Info2cell.com sets up branch in Saudi Arabia owing to huge demand for advanced value-added mobile services

Middle East’s pioneering Mobile application service provider has now mobile content partnerships with over 27 operators from the region

June, 2006

Info2cell.com, the Middle East and North Africa region’s pioneering Wireless Application Service Provider, has announced the setting up of a new branch in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to meet the exponential growth in demand for highly advanced value-added mobile services from the Kingdom’s expanding mobile phone market. The new office is a joint venture with Sheikh Abdullah Bugshan, one of the most prominent business men in the Kingdom.

Bashar Dahabra, founder and CEO of Info2cell.com said, “The Saudi market is the most vibrant and exciting mobile communications market in the Middle East and North Africa region, given the increase in number of mobile phone subscribers and their demand for innovative applications. Opening the new full-fledged branch in the kingdom is part of our expansion drive and investment program in Saudi Arabia and will allow Info2cell to meet the growing demand for state-of-the-art value-added mobile services, applications and innovative content through SMS, MMS, WAP, J2ME and Symbian Applications.”

Sheikh Abdullah Ahmed Bugshan, said, “We are glad about our partnership with Info2cell.com to provide the latest in mobile content and value added services to the Kingdom’s evolving sophisticated mobile service users. Info2cell.com’s experience in building mobile applications and services, and its partnership with a vast network of mobile operators makes the company a central factor in the fulfilling of our objectives. We have anticipated a huge increase in the demand and we will be catering to the diverse needs of mobile users in this market.”

A recent study by Madar Research Group anticipates the number of mobile phone subscribers in Saudi Arabia will increase to 15 million in 2006 and to 20 million by 2008, putting it on par with leading operators in Europe. Mobile phone subscribers in Saudi Arabia were expected to grow by over 27 per cent during 2005, against the average growth rate of 23 per cent for the rest of the Gulf, according to the study.

Short Messaging Services (SMS) make up nearly half of the Saudi mobile services market followed by ring tones that take a 15 per cent share, MMS with 13 per cent share, Java games with 12 per cent share and other applications taking the rest. By 2008, studies project that almost 70 per cent of mobile phone subscribers in the Kingdom will use value-added mobile data services.

“With the launch of a second mobile operator in Saudi Arabia and the granting of kingdom’s first 3G licence competition between the two companies has accelerated. More services are being introduced, which is pushing our business forward and we are confident that our expectations will be met, with HOI as our strategic business partner. The demand for new services and applications is growing, particularly in services like push SMS, push MMS, SMS2TV, SMS2Radio, Chat and multimedia content download. In addition, complex applications such as multi-player gaming, J2ME, Java Games and Symbian Applications are also being explored by the mobile phone users and are increasingly in demand,” Dahabra added.

“Info2cell.com is fully-equipped to provide high quality service, update content and constantly introduce new services. We are constantly investing and developing our platform to meet the rapid changes in the mobile technology and are committed to ensure the best experience to mobile subscribers by providing them entertaining and informative mobile value-added services,” Dahabra added.