have a continuoussupply of talent for the firstt team and secondly to teach thekids the concepts of teamwork, integrity, goal setting,


endurance and resolve, all of which are instrumental tools inachieving success in life. There are now over 120 kidsregistered at Zain’s mini basketball school, many of whom arechildren of the employees of Zain Jordan.

The team received regional recognition during its first yearwhen it participated and won the Sharjah Internationaltournament. Playing against strong competition from Egyptand Syria, the team showed the region that Jordanianbasketball is alive and well. The team is now continuouslyinvited to play in high-level regional and internationaltournaments and competitions. Good deeds: CSR is fundamental in fostering community relations

The Zain Sports Club’smanagement searched forprofessional and semi-professional players aroundthe world who were eitherof Jordanian origin oreligible for a Jordanianpassport and citizenship


With hard work, the “impossible” promises made by themanagement of the Zain Sports Club at that first pressconference were kept. During the first year the team won allnational and local championships; in the second, it won all thelocal championships and competed in the Arab Championshipand the Asian Clubs Club Championship, achieving secondplace in both. Also that year, the club competed in thecelebrated Singapore Cupand the Dubai InternationalTournament. In both tournaments, the club came second.

In its third year, the club again won all local championshipsand, as promised, won the Asian Championship, a first for aJordanian club. The Zain Sports Club is also the only club everto win the continent’s cup within three years of being formed.

The other statistics are equally impressive. In its first year,the club had 17% of the total basketball fan base in Jordan.Three years later, it accounted for 70% of all basketball fansin the country and has thousand of fans in otherneighboring countries. In 2006, one year after taking part inthe Asian championship in the Philippine capital, Manila,the tournament was held in Kuwait city, where the team wasstaying in the Holiday Inn Downtown. At dinner on the firstnight, the hotel’s staff from the Philippines came over andasked for signatures and took pictures with the team theyhad so admired at the previous year’s tournament.

Finally, and in line with Zain’s proactive attitude towardsCSR, the club management continuously involves the teamin community service programs, especially those thatimpact children’s lives. They visit hospitals and schoolswhere they distribute gifts and give inspirational talks.

Empowering and encouraging: The Zain (formerly Fastlink) Sports Club girls’ basketball team

Zain basketball’s biggest fan, Jordan’s Princess Aisha Bint Al Hussein


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Backing African talent Zain co-sponsors the pre-eminent award inAfrican journalism

Zain was one of this year’s sponsors of the CNNMultiChoice African Journalist Awards, the longestrunning and most prestigious Pan-African competition

for journalism. Zain Africa’s Communication Director MwambuWanendeya presented the Arts and Culture Award to BarbaraAngopa of NTV Uganda. Zain also co-sponsored the top prize,which went to Hopewell Rugoh-Chin’ono of Zimbabwe, whoreceived his award from Ghanaian President J. A. Kufuor, at thegala ceremony in July in Accra.

Upon receiving the top prize, Rugoh-Chin’ono said, “Therecognition this award gives me goes a long way toimproving journalistic standards for many colleagues whoare working under very difficult conditions.”

Rugoh-Chin’ono, the founder and film director for TelevisionInternational Zimbabwe, was named African Journalist of theYear for his story Pain in My Heart, which was chosen over 1,912entries from a record 44 nations across the African continent.

The 26-minute documentary is an attempt to record the“ordinary struggle to survive” of people with HIV/AIDS inZimbabwe. Rugoh-Chin’ono spent three months followingthe lives of two HIV positive Zimbabweans, one with accessto antiretroviral drugs and one without.

Azubuike Ishiekwene, who chaired the judging panel,said that Rugoh-Chin’ono was “the overall winner of theCNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award 2008 becausein a continent where resources are a great problem intelling the story, he overcame this major difficulty with anose and a passion to tell the story. He goes on to tellthe story in a compelling and sympathetic manner. Agood nose and a passionate heart, that’s what makes himthe overall winner.”

He said the award was “a huge honor and commitment,”and he dedicated it to “all those struggling to berecognized…I salute the ongoing challenge to achieveexcellence across the African continent.”

The competition is open toall African professionaljournalists working on thecontinent that produce aprinted publication orbroadcast through anelectronic medium (televisionbroadcaster; radio station orwebsite) primarily targetedat and received by anAfrican audience

NTV’s Barabra Angopa with Zain Africa’s Mwambu Wanendeya


While Pain In My Heart zeros in on the enormous sufferingthat afflicts Africa, Barbara Angopa’s Teso Peace Music revealsthe joy and extraordinary cultural heritage that are present aswell. Zain presented her with the Arts and Culture Award forher short film on the music of the akogo, a thumb pianopopular in Uganda’s Teso district. In the film, Angopa capturesnot just the happiness of akogo music, but also the power.The film shows how this little instrument, with its deep culturalhistory in the district, is helping to bring about reconciliation.

“The story is about a particular music, instruments and dancein Uganda,” the Judge’s citation read “This television piecedoes a great job of bringing to the limelight a beautiful part ofAfrican cultural heritage. In this case, music and dance. Thejournalism here captures and conveys the role and power ofculture in building and nurturing hope in societies shattered byconflicts or natural disasters. The journalist tells the story ofculture preservation, adaptation and passing the heritage ontothe next generation. Culture does bring people together. Youcan see that the reporter got into the cultural mood. She getsto the point where she has the confidence to join in.”

The pre-eminent prizehonoring the best of whatAfrica has to offer, and thebenchmark by which manyAfrican journalists measurethemselves

In an interview with the Ugandan newspaper The Monitor,Angopa said the award was not expected. “Honestly, Ididn’t think any of my stories would go far. The way thenewsroom is structured is you produce a story in one or twodays which doesn’t allow for any depth in your work. When Isubmitted, I knew I had written good stories well and didn’tthink they had depth to them. This was my first submissionand I was overjoyed to get so far for my first time.”

Hopewell Rugoh Chin’ono receives his award from Ghanaian President John A. Kufuor


With her selection, Angopa enters a rarefied crowd. TonyMaddox, the managing director of CNN International, saidthat the awards have become “the pre-eminent prizehonoring the best of what Africa has to offer and thebenchmark by which many African journalists measurethemselves. Once again, this year has unearthed a wealth ofvoices from around Africa, each demonstrating a quality ofjournalism and in some cases a resourcefulness and braveryin pursuing the story which has my deepest admiration.”

Eben Greyling, CEO of MultiChoice Africa, for his part,addressed the winners directly: “We hope that therecognition you received in this year’s awards will encouragefurther excellence and success in your careers as we haveseen with previous winners of these prestigious awards. To

the many journalists who have not been recognized thisyear, we would like to salute and celebrate the vital role youplay in the ongoing development of democracy anddiversity on the African continent. Once again the judgeswere overwhelmed by the high quality of the entries whichmade the judging a very difficult process. One can see fromthe entries over the years the dramatic progress Africanmedia has made in reporting the African story.”

The competition is open to African professional journalists(including, but not limited to, freelancers) working on thecontinent for African-owned media organizations or mediaorganizations headquartered on the continent of Africathat produce a printed publication or broadcast throughan electronic medium (television broadcaster; radio stationor website) primarily targeted at and received by anAfrican audience.

Rugoh-Chin’ono will also receive a substantial cash prizeand a visit to Atlanta to attend the three-week CNNJournalism Fellowship. Angopa, along with the rest of thoseawarded, will receive a laptop computer, modem, printerand a cash prize.

A good nose and apassionate heart, that’s whatmakes him the overall winner

The winners gather for a group photo


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Zain’s drive to success

Business writer PaulLambert, is convincedthat the recentrebranding of all itssubsidiaries in Africato Zain and, moresignificantly, theeradication ofroaming chargesbetween most Zainoperators have donenothing less thanredefine what itmeans to be a trulyinternational player

Without question, other, moreestablished regional operators, suchas Vodafone, France Telecom and

T-Mobile International have a lot to learn fromZain’s abolition of roaming charges. But Zainalso has a lot to learn from these operators’experiences in coping with declining ARPUlevels amid intensifying competition in once-sheltered operating conditions.

Let’s look first at the lessons other operators can learn fromZain’s considerable recent achievements, both financial andoperational. Zain has linked its One Network service in theMiddle East and Africa, meaning that its low-costinternational voice and SMS roaming offering is nowavailable on 15 country networks.

One Network is now available between Africa and theMiddle East, abolishing international roaming rates forZain subscribers in countries where Zain is present. Zainprepaid and postpaid customers can now make calls and

send messages at local rates when communicating with aZain customer traveling abroad in either Africa or theMiddle East.

The ‘One Network’ service is automatically activated when aZain customer crosses the geographical border into one ofthe countries in which Zain operates with no registration orsign-up fee required. Prepaid customers can also top upaccounts and recharge cards bought in either their homecountry or at an outlet in one of the 15 ‘One Network’countries. Zain initially launched ‘One Network’ under its

Company has lessons to learn and to teachin an ever evolving telecom world


Celtel brand in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in September2006 before extending the network to countries in CentralAfrica in June 2007 and to Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Niger,Nigeria and Sudan in November 2007. The network wasextended to Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan in April.

Compared with European operators’ efforts on voice andSMS roaming, this is nothing short of revolutionary. Zain’sEuropean counterparts resisted calls to lower voice roamingrates and are in the process of repeating history with SMSand data roaming, with intervention by the EuropeanCommission in September looking increasingly likely.

Zain’s move has already forced other operators to react. SaudiTelecom, for instance, has said it will launch low-priceroaming across a network of 30 foreign operators this month.Saudi Telecom’s Unified International Roaming service willcover most of the Middle East, Europe, Indonesia, Turkey andSouth Africa.

Discounts on calls in these countries will be up to 69% onnormal rates - still not quite the achievement of Zain, but itdoes price roaming services closer to cost than hastraditionally been the case among European operators.In addition to ‘One Network,’ Zain rebranded all 14 Celteloperations in Africa to Zain in one clean sweep at thebeginning of August, supported by a major advertisingcampaign. Zain also plans to rebrand about 1 million point-of-sale outlets across the continent. The rebranding to Zain isaimed at creating “a single, strong identity,” according toZain Group CEO Saad Al Barrak.

Now let’s turn to what Zain might learn from its Europeancounterparts. Zain’s recent results are impressive reading. Theoperator reported strong figures for the first half of 2008, boostedby a massive 58% increase in its subscription count, which totaled50.7 million across all its operations at end-June. The operatorhad consolidated revenues of $3.49 billion for the first half of2008, up 26% year-on-year, while net income increased 7% to$551 million, and EBITDA jumped 20% to $1.3 billion.

“We have started to reap the rewards of our recent largeinvestments, particularly in Iraq, Nigeria and Sudan, withthese three countries now serving more than half of Zain’s 50million customers, and we expect similar rewards when ouroperations in Saudi Arabia and Ghana commencecommercial operations,” Al Barrak said.

