Ooredoo Reaches Milestone of 1 Million Customers in Myanmar

Incredible Response in First Month of Operations, as Ooredoo Strives to Make a Difference in Newest Market

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Aug 25, 2014, 09:00 ET

DOHA, Qatar, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ooredoo has already broken through the one million customer milestone in its newest market of Myanmar, less than three weeks after going live with its services.

H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman, Ooredoo Group, revealed the significant achievement in a special ceremony in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, where he thanked the people of Myanmar for their warm welcome, and stressed the company's commitment to serving the country.

Since the launch of Ooredoo in Myanmar, the company has seen unprecedented demand for its mobile phone and internet services, with people queuing overnight to purchase a low-cost Ooredoo SIM. The team is striving to deliver up to customers' expectations, offering crystal clear voice services and fast Internet.

The event offered thanks to customers, staff and partners who have made this achievement possible and the Chairman challenged his team to go further in striving to improve service for customers. It was attended by a number of VIP guests, including H.E. Sheikh Abdullah; H.E. U Myat Hein, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology; H.E. Jaber Ali Al Dosari, Qatar Ambassador to Thailand and accredited to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos; Aziz Al-Uthman Fakhroo, Ooredoo Group Board Member and Chairman of Ooredoo Myanmar; Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo; U Than Htun Aung, Director of Posts and Telecommunications Department; and Ross Cormack, CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar.

Demonstrating the potential for growth and strong appetite for data services in Myanmar, many customers are using mobile and accessing the internet for the first time.

In his speech, H.E. Sheikh Abdullah expressed his delight at the strong interest particularly from people who previously had not had the opportunity to benefit from mobile and access to the internet, and said the response from customers has been "humbling," such as one of our first customers - a father - who saw how this would give his son access to better education opportunities.

"Mobile communication enriches people's lives. It connects job-seekers with new opportunities, unites families who are separated by geography, enables teachers to access learning resources, farmers to track market demand, and entrepreneurs to connect with new suppliers, which is why we have continuously pushed to enable people's access to these life chances. I am humbled by the warm welcome we have received from the people of Myanmar, and by their dedication to improving their lives with technology. We are committed to continuously improving our service so we can meet our promise of giving people better life chances," he said.

"I think of people like Daw Hla, another of our first customers. She's a fisherwoman who has never used a mobile phone before our launch. She told us this was a 'golden opportunity' to reach out and connect her community through technology. To customers like Daw, I promise we will keep working hard to improve and enhance our services," he added.

Ooredoo has invested and installed the world's first next-generation purely UMTS900 network throughout Myanmar, which will provide fast internet and is primed to enable a smooth transition to a 4G LTE network in the future.

H.E. U Myat Hein, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: "Over the past few years, the Union Government and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology have worked hard to lay the foundations for the creation of a competitive telecommunications landscape that truly serves our people and we are closer than ever to achieving this."

"This is truly a historic moment for our country, people, and the telecoms sector in Myanmar. My most heartfelt congratulations to the whole Ooredoo and Ooredoo Myanmar Limited team on your successful launch of Ooredoo service in Myanmar! And I am also glad to see you have kept your launch commitment," he added.

Aziz Al-Uthman Fakhroo, Ooredoo Group Board Member and Chairman of Ooredoo Myanmar, said: "This has been a challenging greenfield launch, where we have needed to counter a number of logistical and technological challenges to deliver a world-class network for the people. We have overcome these challenges with the help of local partners and communities, and have become the first international communications company to operate in Myanmar. We will continue to strive to offer the very best services for our customers."

Speaking of the challenges faced during the development stage, Ross Cormack, CEO Ooredoo Myanmar, praised the 1,000 employees of the Ooredoo Myanmar team, and stated that – in keeping with the company's tradition of hiring local talent – 800 of these team members are Myanmar people.

Alongside traditional sales and services jobs, which cover 6,500 dealers at launch and 30,000 points of sale for top-ups, the company estimate through the distribution network alone Ooredoo has already supported approximately 50,000 new jobs for the people of Myanmar.

