Mobility: A Nation Under Siege, impact of telephony during 2006 Lebanon War
Research confirms mobile telecommunications pivotal in disaster zone
MTC releases benchmark report on role of telephony during 2006 Lebanon War
*Below is the Media Press Release, to view Highlights, Executive Summary and more, please visit www.zain.com/mobility
London, 2nd July 2007 – Leading Middle Eastern and African mobile telecoms provider MTC today launched a benchmark report titled: Mobility: A Nation Under Siege analysing the vital role played by mobile telecommunications in assisting disaster recovery within Lebanon during the Israeli-Lebanese conflict in July 2006.
The report contains unique insights in to the reliability of telecoms infrastructure throughout the conflict and examines the reasons why mobile communications played a pivotal role in ensuring that families stayed in touch, the population received food and medical supplies to the correct locations and emergency services could effectively plan their disaster response procedures.
MTC currently holds 20 mobile telecom licences soon rising to 21 with the addition of Saudi Arabia, making MTC the 4th largest global mobile telecoms company by geographic footprint. The business serves over 30 million customers across the Middle East and Africa with a market capitalisation exceeding US$31 billion. In Lebanon, the company operates as MTC Touch through a four year management accord that commenced June 2004.
Launched at a high level telecoms conference in London attended by senior executives from across the industry, the report includes striking statistics of mobile usage data during the conflict that saw the mass evacuation and relocation of one million Lebanese citizens.
The report sets a benchmark by providing lessons in global crisis planning – most notably in less developed regions such as in Africa and Asia - and it establishes the role that mobile telecommunications can play in the marshalling of emergency resources and the co-ordination of rescue efforts. One practical example showcases how the use of SMS technology allowed embassies to evacuate their nationals in a fast and effective manner.
Commenting on the research, Dr Saad Al Barrak, CEO of MTC Group, said:
“While the universal availability of mobile telecommunication services is now taken for granted in many geographies, our research on the Lebanese conflict shows that robust mobile telecoms can deliver cost effective and immediate relief in the most testing of circumstances – even where customer bases are relatively under-developed”.
Dr Al Barrak added:
“We believe the findings of this research will prove vital in making the case for the maintenance of effective mobile communications networks and is striking in confirming the overall reliance that people now place in mobile telephony to make contact with emergency services as well as loved ones at times of overwhelming crisis.”
Contributors to the report included international market research agency, Nielsen, and Dr. Diane Coyle of Enlightenment Economics who has published previous research on the use of information and communications technology in developing countries including a study published by the GSMA on the impact of mobile telephony in disaster situations such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Rima Qureshi, Vice President Product Area Customer Support and Ericsson Response commented on the report: “This report by MTC is a strong testimony to the critical role that telecommunications can play in disaster situations, in this case Lebanon’s war. The report sets an important benchmark for the industry in understanding user behaviour in time of crisis. It will help the industry and humanitarian organizations to initiate a much better response in the future when faced with similar disaster scenarios. The Ericsson Response program has been providing communication support in disaster areas for more than 8 years, and we commend the MTC Group for this important piece of research.”
Mobility: A Nation Under Siege is the second MTC report following the 136 page in-depth research on the “Impact of mobile phones in the Arab World” released in February 2006 that detailed how mobile telephony boosts economic growth and fosters social harmony and security.
ENDS
*To download a PDF copy of the report and picture, see attachments below.
**For Highlights, Executive Summary and more, please visit www.zain.com/mobility
Media enquiries, please contact:
Antoine Aboukhalil
Media Relations Head
MTC Corporate Communications
Email: antoine@mtctelecom.com
**For enquiries regarding the report, please contact :
Tarek El Zein
Mobility Project Manager
MTC Corporate Communications
Email: t.elzein@mtc.com.lb
About MTC Group
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) is the pioneer of mobile services in the Middle East and now a major player in Africa. The company was established during 1983 in Kuwait as one of the region’s first mobile operators, and since the initiation of our “3x3x3” expansion strategy in 2003, we have expanded rapidly becoming the 4th largest company in the world with a footprint in 21 countries.
As a leading mobile and data services operator in six Middle Eastern (soon KSA) and 14 sub-Saharan African countries with 13,000 employees, we provide a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 29.7 million active individual and business customers (March 31, 2007).
MTC operates in Kuwait and Bahrain as mtc-vodafone, in Jordan as Fastlink, in Iraq as mtc-atheer, in Lebanon as mtc-touch, in Sudan as Mobitel and in 14 sub-Saharan countries in Africa as Celtel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Following a successful bid in March 2007, MTC plans to commence operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in early 2008.