But a closer look gives an insight into the more challengingconditions that might be awaiting the operator, ones that mirrorthose already experienced by operators in Europe. Only four(Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Malawi) of the 19 operations Zainprovided ARPU information for in its recent results saw a year-on-year increase in ARPU in 1Q08. These figures indicate that Zainhas already moved from a rapid-growth phase of development toa more stable-growth phase, just like its counterparts in Europeand other parts of the world.

What specific lessons can Zain learn from operators in mobilemarkets that underwent a similar development? Lessons fromEurope and elsewhere show that brand is extremelyimportant. In this area, Zain is already doing a good job,sparing no expanse in its recent rebranding exercise.

Another lesson Zain can learn from European operators is tooutsource as much network maintenance as possible, enablingit to become a nimble outfit whose primary areas of focus arewhat really matter to end-users: the development, selectionand marketing of services. This will help Zain focus on being ahigh-quality mobile services provider that can charge apremium for its services, compared with competitors thatundercut it. To that end, its ‘One Network’ offering is a greatidea: It provides meaningful differentiation from rivals.

Zain should also learn from European operators and launchmobile broadband services, such as dongles andembedded modules in laptops, as soon as possible tosecure the high-value segment of the market before itbecomes commoditized, as has already happened inEurope. Finally, Zain’s economies of scale will also enable itto strike good deals with equipment manufacturers.Zain is perfectly placed to be a truly modern telecomsoperator - light on infrastructure and heavy on the launch ofinnovative and compelling services. Rivals should take note.

Dear Paul,Your article is excellent and your notes and remarks are to the point and well taken. We are working very hard to address the issues you raised. Thank you so much for your interest in Zain.With best personal regards,Saad Al BarrakCEO-Zain

Paul Lambert is editor of Informa Telecoms & Media Mobile Operator IntelligenceCentre. This story is reproduced with kind permission. The original can be read athttp://blog.telecoms.com/2008/08/11/zain-has-lessons-to-learn-and-teach. Quotednumbers may not be current


CORPORATE SPIRIT

One network honored

In September, Zain learned it had wonthe Global Telecoms BusinessWireless network infrastructure

innovation award for ‘One Network’,the world’s first borderless mobiletelecoms network service. Theannouncement was made at the GlobalTelecoms Business Awards in London.

The ground breaking ‘One Network’service reduces the cost of makingtelephone calls by allowing customersto communicate freely acrossgeographical borders and continentswithout roaming call surcharges andwithout having to pay to receive incoming calls whereverthey travel in the 16 countries that currently participate in‘One Network.’ In addition the customers are able to top uptheir prepaid accounts with airtime purchased from morethan one million sales outlets in any of the countries inwhich ‘One Network’ is operational.

“The ‘One Network’ offer is not built around pricing butaround simplicity and user friendliness, leveraging our crosscountry networks,” said George Held, ‘One Network’Program Director and architect of the service who receivedthe award on behalf of Zain.

Originally launched by Zain in September 2006 to its customersin Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the service was extended to afurther nine African countries, Burkina Faso, Chad, DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Malawi,Niger, Nigeria and Sudan, and more recently to Zain’s MiddleEast operations in Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabiameaning that up to 500 million people in Zain’s marketsstretching from Manama in Bahrain to Freetown in Sierra Leonecan be treated as ‘local’ customers should they have a Zainmobile line. ‘One Network’ has transformed the mobile industryworldwide and millions of Zain customers have already usedthis service.

“This award is testament to the considerable investmentand commitment to a project that connects customersacross the many countries in which Zain operates,” saidZain CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak, acknowledging the award.“The GTB Innovation Award also honors those whose hardwork has gone into the ‘One Network’ initiative, which

delivers on our promise to provide unique and innovativeproducts and services for Zain customers.”

‘One Network’ helps families and friends stay connectedwherever they are in the ‘One Network’ world. It alsohelps communities develop and economies expand bymaking communications easier and more affordable forpeople to keep in touch, supporting cross-continent tradeand enterprise. “This is the essence of the Zain brandpromise to create ‘A wonderful world’ ” added Dr AlBarrak. , who also wish to emphasize that, “the continualexpansion of the ‘One Network’ will play a key role in Zainattaining its year 2011 targets of attaining 110 millioncustomers and being a top-ten global mobile operator.”

The ‘One Network’ service has revolutionized and replacedtraditional methods of international roaming. The service isautomatically activated upon crossing the geographicborder of a country, with no prior registration or sign-up feerequired. Pre-paid customers can also top up their phoneswith recharge cards bought at one of the more than onemillion outlets available across the ‘One Network’ countries.Zain plans to roll-out ‘One Network’ in all its operations,subject to regulatory approval.

“We acknowledge the co-operation and support we havehad from the many telecoms regulatory and ministerialbodies within the ‘One Network’ countries who havedemonstrated understanding, foresight and a willingness towork with us to bring this remarkable service - and its manypersonal and commercial benefits - to the people of theAfrica and Middle East,” concluded Dr Al Barrak.

Zain wins prize for network infrastructureinnovation

Zain executives receive recognition for the groundbreaking ‘One network’ that now links Africa and the Middle East


Three prestigous awardsfor Dr Saad Al Barrak

Zain Group CEO,Dr. Saad Al Barrak,has won Africa

Investor’s International Business Leader award, CEO MiddleEast magazine’s Telecom CEO of the Year award andBespoke magazine’s 2008 Visionary Award, all in October2008. Meanwhile, in the same month, leading industrymagazine Global Telecoms Business ranked Dr Saad AlBarrak 29th most influential telecom executive over thecentury in its top 100 survey.

To win Africa Investor’s International Business Leader award, DrAl Barrak beat off stiff challenges from such global luminaries asKingdom Holding’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal; Coca-Cola’sChairman, Neville Isdell; China EximBank’s President Li Ruogu;Shun Tak Shipping’s Founder, Stanley Ho and General Electric’sChairman, Jeff Immelt.

“I am honored and humbled by this recognition,” Dr Al Barraksaid. “I have grown to love this beautiful continent and itspeople, and I assure them that Zain’s commitment to Africa willcontinue infinitely. It is extremely important for Zain that our

economic, social and cultural projects in Africa have a positiveimpact on the people we serve.”

CEO Middle East magazine recognized Dr Al Barrak for hisachievements in taking Zain from a one network operator inKuwait in 2002 to a global mobile operator and bravelyrebranding from MTC to Zain in September 2007. SimilarlyBespoke magazine’s 2008 Visionary Award highlighted the factthat Dr Al Barrak has taken Zain from a $2.5 billion Kuwaitioperation to a $25 billion market capitalized companyoperating in 22 countries.

In its October issue, Global Telecoms Business wrote that Dr AlBarrak had “expanded Kuwait’s MTC into the Middle East, thenbought Celtel in Africa and rebranded the lot as Zain — nowone of the most powerful brands in a wide part of the world.His colleagues say he is inspirational: he is certainly dynamicand very ambitious. And fast-talking. Al Barrak runs what isprobably the most diverse telecoms company in the world,employing people of around 100 nationalities, and has wonpowerful influence: presidents helped celebrate the rebrandingand Zain sponsored Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert.Zain is looking for further acquisitions, almost certainly not justin the developing world, and Al Barrak will become one of themost influential executives in the industry.”

Reacting to the award, Dr Al Barrak said, “I hope my rankinginspires other executives from the region to be daring anddifferent in their business dealings and to dedicate their careersto the betterment of humanity in the same way Zain has.” Throughout its evolution, and under Al Barrak’s leadership, Zainhas shown the way in embracing and refining the concept ofCSR. Education and health have been the cornerstones as Zainhas used telecom and wireless communication to help the livesof those living in remote areas.

Leading industry magazine Global TelecomsBusiness ranks Zain CEO 29th most influentialtelecom executive

CEOMIDDLE EAST

AWARDS 2008


CORPORATE SPIRIT

When the sword ismightier than the penZain helps two gutsy, Kuwaiti sisters developwomen’s fencing in the Arab world


National sports often trace their roots to onedetermined individual. In 19th century Brazil, anEnglish expatriate sent his son to his home country

for education. When the son returned some years later, hewas obsessed with a game then popular in Europe,devoting himself single-mindedly to building a sport fromscratch. Little more than a century Brazil is “O país dofutebol,” the greatest football country in the world.

Whether or not women’s fencing ever becomes a favoritepastime in the Middle East, the sport in the Arab worldmight trace its origins to two Kuwaiti sisters, who, with apassion bordering on obsession, overcame obstacles few

sportswomen have faced, let alone successfullysurmounted, to build Kuwaiti fencing from the bottom up. As the sisters are quick to point out, however, withoutsupport from Zain, a company that recognized the meritof their trailblazing vision, their efforts would likely have foundered.

When Balsam Al Ayoub knocked on the door of Zain’s (thenMTC) offices in Kuwait, she had no written proposal and noappointment, just a head overflowing with plans for a sportwhose Kuwaiti practitioners, and for that matter fans,consisted of herself and her sister.

CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak must have been impressed. Afterlistening to Balsam make her pitch for the country’s firstwomen’s fencing competition sponsored by the privatesector, Sleiman handed her a pen. Twenty minutes laterBalsam had finished her proposal. The two chose a date,and before Balsam left the office, she had received finalapproval for her project.

For Balsam the road to Dr Al Barrak’s office began manyyears earlier, when her sister was dropped off by theirmother at a sporting club in Kuwait. Coming from anathletic family, with their father, a devoted football playerand swimmer, and their mother teaching physical education,the sisters were encouraged to pick a sport from an earlyage. However, at 15, Lulwa was still searching. When shearrived at Alfatat, a women’s sporting club in Kuwait. Shewas immediately approached by a woman who asked herwhich team she was on only to reply that she had come tothe club to figure out that very question. The woman, whohad been charged with putting together a female fencingteam for an upcoming competition, saw an opportunity,asking Lulwa if she’d be interested. Lulwa nodded, and thewoman said, “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow at 6 am.” Thatnight Lulwa told her sister about this “sword-fighting” sportshe had just discovered, and the next day both sistersshowed up and suddenly found themselves to be the firstmembers of the Alfatat fencing club.

The sisters trained for three months with Ahmad Saad, avolunteer coach, who taught them everything he knewabout the sport. They fast became proficient, and whenthe first fencing competition was held in Kuwait, theyboth won easily.

It was so hard for her toexplain the deep meaning ofsponsorship, the importance offinancial support for a youngwomen athlete


Unfortunately, after the Arab Games, the Alfatfat closed thefencing club, and the sisters took divergent paths. Lulwamoved to Spain to study and Balsam stayed in Kuwait,searching for ways to pursue her sport in a country whereno other club was open to the idea of fencing.

