The FINANCIAL — VTEL Georgia LLC, an affiliated company of Dubai-based VTEL Holdings LTD, is making investments in Georgia and will be offering wireless broadband services based on the IEEE 802.16e standards, operating at the frequency of 2.3 GHz.
“At this point we cannot name the amount of investments we are going to provide in Georgia. It all depends on the demands from the local market. The bigger the demand is, the bigger the investments will be. For the first stage we made an investment of approximately USD 3-4 million in Georgia,” Khaled Rifai, VTEL Holdings Chief Technical Officer, told the FINANCIAL.
Mr. Burak Bilgutay, who is the representative of VTEL Holdings LTD and acting Director of Operations for VTEL Georgia LLC., has arrived in Tbilisi to supervise the business operations of the company. He is accompanied with Khaled Rifai.
Bilgutay is an extensive carrier in the mobile telecommunication industry with eight years of telecom experience in Georgia where he has held CFO and Co-CEO positions in various mobile telecom companies.
In Rifai’s words, “The commercial launch which is planned for September 2008, will take place in Tbilisi and Batumi. By the end of the year the company will cover more urban and suburban areas of Georgia.
“The company acquired two WiMax licenses in Georgia on September 3, 2007 and it is going to launch a portable wireless broadband service under the commercial brand, MAXIMALI. We paid GEL 2.3 million for the licenses,” said Ano Gogichadze, Marketing Communication Manager of MAXIMALI.
“The idea is to provide our service first in Batumi, Tbilisi and thereafter other cities belonging to our commercial department. Batumi is quite a nice place where there’s a big demand and this service would work,” Rifai told The FINANCIAL.
“The Government of Georgia is interested in attracting foreign investors. Our company is concerned with growing and developing the market in Georgia. There is also a demand on high quality services in the country. In future our company will probably make an investment in telecommunication in Georgia in a different direction than WIMAX is,” added Rifai.
According to Rifai, “VTEL Georgia LLC will operate WIMAX services in Georgia within the countrywide coverage area, covering metropolitan areas, suburban areas and popular resorts.”
Since January 2008, VTEL Georgia has been running a WIMAX trial with a limited number of customers in Tbilisi and Batumi. The objective of the trial is to demonstrate the effectiveness of WIMAX technology.
WIMAX technology is the ideal solution for establishing broadband data and voice communications in Georgia, overcoming the country’s developing telecom infrastructure and geographical challenges.
VTEL Holdings LTD is a leading multinational corporation that is rapidly developing into one of the largest and most diversified player in the telecommunications industry offering fixed lines, mobile and data services. Since its inception, VTEL Holdings LTD has developed a reputation for identifying, investing in and building the best class Information and Communications. Technology (ICT) ventures, with partners whose ideas and value systems are consistent with those of VTEL Holding LTD's founders. VTEL Holdings operates in high growth markets in the MENA region, Africa, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Latin and Central America, and the Caribbean.
WTEL Georgia is a sister company of WTEL Holding. WTL Holding is a telecommunication company incorporated in Dubai. The company opened its branch in Georgia and obtained a WIMAX license. WTEL will offer consumers high speed internet service as well as voice and data transfer services.
VTEL Georgia LLC has two offices in Tbilisi (Administrative Office and Technical Office) and one in Batumi (Commercial office). The company’s current staff consist of 21 employees, with plans for expansion in the near future
“Our aim is to offer our consumers high quality services, which requires appropriate investments. We’ll offer quite competitive prices in the local market, however I cannot disclose the concrete tariffs at this point,” said Rifai.
As Rafai noted, “The company has no direct competitors, as the WiMax operator is not yet established in Georgia. There are indirect competitors, who provide internet service to the consumers in different ways. VTEL Georgia will regularly offer its consumers new high quality services. WiMax is not a wire-based internet service; it’s not fixed in one place and so it gives an opportunity to be more mobile.
The company has already chosen their partner to be the French-American Company Alcatel Lucent, which will be their supplier of technical equipment. Technical works will be executed by their technical group from VTEL Georgia, who are skilled professionals.
“Supposedly we will have a service centre, where a consumer can go and acquire our services, this service will also be available in different shops, or you can order it by phone, and also by shopping online,” said MAXIMALI Marketing Manager.
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