Zain Jordan boasts 1m subscribers to 3G services

Zain Jordan said on Wednesday subscribers to its Third Generation (3G) services reached one million, expecting the figure to increase by the end of 2012, company’s Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Al Hanandeh said.
Hanandeh added that the company enjoys 37 per cent share in the Internet market in the Kingdom and will continue investing in its networks to upgrade the 3G service and other services.
“3G users increased significantly since we launched the service. The rise in number of smartphones holders is a main drive behind the increase of 3G users in the country,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The “affordability” of 3G-enabled devices in Jordan also encouraged more Jordanians to hold such devices, he said, adding that smartphones in Jordan can be bought at $100 per device.
Smartphones penetration in Jordan is estimated at 45 per cent, according to Arab Advisors Group.
Zain Jordan has about 1,500 radio stations that support the 3G service in Jordan, he noted, indicating that the number will reach about 2,000 to further enhance and strengthen the coverage of the 3G service.
Launched by Zain Jordan in March 2011, the 3G services enables making visual phone calls, sending and receiving multimedia messages, providing fast and efficient wireless Internet connections, in addition to providing better audio coverage.
In the presser, Hanandeh said Zain Jordan’s investments in upgrading networks, infrastructure and enhancing services since its establishment until the end of 2012 will reach about $1.250 billion.
The total volume of investments reached $1.100 billion by the end of 2011, he told reporters pointing out that the number of users of E-mal, which is a new mobile technology-based banking service, reached 40,000 customers.
“The number of the service’s users will increase especially when more people are familiar with the service and its benefits,” he said.
In January 2011, Zain Jordan launched the service that enables its users to make money transfers to individuals across the Kingdom by sending an SMS with a certain amount of money to another Zain subscriber who eventually can cash it out from any of Zain’s over 12,000 dealers and sub-dealers across Jordan.
The service, enabled through any type of mobile device, enables its users to top up their balance at the current stage as well.
Each user is limited with JD2,500 per year.