Balsam turned out to be a trailblazer and a fearless one atthat. Despite encountering roadblocks at every turn, shedevoted herself to building a female fencing club in Kuwait.Without equipment or facilities, and in the face of socialdisapproval that extended to her own father, she began tosee sponsorship as critical, seeking out companies andcorporations willing to back her seemingly quizzical dream.When her father found out that she had drawn up her ownproposal requesting funding from local companies, he wasshocked and baned her from fencing for a month.

“It was so hard for her to explain the deep meaning ofsponsorship, the importance of financial support for ayoung women athlete,” says Lulwa. Balsam’s friendscouldn’t understand her vision, nor could the local press,with one newspaper criticizing the daring young athletewho failed to conform to the country’s conservative notionsof how a woman should behave.

Lulwa recalls that in the late 90s, “Balsam was calling forgoing beyond the traditional image of a Kuwaiti woman. Itwas shocking. They couldn’t accept that there were girlswho had swords and went to train at a men’s club.”

The criticism she encountered even cost her friends, whosehusbands and families banned them from associating with her.Indeed, the reaction was so intense that Balsam eventuallydecided to reconsider her strategy, and for a year she keptquiet, occupying herself with training and studying, whilethinking of ways to turn her dream into a reality.

Lulwa, for her part, was determined to pursue the sport in acountry more open to the notion of female fencers. Whenshe arrived in Spain and met with her colleagues at theKuwaiti embassy, she had a single question: Where can Ifind a place to fence? Their reaction was predictable, even ifit surprised Lulwa at the time: “You are here to study, notfight,” they argued.

Undeterred and without a word of Spanish, she immediatelyset about finding out where to fence. Fortunately, theUniversity she was attending happened to have a club, andwithin two years she had won a pair of silver medals for it.Still the challenges were ever present. Fencing in Spain as aforeigner, she was always the opponent, the one the crowdcheered against.

Back home in Kuwait, Balsam, having received a green lightfrom Zain, approached her old sporting club, Alfatat, fullyexpecting to be turned away in spite of the corporatesponsorship she had received. But, as Lulwa says,“Somehow fortune has been kind to her. In the end 16women fencers, with all the equipment ordered fromGermany, fenced at a competitive level. It is one of herproudest achievements.”

As a result of that Zain-sponsored competition, the sisterswon further sponsorship and were able to mount a national

“We are the only fencers whocreate other fencers. Thanks toZain we could bring thesedreams to reality and makethem happen”


competition, which was, according to Lulwa, “exciting forboth of us…although we were literally exhausted and wornout...Balsam didn’t sleep for three days, organizing andmanaging the competition from A to Z, even washing thefloor.” The work paid off and, with the momentum of theproject, the sisters we able to launch their fencing careers,winning medals all over the world.

But the sisters’ special distinction in their minds is that they“are the only fencers who create other fencers. Thanks toZain we could bring these dreams to reality and make them happen.”

With Zain’s funding they founded the Alayoub Fencing Cup totrain young Kuwaitis in the sport, eventually creating acompetition where aspiring fencers from across the Arabworld could test and develop their talents. The competitioncontinues to grow with each year.

Building a sport “from scratch,” as Lulwa says is no small task,and even with the most generous sponsor in the world,success is never guaranteed. Lulwa says that what makes Zainsuch an effective sponsor is “creativity.” Zain is a companythat believes in creativity and connecting with creative peoplearound the world, she says. “Zain is why we are living ourdream and why our dream gets bigger every day.”

The sisters have been able to follow their dreams to the highest level

Helping to win over the champions of the future


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Texting against AIDS SMS message to promote HIV education

Can text messages help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS?Text to Change(TTC), a Ugandan NGO, thinks theanswer is yes. To prove it they have teamed up with

Zain to launch an innovative project that utilizes atechnology that has been rapidly expanding to make surethat HIV/AIDS does not do the same.

Uganda has been widely hailed as Africa’s “AIDS successstory.” In the 1990s, as HIV/AIDS epidemics were ravagingthe continent, Uganda was one of the few countriescredited with mounting an effective campaign to counterthe disease. From a peak in 1993, when it had the highestinfection rate per capita in the world with over 15% of theadult population testing positive, according to the WorldHealth Organization, Uganda managed, by the turn of themillennium, to reduce HIV prevalence to six percent.

However, after such dramatic progress, there are now signsthat HIV/AIDS may again be on the rise. While there’s someambiguity as to whether HIV/AIDS prevalence is increasingor has reached a plateau, the trend lines of mobile phoneuse in Uganda are perfectly clear.

The Uganda Communications Commission reports that thenumber of mobile phone users will hit the six million markby the end of 2008. In urban areas, as many as 50% ofpeople have mobile phones, compared to 10% in ruralareas, according to the 2006 Uganda Demographic andHealth Survey (DHS).

TTC and Zain saw in the expanding reach of mobile phonesan intriguing new way to combat the disease.

One of the most important reasons why Uganda managedto reduce infection rates in the 90s was that thegovernment launched a campaign focused on educatingpeople about the disease and encouraging them to gettested. Yet for all the campaign’s success, the message didnot make it to much of the population. Today in Uganda,while almost everyone has heard of HIV/AIDS, knowledgelevels are often very low; the DHS found only about 30% ofwomen and 40% of men had an accurate understanding ofthe disease.

The TTC project is an effort to better reach that uninformedmajority by harnessing the powers of a technology that ischanging the way Ugandans communicate with each other.

TTC and Zain, with help from the AIDS Information Center(AIC) in Uganda, devised a six-to-eight-week pilot program,which was advertised with the slogan, “Don’t guess theanswers, learn the truth about AIDS.”

Beginning on Valentine’s Day 2008, some 15,000 Zainsubscribers in the Mbarara district in southwestern Ugandareceived an introductory text message asking if they wouldlike to participate in a free interactive quiz about HIV. Inorder to entice subscribers to respond, rewards such ashandsets and airtime were offered for correct answers.

Once a subscriber agreed to participate he or she receiveda text once a week with a new multiple choice question,such as “What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?”and “How is HIV transmitted?”

TTC and Zain, with help fromthe AIDS Information Centerin Uganda, devised a six-to-eight-week pilot program,which was advertised withthe slogan, “Don’t guess theanswers, learn the truthabout AIDS”


Those who got the question right automatically received amessage offering free HIV counseling and testing and theopportunity to enter a draw to win various prizes, while thosewho didn’t, received a message explaining the correct answer.

About 2,500 of the 15,000 subscribers contacted respondedto each question. At the end of the trial period of questionsand answers, all participants were encouraged to go forvoluntary counseling and testing (VCT). TTC said that “theresponse level of our pilot Quiz was on average 15% perquestion.”(http://www.texttochange.com/projects.html)

Winners of the HIV quizzes were invited to an awardceremony on the April 18, 2008 at AIC Mbarara branchpremises, where they received mobile phones.

As a means to encourage people to get tested, the programseems to have been as effective as its organizer’s had hoped.According to Robert Natlaka, AIC’s representative, requestsat their central Mbarara facility rose by 100 percent over thepilot’s six-week duration.” Natlaka said that “255[participants] turned up to AIC in Mbarara for testing; someothers also went to AIC partners [around] the district.”

The Mbarara branch of the AIC confirmed that people whocame for VCT, did so because of the SMS messagesreceived, the radio program and the organized marchingthrough Mbarara Town. The program was officially launched

by His Lordship the Mayor of Mbarara Wilson Tumwine. Inhis speech he praised the ground breaking Text to Changeinitiative. He said that all good things start with a good ideaand claims to be very proud that Mbarara has been chosenfor the pilot. He said that this programme has the potentialto change the lives of the people in Uganda and especiallythose in rural communities.

Bas Hoefman, the public relations officer at TTC, noting theincreased traffic at counseling and testing facilities, said thatthe “launch has been a huge success.” Still, he added,“this program is a pilot and meant as a trial to see if theapproach could be successful. The next step is to run theSMS quizzes in the local languages, so that the people inthe rural areas, who don’t speak English, can also bereached with HIVAIDS sensitization messages. In the end,we want the quiz to be accessible for every Ugandan.”

The project’s goals are not limited to Uganda. Indeed, TTC’sultimate ambitions are global. As Hoefman says, “Besidesthe enormous growth of Mobile telephony in Africa, wethink that the anonymity of mobile phones could be thereason that the program will become an enormous success.We genuinely believe that mobile telephony is the key toreach people with health communication messages in thirdworld countries and especially in Africa. Therefore, it is ourfirm ambition to become a global platform of telephonybased health services.”


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Investing in the future

Zain Sierra Leone recently completed its ‘Zain BabiesPromotion,’ throughout the four regions of Sierra Leone.The initiative was launched by Zain to promote all babies

in the country who were born on August 1st, 2008, the day thecompany rebranded from Celtel to Zain.

The final presentations were made in the districtheadquarter town of Makeni and eastern regionalheadquarter in Kono respectively. In Makeni, eight mothers,Isatu Gborie, Aminata S. Conteh, Salamatu T. Bangura,Hawa Sesay, Margaret Koroma, Isatu Jalloh, MemunatuMarco and Hawa Kanu, benefited from the promotion.Sadly, Hawa Kanu, lost her August 1 baby but was given250,000 leones as a gesture of sympathy.

Speaking at a ceremony held at the main roundabout inMakeni, Zain’s Brand and Communication Manager Ann-Marie Ansumana used the opportunity to call on all womento give birth to their children in Sierra Leone’s recognizedhospitals so as to enable their inclusion into further benefitsoffered by the company.

She also disclosed that two Zain customers, Ramatu Kanuand Josephine Sallay Conteh, were the proud beneficiaries

in the township of the company’s Own a Business scheme.She said that the two customers can now boast ofownership of shops worth millions of Leones with items oftheir choices and 5 million leones additional capital.

Semion Menjor, from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Genderand Children’s Affairs, expressed appreciation to themanagement of Zain Sierra Leone for such a laudableventure in the country’s history of promoting children. “It isan indisputable fact that Zain Sierra Leone is the father ofcommunication in the country,” he pointed out, calling onall to join the Zain network for maximum success in the fieldof communication.

The headquarter town of Kono was the setting for a similarevent. Zain Sierra Leone’s Public Relations CoordinatorJune-Rose Johnson said the donations were part of therebranding process of Zain, adding that similar donationshave been made in the other district headquarter towns.

“The names of the beneficiary children were obtained fromrecognized government hospitals in Kono,” she explained,adding that Zain is very much committed to fulfilling itscorporate social responsibility in the country.

Handing over the packages to therespective mothers, a doctor from thegovernment hospital in Kono, Dr TambaLebbie, reiterated that such a donationhas never occurred in the history ofKono. Lebbie used the opportunity toremind all and sundry that thegovernment hospital is in the district forits residents, especially pregnantwomen, and called on them to makegood use of the hospital’s facilities.

