Ooredoo Continues to Enhance Data Market Leadership

Ooredoo Maldives Receives ISP Licence and Celebrates Ten Years of Operations in the Maldives

Doha, Qatar

Ooredoo continues to enhance its data market leadership across its global footprint, with its Ooredoo Maldives operation receiving an Internet Service Provider Licence from the Communication Authority of the Maldives (CAM) earlier this month.

With the new licence, Ooredoo Maldives will be able to offer a new range of fixed line services, including business and home Internet, Ooredoo Fibre and Ooredoo Cloud. The company received the licence after a competitive bidding process, which saw Ooredoo come out ahead of national and international competition.

Across its footprint, Ooredoo is enhancing the range of data services on offer for customers, and investing in infrastructure to support customers’ digital lifestyles and the development of knowledge-based economies.

In the Maldives, Ooredoo has established a strong presence in the mobile broadband sector,

holding the data leadership position in the Maldives for Mobile services and being the first to introduce a range of new technologies to the country, including 2G Edge, 3G, 3G+ and 4G. It was also the first company to launch a self-service mobile application, revolutionising the country’s services and driving the market to reach international standards.

With the introduction of fixed Internet, Ooredoo Maldives aims to secure a leadership position across a full range of communication services. In particular, Ooredoo Maldives will look to expand the range of services available to the business community.

Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “Across our footprint, Ooredoo continues to enhance the range of communication services available to our customers. Receiving this ISP Licence will enable to bring positive changes to the quality and affordability of the Internet for the people of the Maldives. We believe in enabling as many people as possible to use our life-enhancing services, and bringing fixed Internet features such as Fibre, Cloud based services and business solutions will support the growth of the Maldivian economy and benefit consumers.”

The licence was received at the same time as Ooredoo Maldives celebrates ten years of operating in the Maldives. To mark the tenth anniversary, and in gratitude of the support received from their customers during the company’s incredible journey, Ooredoo has today launched an exciting campaign called “Thank You Maldives,” which provides customers with an incredible range of benefits.

Ooredoo Maldives was the first operating company in Asia to adopt the new global brand of the Ooredoo group and saw a 52% increase in revenue for the first half of 2015, as well as a substantial increase in net profit.

Supporting the need for innovation, Ooredoo Maldives has deployed ‘Easy Macro’, a small light-weight macro base station that supports high capacity mobile Internet needs and enhances the customer experience across densely populated areas. The compact device can be placed at ground level, which greatly improves indoor coverage for data and voice services across 3G+ and 4G LTE networks. Easy Macro is environmentally-friendly with a carbon footprint of zero, and will help to improve user experience during high peak hours and high peak locations.

In addition to focusing on the ongoing efforts to enhance its customer experience with a revamped portfolio of services, Ooredoo has continued to build upon the company’s proud tradition of supporting community initiatives in the Maldives.

Ooredoo has a number of on-going CSR partnerships in place to add value in the country including its ongoing support of Child Helpline in Maldives. To help children in need, Ooredoo Maldives supports a toll-free number through which children can reach out to the Child Helpline. No charges are incurred by the organisation managing the Child Helpline for the toll-free calls thanks to Ooredoo’s support.

Responding to the Male water crisis in 2014, which left countless people without fresh water after a fire broke out at the water and sewage company, Ooredoo Maldives provided a free real-time vehicle tracking service which users could access to find their nearest supply of fresh water.