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December 13, 2004
SMARTNER WINS MTC-VODAFONE DEAL FOR MOBILE E-MAIL
- MTC-Vodafone brings true push solution to customers for the first time in the Middle East
- With an initial deployment of 15 000 licenses Smartner establishes a solid presence in the Middle East and strengthens its position as a preferred choice within international mobile operators
Helsinki, Finland and Bahrain - MTC-Vodafone has chosen Smartner Information Systems to bring the leading edge mobile office solution to the enterprise and residential market in the Middle East. Smartner Duality Always-On Mail is based on push technology that enables real-time access to e-mail, calendar and attachments for standard smart phones.
With the deployment of Smartner Duality Always-on Mail solution, MTC-Vodafone is the first operator in the Middle East region to bring true push solution to its customers. MTC Group will deploy the Smartner solution for its operations in Kuwait and Bahrain and is planning to later on also deploy it in Jordan and Lebanon.
"To further emphasize our leadership position in introducing the latest in wireless and mobile technology to our residential and corporate customers, we are very excited to be the first operator in the Middle East to provide our customers with push e-mail service and help them migrate to the new era in mobile technology”, said Khaled Muhtadi, Chief Operating Officer – IT and Customer Services. “There is a lot of interest in the market for mobile e-mail solutions. Smartner was our solution of choice because its handset agnostic, rich in features, simple to deploy, and meets our strict security requirements,” he added.
"We are happy to enter the Middle East market with such an innovative mobile operator. By being chosen by, for example, Vodafone Italy, Vodafone Ireland, Swisscom and now also MTC Vodafone, Smartner has strengthened its position as a trusted supplier within the Vodafone group of operators”, said Paul Hedman, Chief Executive Officer of Smartner. “Our solution works in all language environments ranging from Arabic to Russian and Chinese in addition to European languages. This makes our solution perfect for international operators with a multicultural customer base including local and international business travelers and residential users. At the time when many companies speak a lot about their forthcoming functionalities, we are proud to deliver and ship the best functionality and widest offering when it comes to push-based mobile office solutions."
Smartner Duality delivers all the benefits of real-time enterprise messaging to standard mobile devices with a very comfortable user experience. It automatically pushes e-mail and calendar to PDA's and smartphones instantly mirroring changes to the desktop. In addition, it enables viewing, editing and sending of attachments. Recent announcements of global partnerships with Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Microsoft to enable Smartner solution on their respective devices have reinforced Smartner’s position as the preferred push email vendor for open standards devices. Smartner solution supports true push functionality on all major PDA and smartphone categories, including devices based on Nokia’s Series 60, Series 80, Series 90, Sony Ericsson, and Windows Mobile software platforms.
About MTC Vodafone
MTC-Vodafone comes as a result of a Network Partner Agreement between the Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), a GCC regional company, borne in Kuwait and Vodafone, a global company based in the UK. MTC-Vodafone, having been as chosen by Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to develop the 2nd GSM service, launched its services on December 28th, 2003.
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) was founded in 1983 and is perhaps one of the oldest mobile service providers in the world. MTC has a reputation for pioneering new services in the Middle East and constantly seeks to forge partnerships with key global companies to bring the best products and services to the region. MTC is considered to be a very successful, customer focused and ambitious company and has aspirations that fit with the Vodafone strategy for global customer services.
ABOUT MTC Group
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) was founded in 1983 and is the largest mobile operator in Kuwait with over 2.5 million customers across the region in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. MTC is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and has achieved a sound reputation for high level of business successes, often exceeding investor's expectations.
In September 2002, MTC entered into a Partner Network Agreement with Vodafone, the world’s leading mobile community. The agreement was the first of its kind in the Middle East and has been followed with an agreement in Bahrain. MTC-Vodafone Bahrain was launched on 15th December with the official ceremony taking place on 28th December 2003.
The MTC Group now operates in five countries. In Kuwait and Bahrain the company is known as MTC-Vodafone and in Jordan as Fastlink. 2004 has seen significant developments in the company’s desire to become an internationally recognized regional company with the launch of the Atheer service in Iraq and the decision by the Government of Lebanon to handover the management of LibanCell to the MTC Group. MTC is looking to expand internationally and eventually globally through acquisitions, partnerships and green-field opportunities.
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