Receiving the gifts, the mothersexpressed heartfelt thanks to Zain forsuch a wonderful promotion for theirchildren. They also promised that thegifts will be wisely used. Meanwhile,Abdul Barrie, the second winner in thetownship of the Own a Businesspromotion, expressed profound thanksand gratitude to Zain for transforminghim from a bike rider to an entrepreneur.

Zain Sierra Leone helps mothers and tradersin a worthy initiative


CORPORATE SPIRIT

Going, Going, Gone!

On October 3rd, 2008, at Beirut’s Movenpick Hotel,and under the patronage of Telecom MinisterGebran Bassil, mtc touch* held Lebanon’s first live

auction of platinum mobile phone numbers in the history ofthe local telecom sector. The 110 participants bid on 33 mtctouch Platinum mobile numbers. In total, an incredible$2,516,000 was raised, with $450,000 alone paid for thenumber 70707070. Other record prices were registered:70700000 and 70777777 were sold for $400,000 each,70666666 sold for $225,000, 70888888 sold for $170,000while the oh-so-naughty 70696969 fetched $80,000.

Minister Bassil paid tribute to his ministry’s collaborationwith mtc touch and praised the company’s efficiency inresponding to his call for action in reinvigorating the sector.He also seized the opportunity to announce the new mtctouch’s e-auction service, available through the company’swebsite starting October 2008.

“We hope this auction will be the first reformative step towardsa cleaner and healthier mobile telecom environment,” MinisterBassil declared, adding, “all of you are contributing today tothe development of social justice. Thanks to your highpurchasing power, you are helping us finance the first stage ofour project, which consists of restructuring and furtherdeveloping the mobile telephone network in Lebanon.”

This innovative initiative should mark a turning point in theLebanese telecom history, as it will ensure additionalrevenues to the treasury and eventually lead to thedevelopment of Lebanon’s mobile network .

As far as Chaos by Design is aware, the world's mostexpensive phone number was auctioned for charity in2006 in Qatar, where the number, 666 6666, sold for 10mQatari riyals, then around $2.75 million. The previousrecord holder was Chinese number 8888 8888, which wasbought by Sichuan Airlines for roughly $500,000. TheCantonese word for eight sounds very similar to the wordfor rich.

*A Zain-managed company operating one of Lebanon’s twomobile networks. Zain hopes to acquire the network when theLebanese government privatizes the mobile sector.

mtc touch hosts live mobile auction on platinumnumbers; 33 lines sold for $2,516,000


CORPORATE SPIRIT

ACE goes into orbit Zain executives meet at Dead Sea todiscuss the company’s 2011 goals

With their eyes set on the prize of becoming a top-tentelecommunications company by 2011, executivesfrom Zain’s 22 operating countries gathered at the

King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center on the Dead Seafrom October 24th-25th for the 4th ACE conference. Themed“Zain takes you to the moon,” attendees discussedimplementing Zain’s ACE (Accelerate our growth; Consolidateour existing operations; and Expand into adjacent geographiesand offer new services) objectives.

Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi was the guest of honor,while Jordan’s Minister of Information and CommunicationsTechnology, Bassem Rousan, and the Chief Executive Officer ofthe Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Dr AhmedHiasat, also attended the conference.

A LOOK AT ACE SUCCESSESOn Day 1 Zain’s Chief Strategy Officer Haitham Al Khaled andACE Director Mishal Al Mana began the conference tellingZainers to “aim for the stars,” while other Zainers talked aboutongoing ACE initiatives. They included George Katendeigwaand Cesear Mloka who gave a presentation on Zain Payphones,a project providing affordable communications to those whocannot afford them. Then, Robert Ochola and Mork Ochitispoke about a Zain initiative to introduce ultra low-cost

handsets. The final ACE success story came from GroupProcurement Director Philip Hanna and Jean Tshimpaka whorevealed impressive savings in several purchasing areas just inthe previous eight months.

It was then the turn of ZainGroup CEO, Dr. SaadAl Barrak, towelcome Jordanianofficials andaudiencemembers. Zain,he said, would bethe firsttelecommunicationscompany from the Arabworld to be a global player.

Dr Ahmad Al Shatti, Zain Jordan’s generalmanager, explained that, with four mobiletelephone operators, Jordan is the mostcompetitive market in the region, adding that ZainJordan is heavily investing in developing itsnetwork. Dr Al Shatti also announced thecompletion of the fiber optic network, the launch


of the e-version third generation WIMAX and the success of thefirst mobile maintenance center, which opened last year.

The highlight of the conference was the address given byspecial guest speaker Neil Armstrong, the iconic Americanastronaut who, in 1969, became the fist man to walk on themoon (see page 57)

Dr Al Barrak again took to the stage. “Don’t ask me about mypast for the past is darkness,” he said. “I always dream oftomorrow for my future is my best dream, adding that, eventhough the world is in economic disarray, Zain would executeseveral acquisitions before the end of the year. “I am driven bymy purpose, and ACE is the shuttle that will drive us toward our2011 aspirations.”

ZAIN’S INNOVATIONS MAKE IT STAND OUTOn Day 2, renowned consultant Dan Burrus noted Zain’sinnovative ‘One Network,’ is part of a rising trend that willcontinue to soar in the future.

‘One Network’ Director George Held then explained Zain’s newinnovative ‘m-commerce’ technology. He demonstrated howthe network facilitates money transfers from mobile to mobileand the buying of goods and services.

Ziad Masri, the Zain Group’s data services and contentmanager, showed off Zain Create, the Zain Rotana Web site,

which is similar to the iTunes Web site and allows customers tobuy and listen to music, video clips and entertainment news. Italso has access to chat and instant messaging.

Architect of the Zain brand and Group Chief CommercialOfficer, Tito Alai, highlighted the resounding success of theswirled shaped logo and its colorful identity across bothcontinents. The Zain brand he noted was now valued in excessof $3 billion, just 12 months after launch!

Speaking after the conference, Haitham Al Khaled said: “Weworked in taking ACE forward. We interacted better than everto gauge the progress of ACE and its initiatives. We alsoplanned together the tangible steps that need to be taken inour OpCos for these ACE initiatives to succeed.

“We gained more knowledge about the differentapplications that will drive tomorrow’s revenues in ourcommunication lifestyle business. Industry speakers shedlight on the new uses of mobile communications toenhance business, entertainment, medicine, and more. OurZain experts demonstrated how mobile finance and mobilemedia can enrich lives. We even learned that a spaceheaded into outer space needs to accelerate to break freefrom the Earth’s orbit. ACE looks for the brightest talent tocontribute to propelling Zain beyond the primitive world ofcommon business to a universe where business as usualbecomes business unusual!”

1. Dr Saad Al Barrakinspires his seniorexecutives2. Zain’s Chief StrategyOfficer, Haitham Al Khaled 3. Zain Jordan’sGeneral Manager, DrAhmad Al Shatti withJordanian PrimeMinister Nader Dahabi 4. Director of ACEStrategy at Zain Group,Mishal Al Mana

1.

3. 4.

2.


“We cultivatedour identity.Our brand, ourculture and ourstrategy definewho we are”


“In our quest to be a global telecomcompany by 2011, we will growlarger and extend our global family”


Fun teamZain’s Fun Team providedlogistic support in making theACE event a great success. Awarm thanks to them for givingthe conference that specialHAPPY vibe!

Zain TVThe unveiling of Zain TV introduced a brilliantcommunication medium that was broadcast todelegates’ hotel rooms. It was innovative and set thebar of excellence at a new high. The buzz throughoutthe two-day conference was electric


The highlight of the ACE meeting was an inspirationalspeech given by Neil Armstrong, who in 1969 becamethe first man to walk on the moon.

“The purpose of having such a illustrious figure was tomotivate Zain leaders from all operations to be brave andtake risks in their daily personal and business dealings,”declared Dr Al Barrak, whose idea it was to invite the formerastronaut. “This is what got Zain where it is today, and thisis what will get Zain into the top-ten globaltelecommunication companies by 2011.”

Like Armstrong and his two crew members, Zain hasundertaken many daring and pioneering missions, includingits first $423 million acquisition of Fastlink, Jordan in 2003,its record-breaking $3.4 billion acquisition of the AfricanCeltel network in 2005 and, most recently, its $6.1 billionlicense acquisition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Zainalso operates in some of the most challenging markets onEarth such as Iraq and many sub-Saharan African countries.

Landing on the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth’s, Mr.Armstrong introduced himself to Zain executives and

managers from across 22countries: “Stepping foot onsuch a low altitude is acharacteristic I am not wellknown for.” He went on to addthat taking risks, findingunconventional solutions,generating good ideas, beingtesting and team work are allthe necessary ingredients for acompany to succeed in today’sworld. “As managers you bearthe responsibility of Zain’ssuccess. Nothing takes theplace of persistence and thereis little satisfaction in reachingeasy goals.”

US President John F. Kennedyfamously said in 1962, “We choose to go to the Moon.”Seven years later in 1969, Neil Armstrong realized thatdream. Zain, by abiding by the ACE strategy and attractingthe very best in human talent, can do the same.

First man on the mooninspires ACE delegates“You must be daring and different in life tosucceed,” says space legend, Neil Armstrong


My name is Zain. I am new to this world. Though I amstill young, I have a big dream. I dream ofachieving great things. My mission is to enrich the

life of my global family. It is a wonderful world that we alllive in, and I want to enable each individual to enjoy it. Thisis my purpose.

On my journey, I will be guided by my values: Radiance, Heartand Belonging. RADIANCE tells me to lead the way withimagination and vision and to bring joy, color, and richness.HEART guides me to live my life with courage and resolve,engage my spirit and touch emotions. BELONGING remindsme that I am part of a fellowship and community that knowsno territorial boundaries. I will be daring, I will be first, I will bedifferent and I WILL MAKE HISTORY.

By 2011, I aspire each day to touch and improve the lives of110 million people around the globe. Throughcommunication, I will enrich the lifestyle of my global family.I will help them talk, laugh, connect and carry out theirbusiness. This is my aspiration.

To achieve this, I will seek to attain global presence anddevelop a globally prominent brand. I believe that I mustattract the best talent and become the preferred employeracross my homeland.

My plan for doing all this is simple. First, I will becomeLARGER and seek to extend my global family within my

existing homeland and beyond. I will expand using mycurrent means and through acquisitions.

Second, I will go DEEPER in my relationships with my familymembers. I will explore new ways to enrich their lives. Inaddition to communication, I will help open to them newpossibilities with mobile financial services. I will bring smilesand delight to my family through media and entertainment.With time I will do more and more. This is only the beginning.

Third, as I grow, I will become STRONGER everywhere I ampresent. I will make my size a strength and build on myexperience to do things better. I recognize the diversity in myenvironment, and I will adapt to it to extend my reach evenfurther.LARGER, DEEPER, STRONGER. This is my strategy.

