Countrywide Expansion Project to Boost Fastlink's Customer Base to More Than One Million Subscribers


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – April 30, 2003 – Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS) today announced it has signed an expansion contract for Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks with Fastlink, Jordan’s most popular mobile network.  Through the network expansion, Fastlink, which is owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), will accommodate a subscriber increase of more than 20 percent over its existing capacity.  Fastlink is the largest of all telecommunications networks in Jordan with a customer base of 900,000 subscribers.  The total value of the GSM/GPRS/ network expansion contract is approximately $19 million and includes hardware as well as software and services.
 
In 2002, Fastlink launched the Kingdom’s first nationwide commercial GPRS network mobile service on a Motorola network.  Building on this regional milestone, the company went on to launch the first Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) in Jordan, and successfully tested the first GPRS and MMS roaming in the Middle East.  Fastlink also contracted with Motorola’s GTSS to install an overlay GSM communications system on its 900 MHZ network.  Motorola deployed its Horizon GSM infrastructure solutions to support the systems and expand Fastlink’s nationwide network.
 
With this latest contract, Fastlink now is preparing for a second wave in the Jordanian mobile boom that is predicted to more than double mobile penetration over the next three years.  With its solid track record in technology innovation and customer service, Fastlink believes it is poised to be the prime beneficiary of this rapid growth in mobile phone subscriptions.
 
“Fastlink remains the market leader in Jordan, offering not only the best service for consumers but also the latest cutting edge cellular technology,” said Ziad Shatara, chief technical officer and IT director for Fastlink.  “Based on the successes of our GSM and GPRS deployments last year on Motorola networks, we are expanding our networks to provide the same reliable service to more consumers throughout the Kingdom.”
 
“As Fastlink’s subscribers have discovered, the Motorola GPRS end-to-end solution offers a number of benefits, including access to e-mail, messaging, digital music distribution, games and entertainment, banking functionality and always on Internet access,” said Jeff Cherif, general manager for the Middle East and Africa region for Motorola’s GTSS.  “Through the GSM and GPRS network expansions, Fastlink can continue to create market differentiation, reach a higher volume of users and realize increased revenue opportunities.”
 
Motorola is a leader in GPRS, delivering a range of technologies including handsets and the underlying handset technology, network infrastructure and applications.  Motorola’s GPRS radio network, which supports GPRS CS3/4 coding schemes that handle data speeds of up to 70 kbps to deliver the capacity and throughput needed to handle most data services commercially available to wireless subscribers today, can be implemented over an existing Motorola GSM network with a software load and the addition of a packet control unit (PCU).  This flexibility can help protect an operator’s investment.  Motorola is the first vendor to offer a complete GPRS CS3/4 solution including infrastructure and handsets, and its GPRS radio network supports other vendors’ handsets that utilize CS3/4.
 
Motorola also leads the industry with its portfolio of GPRS handsets, offering always on high-speed GPRS transmission speeds of 27-56 Kb/s.  Consumers in Jordan with Fastlink service can currently choose from a range of Motorola’s handsets with GPRS technology including the V.60, V.66, V.70, T280, T720 and C350.
 
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 About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions.  Sales in 2002 were $27.3 billion.  Motorola is global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75 years ago this year. 
For more information, please visit www.motorola.com
 
 
About Jordan Mobile Telephone Services Company Ltd. ("Fastlink")
Jordan Mobile Telephone Services Company was established in 1994 as a joint venture between Motorola and Jordanian investors.  Fastlink started commercial operations in September 1995 and was the first operator to introduce mobile phone services into Jordan.  Fastlink is licensed to carry out GSM 900 MHz mobile services and covers 99.9 percent of Jordan’s population and 66.0 percent of the country’s geographic area.  It offers integrated mobile communications services comprising of voice communications, value-added services, SMS, MMS, WAP and GPRS.  In 2003, Fastlink became a subsidiary of  Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C. ("MTC").  Since its inception, Fastlink has increased its subscriber base at an exponential growth rate, with the number of users currently exceeding 900,000 and representing 75 percent of total market in Jordan.  For more information, please visit http://www.fastlink.com.jo/
 
 
Media Contacts:
Hussein Malhas
Fastlink Corporate Communication & Channels Branding Group
+ 962-6-5828100 (office)
+ 962-79-5900566
husseinm@fastlink.com.jo
 
John Falchetto
For Motorola
Memac Ogilvy Public Relations
+97150 450 5426 (mobile)
 
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.  All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. ÓMotorola, Inc., 2003

© Press Release 2003