Ooredoo to Showcase Achievements at Mobile World Congress

Launch of Ooredoo Brand has enabled group to put Customers' Digital Lifestyles at the Heart of its Vision

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Mar 01, 2015, 09:00 ET

DOHA, Qatar and BARCELONA, Spain, March 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ooredoo will showcase some of its remarkable year of achievements in its Pavilion in Hall 2 at Mobile World Congress from 2-5 March 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.

2014 was a ground-breaking year for Ooredoo, with more operations across its footprint adopting the new brand (which was originally launched at Mobile World Congress 2013), a major focus on data and digital services, and the company working hard to live up to its vision of enriching people's lives.

In particular, the company has emerged as a leader in data and digital lifestyle services over the past year. Data reached 22 percent of total Ooredoo revenue in Q3 2014, and revenue from mobile content increased by 19 percent in the same period. In all, some 25 percent of Ooredoo customers are now using mobile content.

Commenting on the progress made over the past year, Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: "Ooredoo is a leader in digital services in emerging markets, and we believe that our services are transforming people's lives. More than a quarter of our customers now use smartphones, reflecting the transformation that has taken place in lifestyles in the MENA region and Southeast Asia in recent years. We are going to build on our number one position in markets like Qatar, Algeria and Iraq to bring in the next generation of data services and make these available for everyone."

To ensure the best quality of connection and mobile surfing speeds for its customers, Ooredoo launched several new network enhancements in 2014, including a state-of-the-art 4G+ network in Qatar, making Ooredoo's home country one of a handful of nations in the world to have the fastest mobile Internet service available. Ooredoo's Indosat launched Indonesia's fastest 4G-LTE service in 2014. Ooredoo also enhanced 4G services in Kuwait, Maldives and Oman during the year.

The company also saw significant success with 3G services, reaching the milestone of 3.5 million 3G customers in Algeria within the first year of its 3G launch, and also seeing Asiacell, Ooredoo's company in Iraq, offering 3G services in January 2015 within one month of receiving its license.

In Myanmar, Ooredoo launched commercially with 3G services in a world-first, and saw unprecedented demand, reaching its millionth customer in less than three weeks from launch. In all, 80 percent of Ooredoo customers in Myanmar use smartphones – a record for smartphone penetration in an emerging market.

Ooredoo was also successful in rolling out the Ooredoo brand in 2014. With the launch of the brand in Kuwait in April and Oman in November 2014, the global brand of Ooredoo is now present in seven markets: Qatar, Algeria, the Maldives, Tunisia, Myanmar, Kuwait and Oman.

Ooredoo has taken major strides in business services during 2014, generating more than US$1 billion revenue from B2B services in 2014, with nine-month year-on-year growth close to 10 percent. In Iraq, Asiacell has significantly expanded its B2B sales force and won new customers by creating solutions, such as customised Closed User Groups.

In Indonesia, Indosat is building dedicated channels to meet the unique needs of business customers. For a country that has about 55 million small, medium and micro businesses, segmented direct, indirect and retail channel experience is critical to address all types of businesses

The Group is set to launch a cloud-based Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Platform in 2015, which will enable Ooredoo to reduce the time-to-market when building industry-specific 'Internet of things' solutions.

The company is also working with partners to develop a host of so-called "smart services," including smart infrastructure, smart entertainment, connected cars, next generation education, health and workplace solutions, and "smart city" municipality services management, intelligent transport and smart stadiums. A number of these solutions will be on display at the Ooredoo pavilion during Mobile World Congress.

About Ooredoo

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.

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