I believe that by unleashing human energy even the greatestdreams can be achieved. I seek to build a culture that ignitespassion and allows each of my people to reach his or herpotential. I will nurture the potential of my people and helpthem perform through inspiring leadership.

I believe that if I do all this I will provide good returns for thepeople who fund and contribute to my venture.This is my dream, and this is my plan. Will you join me?

Love,Zain

Words from a girl called Zain

LARGER, DEEPER,STRONGER. This ismy strategy. Throughcommunication, I willbe daring; I will befirst; I will be differentand I WILL MAKEHISTORY!

A young voice tells the ACE delegates whatit means to live in a Zain world


CORPORATE SPIRIT

14 reasons to raise the roof Zain hosts the biggest rebranding party in Africa

The recent launch of Zain in Africa was celebratedwith a series of spectacular events, attended by over100,000 people. The events took place

simultaneously across the company’s 14 African marketsand were linked by the most ambitious live satellite link-up the continent has ever seen as millions more watchedthe events on television.

The main event in Zain Africa’s regional headquarterNairobi, was attended by Zain Group CEO Dr Saad AlBarrak and the President of Kenya, His Excellency the Hon.Mwai Kibaki C.G.H. MP, together with the Kenyan Ministerfor Information and Communications, Hon. SamuelPoghisio, MP and 1,000 dignitaries and guests.

During his speech, President Kibaki hailed Zain for itsinnovativeness in coming up with the ‘One Network’ servicethat substantially reduces the costs of telephony. PresidentKibaki said, “Indeed, we are already observing that growthin mobile telephony has provided a reliable form ofcommunication to rural communities, thereby enabling ourfarmers to market their produce.”

The president observed, “This has not only enabledbusinesses to operate at lower costs but has also madecommunication cheaper for families that live across borders.”

Many famous African artists performed at the 14 events. Theseincluded Kenya’s Suzanna Owiyo, Bebe Cool from Uganda and


borderless network, linking Africa and the Middle East. Theservice will be available to 500 million people stretchingfrom the west coast of Africa to the Middle East, coveringan area larger than the United States of America.

Nigeria’s 9ice as well Manu Dibango, P Square, Salif Keita, AlifNaaba, Koné, Afrikando and Maureen Lilanda. Other highlightsinclude a live concert for 40,000 people by Grammy awardwinner Wyclef Jean in Uganda. The live satellite link acrossAfrica and the Kenyan rebrand were hosted by the actor JohnSibi-Okumu, famous for his appearance in the 2005, Oscar-winning movie, The Constant Gardener.

The African launch coincided with an announcement byZain that it has created the world’s first cross-continental


Talent timeMusicians from Burkina Faso come tocelebrate the birth of a new brand

More than 350 people celebrated the rebranding ofCeltel to Zain at the Sofitel Ouaga Hotel 2000 inOuagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. The Sofitel

Ouaga is a five-star hotel located in the heart of the city’snew administrative district.

Several high-ranking officials from the landlocked, WestAfrican country attended the party including Minister of Postsand Information Communication Technology John Odey.

The celebration was also popular with diplomats posted inBurkina Faso. The ambassadors of Holland, Nigeria, Niger andGermany joined in the revelry. The first item on the agenda forthe evening was the satellite link-up, which brought all 14African countries celebrating the rebrand together at once.

Speaking live to guests at rebranding celebrations acrossthe continent, Zain Group CEO Dr. Saad Al Barrak said, “We


believe the Zain brand provides an optimal platform uponwhich we can build a top 100 global brand with the ultimategoal of better serving our customers.”

Following the satellite presentation, guests enjoyed asumptuous meal. Next it was time for the entertainment.Event organizers brought together an eclectic mix of localtalent including dance troupes and musicians.

Audience members rose to their feet to dance as variousmusical acts took the stage. The evening ended with afireworks display timed to go off with displays in the 13other African countries also celebrating.


Zain and the Zo GangSoubyana Music and Mounira Mitchalashow the way with Ivory Coast support

Music and video dominated the celebration forrebranding to Zain in N’Djamena, the capital of thecentral African Republic of Chad. Over 350 guests

came to the Kempinski Hotel to mark the official launch ofthe new brand name.

Several state officials, including Minister of Communicationsand Culture Hourmadji Moussa Doumngor, diplomats andprominent members of the local business communityattended the event. The evening was peppered with videoscelebrating the accomplishments of both Zain and Celtel.

First up was a presentation informing guests about the Zainbrand. It was followed by a short film highlighting thesuccesses enjoyed by Celtel during its years as atelecommunications service provider in Chad. Finally, guests

watched a video of the 90th birthday party Zain threw forNelson Mandela in London over the summer and viewedand participated in a satellite link-up, which brought all 14African countries celebrating the rebrand together at once.

Several musical acts performed throughout the night. Thefirst band was Chad’s own Soubyana Music, aninstrumental band formed in 2002. Soubyana Musicbrought guests to their feet to dance with moderncompositions and then slowed the show down with a fewof their traditional tunes. The next artist to take the stagewas Mounira Mitchala, a female vocalist and also a Chadnative. The one foreign act, Frederic Meiway and his bandthe Zo Gang, came from Ivory Coast to entertain thecrowd, and they welcomed him by dancing just asenthusiastically as they did for the local talent.


Funk fusion in BrazzavilleDoudou Copa and Manu Dibango cometogether in a night of rhumba and jazz

Nearly 400 people descended on the Hotel OlympicPalace in Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic ofthe Congo, to celebrate the rebranding of Celtel to Zain.

Minister of Telecommunications Theirry Moungalla was the guestof honor and was joined by several other government officials.

The minister said he had faith that Zain would play animportant social and economic role in the country’s futureduring a speech he gave before cutting a cake in the shapeof the Zain logo. Moungalla’s speech came after dinner anddrinks and was followed by the satellite link-up, whichbrought all 14 African countries celebrating the rebrandtogether at once. With formailities over, the night shiftedgears and the music and dancing began.

Local artist Doudou Copa was a hit with the guests thatnight. He enjoys a popular following throughout thecountry and has released two albums. His rumba musichad the audience dancing up a storm as they celebratedthe rebrand. Guests also enjoyed Manu Dibango, an artistfrom Cameroon.

Dibango is a saxophonist and vibraphone player whosemusic fuses jazz, funk and traditional Cameroonian music.He slowed the show down a bit at one point, urging theaudience to follow his lead. Dibango proceeded to lead thewhole crowd in song.

They were one voice raised up in celebration.


Papa Wemba rocksVeteran African singer makes his mark at thehistoric event in Kinshasa

To celebrate the rebranding of Celtel to Zain, 500guests gathered at a restaurant in the heart ofKinshasa. Nestled on the southern bank of the Congo

River, Kinshasa is the capital city of the Democratic Republicof Congo and Africa’s third-largest city, a distinction itshares with South Africa’s capital, Johannesburg.

State officials, diplomats, journalists and leaders of thebusiness community were among those who came for anight of partying. The first half of the evening offered guestsboth a chance to meet the new brand, Zain, and celebratethe accomplishments of the old brand, Celtel.

A series of speeches introduced guests to Zain andexplained how the rebrand would impact the country.

Guests also watched a video highlighting Celtel’s historyand success stories. After two brief question-and-answersessions with Zain officials, the music started and guests lefttheir seats to dance. Zain invited several popular musiciansto help celebrate the rebrand. One of the musicians to takethe stage at the rebrand party was Papa Wemba. He isknown throughout Africa and got his start in 1969 inKinshasa. He has played in several different bands, releasedover 35 albums and appeared in three films. The way theaudience swayed and cheered as Papa Wemba played, itwas clear this influential artist had plenty of fans in thecrowd that night. Kinshasa’s own Felix Wazekwa, whoreleased his first album in 1995, and the Cameroonianmusician Thierry Olembe also performed at Zain’s party, acelebration that lasted well into the night.


The mother shipNairobi sends out the message of unityacross the continent

The past met the future at the rebrand celebration inNairobi, Kenya, the Zain headquarters in Africa.Around 700 people filled the main exhibition hall of

the Nairobi National Museum, surrounded by ancientartifacts and the new Zain logo. They were greeted withdrinks by hostesses as they walked along a red carpet toenter the venue. The party in Nairobi was the epicenter forZain’s rebrand across the continent.

From here Zain Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. Saad AlBarrak addressed all 14 African countries celebrating therebranding from Celtel to Zain via live satellite link-up.Kenya’s President, Mwai Kibaki, also attended the event. Hedelivered a speech touting the economic benefits that camealong with Zain’s acquisition of Celtel, the biggest of which

was the launch of the historic ‘One Network’. “This has notonly enabled businesses to operate at lower costs but hasalso made communication cheaper for families that live acrossborders,” he said.

Kibaki was joined by Minister of Information andCommunicaiton Mutahi Kagwe and other state officials. Tomark the rebranding the hall was divided into Celtel and Zainzones. In the Celtel zone, the museum hall’s floor was a stagefor African drummers, acrobats, magicians, fire eaters and alocal troupe of rhythmic dancers performing for the guests.Local painters were also on hand to create portraits for anyinterested guest. The Zain zone was the venue for theevening’s headlining singer, Sussana Owiyo, a local artistknown as the Queen of Benga music.


Raising the roofSpecially composed song heralds a newdawn in Gabon

Zain created its own building for the 260 guests whocame to the rebrand party in Gabon. The companybuilt a temporary dome structure in the Camp de

Gaulle neighborhood of Liberville, Gabon’s capital city, withtraditional Gabonese dancers, circus performers and singersoutside to welcome guests as they arrived.

Resting on 1.8 tons of sand, covering 600 square meters andmeasuring eight meters in height, the building served severalpurposes. Dubbed “Zain Plaza,” it shielded event guestsfrom winds that reach up to 90 kilometers per hour and actedas a screen on which guests watched videos and the satellitelink-up, which brought the Zain family togerther to celebratethe rebrand.

Gabonese singer Patience Dabany and French singer JacobDevarieux recorded a duet called “Zain Arrives,” and a video

of them performing the song was one of the presentationsprojected onto the dome’s ceiling. Dabany also gave a liveperformance at the end of the night. Music was a centralelement of the evening, and renowned pianist FredericGassita performed during the dinner to the sheer delight ofthe guests.

Zain also brought in local comics to entertain the crowd.One of them, Cissoko, is a well known televisioncommercial actor. He has been in several of Celtel’scommercials and is best known as “Flash man,” acharacter who lauded a particular Celtel product.Another familiar face in the crowd was Minister ofForeign Affaris Laure Olga Gondjout.

The evening ended as Dabany sang for over two hours withguests dancing all the while.


Bodo shakes the partyRebrand event in Madagascar was packedwith local performers

Acelebration of local culture was the theme of thenight for the rebrand party in Madagascar. Some450 guests gathered in eager anticipation in the

island nation’s capital city of Akorondano. Musicians anddancers representing areas all over Madagascar performedin several separate shows, displaying the multi-facetedculture of the fourth-largest island in the world.

