Beirut, June 14 2005. On the occasion of its first anniversary, mtc touch paid tribute to the media today during a gathering that was held at the Metropolitan Palace Hotel in the presence of mtc touch's key media partners, and with the participation of the company's General Manager, Mr Mohammad Shabib and the Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Saad Nasir.

The gathering was preceded by a minute of silence for the peaceful rest of martyr journalist Samir Kassir, followed by a welcoming note from Mohammad Shabib, who said : "The 1st of June is a very significant date for us as it is the day MTC officially became the manager of the MIC2 mobile operator in Lebanon. [...] Many have contributed to our remarkable first year especially the media... This year we introduced 'everyone has something to say'... Now here is what we have to say to you... Thank you!"

The media: true partner in the telecom development

The media was thanked for their continuous support and professionalism, for their understanding and cooperation during the tougher times, for being true partners in contributing to the development of the telecom sector and finally for their trust.

Shabib went on to tackle the most frequently asked questions by the media. "[...] over the past year, we realized that we both share the same concerns. One of the questions you most frequently ask us is how we compare our situation as MTC Group in Lebanon to our other regional operations. It is important for us to take this opportunity today to say that, despite the difference in situations, whereby we own the other operations; we don't differentiate in the way we operate."

Indeed, Lebanon is considered a very strategic market for MTC Group as its telecom sector has great potential. mtc touch has joined its efforts with the Lebanese Government, represented by the ministry of telecommunications (MoT) as they share the same objective: Enhancing the mobile experience in Lebanon as telecom is really an area that is most important to build the economy. "We are certain that as mobile telecom operators, we will be able to contribute to the economy by improving and building this sector" confirms Shabib.

The other main concern is the cost of communication, as GSM services in Lebanon are ranked among the most expensive in the world in terms of telecommunications. One of the most important aspects of mtc touch's job today is to work with the MoT to provide the best services and prices to customers.

"And we are looking forward to finding a solution as part of our ambitions in Lebanon", says Shabib.

Shabib concluded by sharing MTC Touch's aspirations in Lebanon: "they are part of a larger plan being implemented on a regional and global basis by the MTC Group. Recently, MTC acquired 85% of Celtel in Africa which made us exceed the objective of the first phase of the 3x3x3 strategy and reach 9.5 million subscribers instead of 5 million and be present in 18 countries in the Middle East and Africa.

In Lebanon, we are working towards extending our management contract to acquiring the operation as this is part of our expansion plan [...] the 3 x 3 x 3 strategy".

Achievements and future plans

mtc touch's achievements and future plans were shared by Mr. Saad Nasir, Chief Commercial Officer of mtc touch.

Continuity

"Our first challenge was to achieve business continuity despite the conditions in which we were operating.

The takeover was a very smooth transaction and we were able to build a great relationship with our partners based on our Group's regional credibility".

Recruitment

During this phase, mtc touch successfully recruited among the best Lebanese talents - the employee base is almost entirely Lebanese. "Our recruitment is continuous and we have been regularly participating in job fairs, held in some of the leading universities in Lebanon".

Re-Branding

As part of the management contract, and for intellectual property reasons, the new brand name MTC TOUCH was introduced in November 2004. The billing and the core network systems were changed and all products were changed to reflect the new brand name: TOUCH (for the post-paid lines) and MAGIC (for the pre-paid lines). This includes the SIM SWAP operation as well. The MTC Touch website was developed and implemented during this phase as well.

The Network / Services

The existing network was upgraded and a number of sites were added to enhance coverage in certain areas of Lebanon. As a result, the performance of the network has improved remarkably.

In December 2004, the Intelligent Network platform was introduced, and accordingly MAGIC ORANGE subscribers were migrated in January. The core switching Network was expanded to introduce tens of thousands of new subscribers and a new SMS platform.

"As for services, we re-launched MMS (Multi Media Message) in March, which has resulted in doubling the traffic and we were also among the first in the middle east to have introduced bulk MMS", continued Nasir.

Future Plans

MTC Touch's main concern is to maintain the network at its highest technology standards and accordingly expand its core capacity.

mtc touch is planning to introduce new products and services - such as Friends & Family, video and music streaming- that meet our subscribers' aspiration and different needs and that will be unveiled in due time.

"We are working jointly with the MoT to introduce better prices schemes and we are more than ready for the competition era ahead", confirms Nasir.

"Our future plans are based on a vision as we aspire to become the customers' preferred communication network by constantly searching for ways to enhance their mobile experience", concludes Nasir.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2005