The FINANCIAL — Users around the world want their mobile broadband connections as just as private as their phones. They also want to personalize their phones with applications that give them easy access to social media channels.
Qtel Group customers across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia will in the future be able to enjoy the latest multimedia services thanks to a new platform solution provided by Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC).
Ericsson measurements show that mobile data traffic has surpassed voice. Jan Wäreby, Head of Multimedia at Ericsson, says one reason is that people are connecting more to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and increasingly do so on the go using their phones. "Indonesia for example, is the world's second fastest growing country in terms of Facebook users. Worldwide, more than 100 million active users are now accessing Facebook using their mobile devices," Wäreby says.
"To offer innovative services to its customers, such as social networking and mobile music, the Qtel Group is choosing Ericsson's Service Delivery Platform. The Ericsson platform will allow the Qtel Group to handle an increasing number of multimedia applications more efficiently. They will be able to introduce new customer offerings quickly and easily, opening up new revenue streams. Ericsson's Service Delivery Platform also allows the Qtel Group to reduce operating expenses and increase profitability," Ericsson reports.
Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO of the Qtel Group, says the Ericsson Service Delivery Platform opens up new opportunities. "As one of the region's leading telecommunications provider, we are determined to bring innovative, attractive new services to our customers by identifying their areas of interest and customizing solutions to meet their needs. We expect that our partnership with Ericsson for their Service Delivery Platform, will help us to achieve this goal by providing our customers with instant access to their different social networking tools, keeping them in touch and up to date all the time. We have made some significant announcements at this year's GSMA Mobile World Congress and our tie-up with Ericsson on the service delivery platform will bring some of these announcements to life, including mobile social networking and mobile music."