Performers both young and old offered a glimpse into the cultural world of the country’s six provinces and 22regions. Madagascar has a storied history which contributesto its cultural diversity. Many different nations – includingthe Portuguese, French, British and Americans – have had apresence on the island throughout its history, creating atapestry of traditions which were all on display duringZain’s reprand celebration. Both foreign diplomats andgovernment officials, including Minister of Public Works

and Roads Roland Randriamampionona, attended the celebration.

“This evening highlighted the international dimension ofZain, its ability and its mastery of the most moderncommunication technologies,” the minister said. He wasparticularly impressed, he said, by the “youth and creativitythat radiated” throughout the evening.

To host the event, Zain brought Malagasy diva Aina Miray,known to fans as Bodo. Between performances guests atedinner, shared drinks and participated in the satellite link-up, which brought all 14 African countries celebrating therebrand together at once. “This evening marked thebeginning of a new brand, a new era and a new breath forthe big family of Zain in Madagascar,” said Ihab Al Fouly,Zain Madagascar’s MD.


Spreading the wordReggae band, the Black Missionaries, leadMalawi artists in rebrand celebrations

The atmosphere at the beginning of the rebrandcelebration in Malawi was suitably relaxed. Guestsarrived at the College of Medicine sports complex in

the country’s commercial capital, Blantyre, around 5 p.m. tosocialize, sip cocktails and watch local artists perform.

The Nanzikambe Theatre Group, founded in March 2003,entertained with a short, spirited performance. The groupadapts classic plays to an African setting and believes in usingtheatre as a tool for education and development. TheSambang’oma Dancers also put on a show for event attendees.After the shows outside, guests headed inside for dinner,speeches and live music. The celebration’s guest of honor,Malawi’s Minister of Trade and Industry Henry Mussa, deliveredthe keynote address. Mussa called the rebrand process “a

strategic decision to create a unique identity for the Zain Groupas it provides one seamless network from Africa to the MiddleEast.” Representatives from Zain Malawi also addressed theaudience, with CEO Fayaz King, Marketing Director EnwellKadango and Sales Director Saulos Chilima delivering speeches.

The guests then ate dinner and participated in the satellite link-up, which brought all 14 African countries celebrating therebrand together at once. A fireworks display followed, and theevening ended as guests hit the dance floor for a liveperformance from Malawi’s own reggae band the BlackMissionaries, a popular group that has released five albums.John Kamanga, operations director of the Malawi StockExchange, described the event as “massive” and “impressive.”“This was truly spectacular,” he said.


An explosive eveningFireworks, rappers and a dazzling displayfrom Aicha Kone make a night to remember

As the sun slowly sank below thehorizon, over 500 guests arrived at theEx Izé Gani on the bank of the Niger

River to celebrate rebranding to Zain inNiger. Several state officials joined the party,and Minister of Youth and SportsAbdourahamane Seydou commended ZainNiger for its donations to local newspapers invarious cities throughout the country.Seydou’s colleagues Mohamed Ben Omar,Minister of Communication, and MohamedAkotey, Minister of the Environment, alsocame for the celebration.

Following several speeches, dinner and thesatellite link-up, which brought all 14 Africancountries celebrating the rebrand together atonce, the live music started. Local rap artistsGaidan Gaskia and Ali Atchibili were the firstto take the stage, drawing guests to their feet and introducingthe Ivory Coast’s Aicha Kone. Kone is a female vocalist knownaround the world with a career that spans over two decades.She released her first album in 1981, defying her parents’objections to her pursuing a life dedicated to music. Koné sanguntil nearly one in the morning.

Just as her performance ended with the crowd cheering andshouting for more, the fireworks display began. A rainbowof colors painted the night sky over Niamey, Niger’s capitalcity, with thunderous explosions that prompted a localnewspaper to comment the next day that the city had neverseen a similar display.


The sultans of soundThe best of African talent kept guestsrocking well into the night

Under the stars on a warm August night, scores of peoplegathered in Lagos, Nigeria, to celebrate rebrandingCeltel to Zain. The event was held in Tafawa Balewa

Square, the commercial heart of the country’s smallest stateand named after Nigeria’s first prime minister.

Zain Nigeria’s CEO Bayo Ligali, addressed the crowd, promisingexcellent service and continued growth. He touted the benefitsZain has brought to Nigeria having invested over $2 billion onimproving the telecommunications network. “In terms of foreigndirect investment, this is quite significant and goes a long wayto support the federal government’s quest for increased foreigninvestment in the Nigerian economy,” he said.

The celebrations were attended by Tito Alai, Group ChiefCommercial Officer and architect of the Zain brand.

Ligali also entertained the crowd by performingtraditional Nigerian dance when it was Nigeria’s turn topresent itself live via satellite to the 13 other Africannations also celebrating the rebrand. The evening thenshifted focus as four different musical acts took to thestage. DJ Jimmy Jatt and DJ Shank put on a lively andcompetitive show as they battled on stage. Next, SoundSultan continued to warm the crowd up for the mostanticipated artist of the evening, Nigeria’s own 9ice. The rapper, born Albolore Adegbola Akande, is knownthroughout the country and the African continent for hislatest single, “Gongo Aso.”

The crowd went wild as he sang his chart-topping hit, manystaying to party well into the night despite the fact that theevent was meant to end at 10 p.m.


P-Square’s urban rockR&R twins set Freetown party alight withtheir inimitable groove

Alive brass band played a welcome note for the 600guests who came to Freetown’s Miatta Conference Hallto celebrate the rebranding of Celtel to Zain in Sierra

Leone. The country’s Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumanaattended the event and President Ernest Bai Koroma addressedthe crowd via satellite before the party joined in the celebrationwith their colleagues across the rest of Africa.

Koroma praised Celtel for establishing operations in SierraLeone shortly after the country emerged from years of civilconflict, helping it get a leg up in an increasingly digitalworld where communication is so important. He said hefully expects Zain to continue this legacy and that the newbrand name was an added value for Sierra Leone. “Wewant our customers to choose the network they deserve


and to distinguish ourselves from other companies byproviding the best services,” said Zain Sierra Leone’s CEOTed Sauti-Phiri.

In an effort to add some life to the conference hall’s drabappearance, the event planning committee decided totransform the venue into a forest. There was a “colorfuldisplay of a natural habitat in the heart of the city,”according to June Rose Johnson, communications executivefor Zain Sierra Leone. The celebration included aperformance by Nigeria’s P-Square, an R&B duo of identicaltwin brothers. They have sold millions of copies of theirthree albums, the most recent of which, Game Over, wasreleased last year. Their popularity was clear as the crowdwent wild when P-Squared took the stage.


Spirit of togethernessSouth African dance group, Umoja,entertains at the Tanzania rebrand

In Tanzania, Zain celebrated its official rebranding fromCeltel in the capital, Dar es Salaam, on the site of theformer parliament building, the Karimjee Grounds,

welcoming several current and former government officials.Larence Masha, the Minister for Home Affairs, joined thePermanent Secretary from the Ministry of Industry andCommerce Enos Bukuku, retired Prime Minister JosephWarioba and others to celebrate the launch.

Zain’s CEO for East Africa, Bashar Arafeh, addressed theguests several times throughout the evening. “The newbrand, Zain, is more colorful and is targeted at the massmarket,” Arafeh said. “The slogan will change to ‘Awonderful world’ for all the 22 operations of the group

worldwide. It will present a new lifestyle and experience formobile subscribers.” Between Arafeh’s speeches, the SouthAfrican dance group Umoja entertained the crowd. Thegroup, formed by Todd Twala and Thembi Nyadeni, isrenown throughout Africa.

They met in the late 1960s in Soweto, a neighborhood onthe outskirts of South Africa’s capital city, living under thebrutal conditions of the Aparthid era. The group’s name,Umoja, means “spirit of togetherness,” perhaps just theright fit for Zain’s rebranding given the sense of pan-Africantogetherness that imbued the evening and the partygoers.Umoja performed twice during Tanzania’s rebrandcelebration, both before and after the satellite link-up.


African heartbeatWyclef Jean and Bebe Cool wow a crowd of40,000 as Uganda parties with a Zain groove

The crowd that turned out to celebrate Zain’s launch inUganda reached nearly 40,000. Reveling in the openair on a hot August night at the Lugogo Cricket Oval

in Kampala, event attendees danced the night away. Zainbilled a mix of local and international musicians to kick offthe official rebranding.

After dinner and drinks, local artist Peter Miles set the moodfor a night packed with performances. People left theirseats to sway to the beats, anticipating the evening’sheadliner, Wyclef Jean, known worldwide for his lyrical style.Before Wyclef took the stage, guests participated in thesatellite link-up, which brought all 14 African countriescelebrating the rebrand together at once.

“It was really exciting to see 14 countries rebrand at once,”said Noela Byuma, who took part in the celebrations. “Toactually watch this live and connect with other peopleacross Africa via satellite made me feel like I was part of ahistoric moment.”

More dancing was on offer next as Bebe Cool, another localmusician, played reggae hits followed by DJ Benny D, whomixed music for the swaying crowd, the last act beforeWyclef set the night on fire. To a crowd-gone-wild Wyclefemerged around midnight and didn’t let up until well intothe early morning.

Kampala rocked to an African heartbeat.


Mama Zambia rulesMaureen Lilanda makes the Zambia rebrandparty a night to remember

Over 500 people gathered at the Nkwazi PrimarySchool in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, in earlyAugust to celebrate the rebranding of Celtel to

Zain, after a decade of the former’s presence in thismarket. Zain’s choice of a primary school as the event’svenue was perhaps a nod to the company’s commitmentto local communities. Zain has donated funds to improve100 Zambian schools, announcing that it would supplyfunds to renovate a school in the Chongwe district justdays after the celebration.

Zain’s rebrand party drew both state officials, includingMinister of Communications Dora Siliya, and Zain officials,including Zain Africa’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Gabriel.“Our products, services and commitment to our communities

will remain the same under Zain,” said Gabriel, speaking tothe Times of Zambia of the impending switch before theevent. “We are simply taking an African success story, Celtel,to the whole world and establishing a global brand.”

Following the satellite link-up, which brought all 14 Africancountries celebrating the rebrand together at once, thecelebration ended with a performance by Zambia’s own femalesinger, song writer and musician Maureen Lilanda. The crowdwent wild for the local star, dancing and singing as she playedher well known hits. Lilanda is known locally as “Mama Zambia”and “Aunty Maureen” and has released four albums ranging instyle from cabaret jazz to traditional Zambian beats. MinisterSiliya and Chris Gabriel also did their share to entertain bytaking part in a dance performance.