Cormack commented: "The response to our launch has been inspiring! This wonderful nation's pent-up demand for mobile communication services has surpassed even our expectations, and as our reach expands across the country these opportunities will increase. This growth will enable more people to experience our life-enriching services and see the life changing opportunities technology can bring."

At the close of the ceremony, Ooredoo highlighted that the network will rapidly extend to include 25 million people by the end of 2014, as the company brings the benefits of connectivity to the population as fast as is possible.

For photographs of the event, please click here: http://tbf.me/a/a8k1Q

Photo captions

1 – (From left to right) H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman Ooredoo Group; H.E. U Soe Thein, Union Minister President Office; H.E. U Myat Hein, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology; Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO Ooredoo at the Ooredoo Myanmar Launch Celebration Gala on August 20th, Nay Pyi Taw.

2 – H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman, Ooredoo Group delivering the opening keynote speech during the Ooredoo Myanmar Launch Celebration Gala on August 20th, Nay Pyi Taw.

3 – H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman, Ooredoo Group and H.E. U Soe Thein, Union Minister President Office at the Ooredoo Myanmar launch celebration gala on August 20th, Nay Pyi Taw.

4 – (From left to right) Haroon Shahul Hameed, COO, Ooredoo Myanmar; Ross Cormack, CEO, Ooredoo Myanmar; H.E. Dr Kan Zaw, Union Minister of National Planning and Economy; H.E. Jaber Ali Al Dosari, Ambassador to Thailand and accredited to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos; H.E. U Soe Thein Union Minister President Office ; H.E. U Myat Hein, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology; H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani ,Chairman, Ooredoo Group; H.E. Htay Aung, Union Minister Hotels and Tourism; Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO Ooredoo; Aziz Al-Uthman Fakhroo, Ooredoo Group Board Member and Chairman of Ooredoo Myanmar; Dr. Bassam Hannoun, Ooredoo Myanmar Board member and Executive Advisor to Group CEO, Ooredoo.

5 – Traditional Myanmar umbrella dance performance during Ooredoo Myanmar launch celebration gala on August 20th in Nay Pyi Taw.

6 – Traditional Myanmar candle lite dance performance during Ooredoo Myanmar launch celebration gala on August 20th in Nay Pyi Taw.

About Ooredoo Myanmar

Ooredoo, the mobile telecom operator bringing crystal clear voice calls and fast internet for all in Myanmar, announced the availability of its life-enriching services in August 2014. In June 2013 Ooredoo Myanmar was awarded a licence to operate in the country. The past twelve months have been spent laying the foundations for Ooredoo to become an integral part of daily life in Myanmar. Ooredoo Myanmar offers a wide range of life-enriching, exciting and customer-friendly mobile communication services through its next generation network. These services provide a platform for human growth and empowerment and are designed to help people achieve their full potential and businesses operate more efficiently.

Twitter: @ooredoo_mm
Instagram: @ooredoomyanmar
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OoredooMyanmar
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ooredoomyanmar

Ooredoo Myanmar is looking for people if you would like to join a fun and energetic team, please send your CV to [email protected]

About Ooredoo Group

Ooredoo is a leading international communications company delivering mobile, fixed, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of consumers and businesses across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. As a community-focused company, Ooredoo is guided by its vision of enriching people's lives and its belief that it can stimulate human growth by leveraging communications to help people achieve their full potential. Ooredoo has a presence in markets such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, the Maldives, Myanmar and Indonesia. The company was named "Best Mobile Operator of the Year" at the World Communication Awards 2013.

The company reported revenues of US$9.3 billion in 2013 and had a consolidated global customer base of more than 95 million people as of 31 December 2013. Ooredoo's shares are listed on the Qatar Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Twitter: @Ooredoo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ooredoogroup
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ooredoo
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ooredoogroup

SOURCE Ooredoo