Atlantique Telecom, an African company with management interest in seven African telecom operators, announced today the official launch of its operations in Côte d’Ivoire. The company will provide GSM services in the country through its subsidiary - Moov Company. UAE’s etisalat owns 50 per cent stake in Atlantique Telecom.
Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman, etisalat, said: "The launch of operations in Côte d’Ivoire cements etisalat's commitment to be among the Top 10 telecom operators in the world by 2010. We are leveraging our operations and investments in countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe, following our recent successful entries into Afghanistan and Egypt."
"etisalat has been successful in all the 15 markets in which it operates and has invested, providing telecom solutions and services that add value to the customer and facilitates the most ideal use of technology", Omran said.
The event to mark the launch of operations in Côte d’Ivoire was attended by national leaders including Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, the Minister of Telecommunications, a representative of the President of the nation, and many other senior Government officials. etisalat Chairman, Mohammad Hassan Omran, also attended the launch event.
Omran stated that etisalat is seen as a true partner to develop African countries by setting up state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure that paves the way for more development projects, while also developing local human resources to handle such projects.
Khaled Al Tenaiji, Group Marketing Manager, Atlantique Telecom, said: "The launch of operations in Côte d’Ivoire comes at a decisive time, as etisalat sees record success in its international investments and operations. Atlantique Telecom is also experiencing growth in its penetration rates and service portfolio catering to the GSM subscriber in Western Africa, which has some of the lowest mobile penetration rates."
"Launching operations in this African nation will bring benefits for both the local population as well as etisalat's shareholders. With a population of over 18 million and only 13% mobile penetration, we see tremendous opportunities in this promising market", Al Tenaiji added.
Khaled Al Tenaiji also unveiled a strategic plan that will, by the end of this year, see Atlantique Telecom using the latest telecom technology and solutions in all countries in which it operates.
etisalat owns 50 percent of Atlantique Telecom, which works in 7 African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Al Gabon, Republic of Central Africa, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The population for all 7 countries is above 61 million, while the penetration rate is lower than 8%.
