at the 4th annual CommsMEA Awards 2009 Qtel Wins twin awards
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Qtel won two of the communications industry’s most prestigious awards this week, at the 4th annual CommsMEA Awards 2009 in Dubai.
The company was presented with “Middle East Mobile Operator of the Year” and “Overall Operator of the Year”, in recognition of Qtel’s ongoing transformation into one of the most effective and customer-focused telecommunications companies in the region.
Oman’s customer-friendly communications provider Nawras, part of the Qtel Group, was awarded “Customer Service Provider of the Year”, ensuring that the Qtel Group received the top three company awards at the high profile event.
In winning the awards, Qtel came ahead of a wide range of global and regional providers, and demonstrated its ongoing progress towards its target of becoming one of the world’s top 20 telecommunications providers by 2020.
Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO, Qtel said: “We are pleased and proud to receive these two awards, which recognise the important steps that we have taken to deliver the best possible communication experience to our customers in Qatar. Improving the standard of customer services and our range of mobile services were key strategic initiatives for Qtel in 2009, and these awards recognise the major improvements that we have delivered.”
Dr. Nasser collected the awards on behalf of Qtel during his visit to Dubai, where he was a keynote speaker at the GSM>3G Middle East Telco World Summit, addressing the subject of “Successfully Balancing Global Expansion with Growth in the Domestic Market.” Ross Cormack, CEO of Nawras, collected the “Customer Service Provider of the Year” award. Qtel has forged ahead globally in 2009, and has also worked hard to deliver new services and the highest standard of care for its customers.
In winning both the “Middle East Mobile Operator” and “Overall Operator,” The Qtel Group was congratulated on achieving record growth while delivering ever-higher standards of service to customers. Its success in launching operations in Palestine was also noted as a major achievement.
Judges recognised that, in a year when competition entered the Qatari market for the first time, Qtel has responded by launching a range of innovations designed to enhance the customer experience and ensure it remains the preferred provider.
In particular, they commended the launch of Nojoom, the first customer loyalty scheme in the history of Qtel, and the launch of the first-ever Customer Charter from a telecommunications company in the Middle East.
In addition, the judges’ report noted the transformation of Qtel’s mobile services, with the launch of Shahry – Pay Monthly; HALA Pay As You Talk; and SmartRoamer roaming services within a 12-month period. Hala in particular has proved extremely popular, with the service reaching two million customers in 2009.
Ongoing innovation and new services has helped grow Qtel’s consolidated customer numbers significantly in 2009, and the company has also entered new revenue areas such as mobile gaming and enhanced Mobile Internet.
“All our service innovations were built upon the feedback we received from our customers, and we aimed to respond to their needs as much as we could. Qtel’s top priority is to listen and learn from our customers, and this focus is reflected in these awards,” concluded Dr. Nasser.
Qtel has enjoyed a successful awards season in 2009, winning the “Best Company for Investor Relations in Qatar” award and “Best Company Representative Award” at the First Middle East Investor Relations Society Awards; “Corporate Treasury Deal of the Year” award from the Association of Corporate Treasurers Middle East; and winner of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award at the CEO Middle East Awards 2009.
9/12/2009