MOBILE LIFE

One should not gloat atanother’s misfortune, but yetwe must surely gloat when we

hear that European phone companieswill soon be forced to limit theirroaming fees.

The authoritative source on roamingis GSM World, an interest group andmouthpiece of companies thatmanufacture and operate mobilephone networks under the GSMtechnical standard. That, to be clear,means this is the lobby of companiesserving half the world through the 3.4billion subscribers who use GSM(plus CDMA and HSPA) services,according to latest industry figuresfrom October 2008.

In the prose of GSM World, “roamingis the ability for a cellular customer toautomatically make and receive voicecalls, send and receive data, or accessother services when travelling outsidethe geographical coverage area of thehome network, by means of using avisited network.”

Technically supported by mobilitymanagement, authentication and billingprocedures, roaming, says GSM World,“is possible because your homeoperator has a ‘roaming agreement’with an operator in the visited countrythat enables you to use its network.”

Innocent as this stuff sounds,roaming has become synonymous

with monopolistic pricing structuresthat exploit our dependency on themobile phone. This is a seriousexploitation of man by man and aviolation of the fundamental tenetsof the information andcommunications age.

To support this claim, here’s a word foryou that you may not yet be familiarwith: nomophobia. It’s a new word of2008, and like with all phobias, asufferer will experience this one withsymptoms such as sweaty palms,irrepressible irritation, nervous glancesand uncontrollable eye movements.Nomophobia is the feeling of fear thatgrips when one is without a phone orout of reach.

Business writer Thomas Schellen ragesagainst roaming charges

Going nowhere


A study in the United Kingdom hasfound earlier this year that more than halfof its mobile phone users would panicwhen they lose their mobile connection(but one suspects that the number ofcandidates for this strong anxiety hasactually increased during the recent crisisof global financial and stock markets). Inother words, nomophobia threatensmany. Can we bear the thought of losingour mobile phone, running out of batterypower, or being in a place where wehave no network coverage?

Roaming ostensibly offers a solution tobeing cut off from essential contacts; theproblem is the cost. Here is where I startgloating. Very recently, a Saudi mobilecompany said its subscribers will be ableto receive calls and SMS in more than 50countries without charge, and oneEuropean carrier has announced newpricing plans for mobile Internetroaming which appear to be reasonable.

That’s quite a change of positions. Notlong ago, bleeding-heart editorials insome operator-aligned Europeantelecoms publications had pushedconsumers’ fear buttons by saying thatthe poor providers would no longer beable to invest in the best technology ifthe EU forced price caps on roamingfees that will stop operators frommilking customers for skimpysurcharges of a few 100%.

But cost alone can’t be the main troublewith roaming. I use my mobile daily in

my work in Beirut, and this means I pay asimilarly insane surcharge for every callfor the admittedly good cause of helpingthe Lebanese state service the publicdebt. Additionally, I use internationalSMS roaming on every trip for sending atext message home to say that I havearrived safely.

Why would I ramble against roaming?Because roaming charges are likeradiation. You do as you have done athousand times – take a call, do a quick

check of news and inbox, and, bang,the roaming charge zaps you like falloutfrom Chernobyl. You don’t smell orsense it, but a few days later, you reel inpain when you get your invoice. Thistype of roaming is amoral, a veiledmonster that lets me do what I alwaysdo but at ten times the price.

Secondly, the cost of roaming servicemay have been excusable as atechno-global elitist luxury back inthe days when roamers were tycoonsand celebrities who either had noworries burning cash or for whom thecost of roaming was outweighed bythe cost of not-roaming. But that wasso 20th century.

When the EU started examining the cut-throat costs of roaming in 2007, analystspredicted that the – rather reticent –ceiling on fees on voice call roamingcharges would suppress operatorrevenues in Euroland by 1 to 4% - butwould slash their earnings beforeinterest, depreciation, taxes, andamortization (EBIDTA) by 7 to 8%! The message is that the good corporatecitizens of GSM heaven Europe hadfound ways to make their earnings from

The cost of roaming service may havebeen excusable as a techno-globalelitist luxury back in the days whenroamers were tycoons and celebritieswho either had no worries burning cashor for whom the cost of roaming wasoutweighed by the cost of not-roaming.But that was so 20th century


roaming rise surreptitiously over the past15 to 16 years to cash cow status, theconsumer being allowed to play the roleof the cow.

The other thing I have against roamingis, well, a mental concept. Already theword roaming smacks of freedom.Communication is our ticket to be partof the global community – whethercultural, scientific, civil, business,student sub-community or just yourfriends and relatives. This freedomshould be as universal as possible andnot be limited by unnecessary costs.

When the EU telecoms commissionernot long ago addressed the issue of

roaming, she said “Using your mobilephone abroad in the EU should notcost unjustifiably more than at home.” But if regulators are concerned aboutroaming charges, they usually care fortheir own constituencies, not forglobal quality and fair pricing ofcommunications. Good roaming is freeroaming, though. Free in the sensethat Zain has proven can be possible –that means without feeling anydifference in service and pricing when Imake a local call in a partner networkor get a call from home.

This innovation was the litmus test thatshowed how roaming as a cash-maximization model is wrong-footed and

a result of distortive European practicessuch as baiting new customers withheavily subsidized handsets. Ironically,and here I gloat a bit more, so-calledthird-world innovativeness has led the EUto rethink its roaming policies, althoughso far in insufficient dimensions.

Responsible profits are the lubricant ofeconomic activity, and I’d hate fewtelecoms experiences more than losinga trusted service because my preferredoperator goes bankrupt. What I want isfair and consistent service and a fairand transparent price – no “free gifts”that rob me, no veiled charges, nosneaking surprises.

If my phone company wants a loyalcustomer? Let me roam free. That willgo a long way toward lastingemotional attachment. Most recenttechnologies are going the way ofconvergence and innovators, and inthe sense of the past roamingconcepts, roaming deserves to die asthe outmoded form of indenturedcommunications feudalism that it hasbeen. I want to roam free – punning asbadly as I like along the way – live freewhere beauty surrounds me, and stayfree where networks unite in service atequitable costs.

Good roaming is free roaming, though.Free in the sense that Zain has provencan be possible – without feeling anydifference in service and pricing when Imake a local call in a partner network orget a call from home


MOBILE LIFE

With the rapid development ofmobile telecom devices, not tomention the ever-increasing

regionalization and globalization, we findourselves facing a number of challengesthat can be fundamentally summed up inthe question: How do we manage all theincreasingly complex communication inour lives?

The 21st century’s thrustingbusinessperson might – and probablywill – have more than one phonethrough which they can be contacted –mobile phone (personal), mobilephone (business), private landline,second home, and car phone. In ourmobile society, it becomes increasinglychallenging to manage all these.

In a world where “reach-ability” is key,new services have developed that offer“one identity, one bill, multiple device”solutions, consolidating all the varioustelecom connections under onenumber. There is no limit to thenumber of devices used, each having itsown connection but all integrated intoone system. Customers can, of course,decide which kind of data - voice, fax,SMS, email, multimedia, etc. - or evenwhich source - caller, email account ormedia service - will go to which device.

In 2007, GrandCentral - with itsslogan “One Number … for Life”-was inaugurated in the US and, after astrong start, was quickly bought byGoogle. In essence it provided one

number for all communicationdevices, regardless whether they arelandlines or mobiles, or whether thecustomer moved to another locationor switched provider.

The service includes CallerID andallows contacts to be imported froman email account, such as Yahoo! orGmail, on the customer’s onlineaccount, making it possible to pre-sortany call to a specific profile anddevice. Thus, family and friends couldbe directed to the mobile phone andnever to the business line. Businesscalls to the mobile can also berestricted to, for example, Monday toFriday from 9 am to 5 pm, goingdirectly to voice mail instead.

It also offers instant recording of calls,storage of voice mails, and emailalerts whenever a voice mail was left,in addition to downloading messagesto one’s computer to listen to themanywhere. Phones can be switched inmid-call, so one can take a call on thelandline and then switch to themobile phone when leaving a locationwithout the caller having to hang upand call again.

In a world characterized by mobility,where landlines are secondary tomobile phones and WiFi access isbecoming standard, “Many devices -one number” services are but a logicalnext step for private and businesscommunication.

Another challenge is to make lifeeasier for those of us without roamingfacility but who frequently travel toareas of the world Zain’s ‘OneNetwork’ vision has yet to take root.This kind of mobile life can involveowning several SIM cards – oftensloshing around in a makeshift plasticcontainer – which are switched at eachborder crossing. Not ideal, is it?

But first a bit of trivia: SIM is theacronym for Subscriber IdentityModule. It is a small plastic card – you

Phone management andcross border solutions forour time

Mobiles onthe move!


Dual-SIM phones are more expensivethan single-SIM models but stillcheaper than two separate single-SIMphones, and in the end, customers arehappy to pay for significantly easierhandling of their two SIM cards

knew that right? – that is 25mm long,15mm wide, and only 3/4 of amillimeter thick. In it is a microchip onwhich the service-subscriber key isstored and which is used to identify asubscriber and store data.

Now, because SIM cards are very small,they are very easy to lose. In addition,when carried in a wallet or pocket, thedanger of scratching the surface of thechip or even breaking the SIM card ishigh. And last but not least, changingthe card, which involves opening the


phone and taking out the battery, isnot something one constantly wants tohave to do while crossing a landborder or during a flight and certainlynot while at the immigration desk.

How to get around the problem? Theobvious solution is to have more thanone phone. Still, it’s hardly perfect.Owning two phones means extrabaggage, extra batteries and extracharging. It’s simply not the way wewould like to tailor our personalcommunications.

MULTI SIMEnter Dual SIM phones, a response tocustomer demand for a solution to themulti-SIM dilemma. Phonemanufacturers originally came up withadd-ons for regular mobile phones inthe shape of dual-SIM adapters thatcould be integrated into a normal,one-SIM card phone. Early modelswere a bit Heath-Robinson-esque.They were bulky, having toaccommodate additional wires andcircuits, and required the “extra” SIMcard to be literally cut to size, a

practice fraught with pitfalls. Today’sadapters are more miniaturized sothat, from the outside, the phonelooks the same, but there is still adrawback in that at any time only oneSIM card is usable.

Dual-SIM phones are manufactured toaccommodate two SIM cards that canbe used simultaneously. Thedifference to single-SIM phones thathave been fitted with a dual-SIMadapter lies in the transceiver. Normalmobile phones contain onetransceiver, meaning that it can onlyreceive and transmit information toand from one SIM card, whereas dual-SIM phones have two transceivers andcan thus operate both SIM cards at thesame time.

This dual operation does affect batterytime, typically reducing it by 30%, butmost dual-SIM phones come withextra-capacity batteries. Both Philipsand Samsung have dual-SIM phones intheir product lines - the Xenium 9@9wand the 699 for the former and theD880 DuoS for the latter.

The phones look the same and havethe same functions as single-SIMphones - the difference being thateverything can be doubled. Whenswitching from one to the other SIMcard, profiles are switched as well, beit for phone, email, browsing,multimedia or other services. When acall is received, the card to which itwas made is indicated, and of course,the customer can assign differentringtones to the different cards.

Dual-SIM phones are more expensivethan single-SIM models, but stillcheaper than two separate single-SIMphones, and in the end, customers arehappy to pay for significantly easierhandling of their two SIM cards.

Another solution to cross-bordermobility and high internationalroaming rates has been brought tothe world by Zain with its Africa andMiddle East ‘One Network,’ allowingcustomers to subscribe to a mobilephone service in one country but


keep paying local rates even whenthey travel abroad, as long as theyare in a country where their telecomprovider also offers services. Initiallylaunched in the East African states ofKenya, Tanzania and Uganda inSeptember 2006, the service hasproved so popular in breaking downtelecommunications borders, both

paid customers may top up theiraccounts with airtime cards boughtfrom their home networks, whichevercountry they are in. The service hasbeen rolled out in the Middle East toserve Zain’s 14 million customers inBahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Sudan whoare now part of a pan-Middle Eastmobile community.

Finally in Lebanon in April 2008, mtctouch, the GSM operator managedby the Zain Group, launched, incollaboration with AeroMobile, itsnew roaming on aircrafts service,putting it among the first mobilecompanies in the region to providethis service. mtc touch customers cannow make and receive calls as well assend and receive sms while travelingon Emirates Airlines. At a later stage,other airlines signing similaragreements with AeroMobile will beable to offer this value added serviceto their passengers.

You can’t say it isn’t a solution drivenworld!

In a world where “reach-ability” is key,new services have developed thatoffer “one identity, one bill, multipledevice” solutions, consolidating all thevarious telecom connections underone number. There is no limit to thenumber of devices used, each havingits own connection but all integratedinto one system

physically and literally, that theroaming agreement has beenextended to other Zain operationsand now covers more than 160million customers able to make callsat local rates, receive incoming callsfree of charge and top-up their pre-paid phones with locally boughtairtime cards. Alternatively, Zain’s pre-


MOBILE LIFE

For every parent who ever told theirchildren that they had eyes in theback of their heads, modern

technology can now do one better. In amove that is more reminiscent oflocation-tracking devices in such sci-fifilms as The Matrix or Total Recall,wireless companies in the West havebegun to roll out a service that usesGPS tracking into something childrencarry voluntarily: cell phones. Using aphone’s inbuilt GPS, parents can nowtell every time their children skippedschool or visited someone theyshouldn’t have.

After securing a foothold in theteenage market, wireless companiesare now setting their sights on the so-called tween (8-12 age group) market,to drive consumer growth. Withcompetition in the wireless market ascut-throat as ever, many industryanalysts see this younger segment asthe next big sales opportunity. Thiscomes as the adult market nearssaturation levels with the globalsubscription base by the end of 2007estimated at 1.68 billion by FitchRatings, a year on year growth of17.6%. In the Gulf region, in particular,

the estimated penetration rate of130% – amounting to more cellphones than people – can be largelyattributed to increases in disposableincome, improvements ininfrastructure, bandwidth and cost,and convenience of use stemmingfrom next-generation phones.

In the US, which was the first countryto see the lucrative potential of firstthe teen and now the tweensegments, the growth of youngsubscribers is set to overtake that ofthe overall American population in the

Parents can find peace of mind making surechildren are within easy reach

Kidz are us


next two or three years. According to asurvey by the technology consultingfirm, Jupiter Research, this growth hasbeen fuelled by parental concernsover safety, particularly in the wake ofterrorist attacks and shootings in thecountry’s high schools.

Specifically, the ability for children toreach their parents in an emergencyis driving both young teen and tweensales. Jupiter Research estimates thatsome 9.2 million out of the 20 millionAmerican children in the 8 to 12-year-old bracket had cell phones by theend of 2007. By 2010, there could beas many as 12 million preteen cellphone users. Moreover, the numberof eight-year-olds with phones morethan doubled to 600,000 from 2003,while the number of mobile-toutingnine-year-olds jumped to 1.5 millionfrom 500,000.

Children want cellphones forreasons obviousto them: they lookcool and makethem feel grown-up. They convey acertain status andallow them to stayin near-constanttouch with friends(and parents)

Indeed, the latest tracking servicessuch as Verizon Wireless’s Chaperoneand Sprint’s Family Locator are allpart of the marketing mix aimed atconvincing parents to buy into thetween vision. And from theperspective of the average preteen,demand is being expanded withspecial, tailor-made phones forchildren. For example, the bright blueFirefly Mobile, which was introducedin 2005, features only five keys, withchild-friendly icons for speed-diallinga parent.

In the Arab region, the teen andtween subscription base is also on therise. However, the increase owes moreto demographics rather than concernsover child safety in schools and onthe streets. Given that 55% to 65% ofthe total population is under 30,wireless companies in the Gulf regionhave been quick to roll out plans foryounger customers, particularlyuniversity students. And while thereisn’t the same focus on tailor-madephones for children – which makes itdifficult to pick out figures foryounger subscribers from the adultbase – here too the incursion of cellphones into tween society hasratcheted up the electronics race,with mobile phones joining laptops,digital cameras and iPods onchildren’s wish lists.

Children want cell phones for reasonsobvious to them: they look cool andmake them feel grown-up. Theyconvey a certain status and allow themto stay in near-constant touch withfriends (and parents).

Of course, there are very differentconsiderations for parents. Thedecision of when or indeed whether tobuy children cell phones is oftenemotionally charged and value-laden,which raises thorny questions aboutsafety, maturity and materialism.

While for some parents, cell phonescan be an electronic security blanketfor both parent and child, for othersthe practical use of cell phones foryoung children who are rarely without

adult supervision is at best marginal;and the cell phones for the tots cansoon be forgotten and lost among thetangle of toys.

To be sure, the novelty and razzle-dazzle of cell phones wear off, andthey are often put out of young mindsin the way of other, once-covetedelectronic games and toys. Andbesides, young children, who canbarely be convinced to say a fewwords to granddad over the phone,have few peers with phones to call.

Moreover, while mobilecommunications for youngsters isgaining wider acceptance, safety andsecurity has a different meaning for aparent, depending on the age of thechild. For older teenagers, the catalystcan be leaving home for the first time togo to university; for younger children,it’s the convenience of a parent beingable to keep tabs on the child.

For that reason, the tracking servicesthat are widely available in the US,Europe and the Far East are provingever more popular with parents. Of


course, not all trackers phone home.For instance, OurKids, which waslaunched by Blue Tree Service in theUK last year, is a basic GPS locatorwith an alarm button that slips neatlyinto a child’s backpack.

But the purpose is the same whetherthey’re fully-fledged cell phones orsimple black boxes. To pinpoint thedevice, you call up a dedicatedwebsite, enter a password, click“locate” and an icon appears on a map– either a street map or actual satellitephoto. In the US, you can zoom inenough on photo view to see individualbuildings. These are existing satellitephotos – a truant child won’t actually bestanding there – but this feature iscutting edge if altogether creepy.

Many experts believe such trackingdevices will soon become as

mainstream as cell phonesthemselves. However, it’s importantto raise the moral implications of thistechnological advance. In essence,these companies are selling theparents a spying tool. And playingBig Brother for a bit of peace ofmind – or rather, Big Mum or Dad –could ultimately prove moredamaging than useful.

Keeping too close an eye on kidsundermines the trust and, more often,backfires. After all, remember whatalways happens in the sci-fi films whenthe hero discovers the tracking device.Whether it’s Arnold Schwarzeneggerextracting the tracker from his nose inTotal Recall, or the arachnid bot beingsucked out of Keanu Reeves’s navel inThe Matrix, it’s the people who areresponsible for planting the trackerswho always get their comeuppance.

Given that 55% to65% of the totalpopulation is agedunder 30 years,wireless companiesin the Gulf regionhave been quick toroll out plans foryounger customers,particularlyuniversity students


MOBILE LIFE

SMART MOVESAn estimated 90 million phones arehiding in drawers and cupboards acrossthe UK (11,250 tons) - these weighalmost six times as much as the LondonEye. Mobile phones contain numeroussubstances which need to be disposedof in safe and efficient manner.

• The Cadmium in the battery froma single old phone could seriouslycontaminate 600,000 litres of water,enough to fill a third of anOlympic-sized swimming pool.Cadmium is being phased out ofnew batteries. • Lead - which affects the immune,endocrine and central nervoussystems, and causes seriousdamage to children’s brains - isused to solder components to theprinted wiring boards. • Brominated flame retardants,used in wiring boards and plasticcases, have been associated withcancer, liver damage and problemswith the neurological, immune andendocrine systems. • Beryllium, which cancause serious lungdamage, is used incontacts and springsand highly toxic dioxinscan be emitted if thephones are incineratedin waste plants.

Source: www.recyclingappeal.com

DRIVING THE FACTS HOMEIf you drive using a mobilephone, you are four timesmore likely to crash, thansomeone not using aphone. Using a mobilephone while drivingreduces your ability to reactand distracts yourconcentration. This appliesequally to conversations onhand-held and hands-freephones. Some studies haveshown that using a mobilephone while driving can

affect your ability as much as beingover the drink-drive limit.

• Having a mobile phoneconversation increases drivers’mental workload and stress levels. • Using a mobile phone whiledriving affects your ability to stay inlane; keep to a steady speed; keepto the speed limit; stay a safedistance from the vehicle in front. • Using a mobile phone whiledriving also affects your reactiontimes, judgement of safe gaps andgeneral awareness of other traffic.• Research shows using a mobilephone while driving can lead tomore aggressive driving behaviour. • Hands-free mobile calls still affect your driving ability;reducing awareness andincreasing reaction times.

Source: www.kent.gov.uk

DID YOU KNOW?Cell phones came into existencebecause of the invention ofhexagonal cells in 1947 for base

Trivia to inspirestations by Bell Labs engineers atAT&T. This was further developedduring the 1960s by Bell Labs. Duringa call, the channel frequency couldnot be changed automatically fromone cell (base station coverage area)to another cell (base station coveragearea) as the person traveled from thearea of one cell to the area of anothercell. Amos Joel of Bell Labs inventeda breakthrough invention and called itas the ‘call handoff’ by which thechannel frequency could be changedautomatically from one cell to anothercell, during the same call, as themobile user traveled from one cell toanother cell. Due to their heavyconstruction, these phones were usedmainly in automobiles. The firstpractical cell phone in a non-vehiclesetting, which could be handheld,was invented by Martin Cooper, theGeneral Manager (CommunicationsDivision) of Motorola. He made theworld’s first handheld cell phone(telefone celular) call on April 3, 1973.Source: www.ezinearticles.com

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