Xpress Joins Local Telecommunications Sector

At a press conference held on Saturday June 5, 2004,
XPress Telecommunications announced the official launch of its radio trunking
services based on iDEN technology in Jordan, marking the Kingdom as the first
Arab country in the Middle East to launch this service.
“The successful launch of our services is a true testament to the continued efforts
of His Majesty King Abdullah II and that of the Jordanian government in
developing the technology sector and diversifying the national
telecommunications services,” said XPress CEO, Mr. Suleiman Maani. He
added, “This new advanced service comes to satisfy an existing market need,
providing added-value, integrated wireless solutions through a nationwide digital
network.”
Radio trunking based on iDEN is unique in that it provides innovative, cutting
edge wireless communication solutions all combined in one state-of-the-art
handset. Through the unique Direct Connect service, subscribers are able to
communicate through one-to-one or one-to-many calls with a push of a single
button, similar to the currently used “Walkie-Talkie” systems. XPress service also
offers the services of ordinary mobile phones, such as telephone connectivity
(074), SMS, and Packet Switched Date, thus enabling subscribers to
communicate with fixed, mobile or international phone lines as well as roaming
on iDEN and GSM networks.
The new service brings a business solution with the ability to hold a conference
with a large group of people ranging from 3 to more than 100, eliminating timewasting
and costly individual calls. This is especially beneficial to various
businesses, emergency situations, or any other sectors that require
communication with a group of people in different locations simultaneously.
Maani demonstrated the Corporate Rate Plans for the service and explained that
the connection fees are a one time payment determined according to the number
of members in each group. Connection fees range from JD 5 for groups of 1-15
members, and go down to JD 3 for groups made up of 71 members or more.
Direct Connect one-to-one offers unlimited talking time for a set monthly fee,
starting at JD 16 a month for groups of 1-15 members, and decreases as the
number of members increases to reach JD 10 a month for groups of 150 or
more.
Corporate telephony (mobile) rates are at 30 fils per minute XPress to XPress;
XPress to MobileCom/Fastlink 65 fils per minute; XPress to landline 45 fils per
minute, with SMS at 30 fils per message and international rates are according to
the Jordan Telecom rates. Corporate packages have also been designed
according to usage ranging from JD 6 per month for 100 minutes, up to JD 27 for
500 minutes.
As for Retail Rates, connection fees are paid only once at JD 7, and Direct
Connect one-to-one allows unlimited talking at JD 16 per month. When
subscribing for Talk Groups, set up fees are at JD 10 for 3 members, with an
additional JD 1 for each extra member.
Retail telephony (mobile) rates are at 70 fils per minute from XPress to XPress,
and 90 fils per minute from XPress to MobileCom, Fastlink and Jordan Telecom
(landline), with SMS at 30 fils per message.
Packages for retail subscribers have also been designed according to usage
ranging from a package of 100 minutes for JD 8, up to a package of 500 minutes
for JD 30 per month.
As for recent reports that current GSM’s will be launching a similar service, Mr.
Maani clarified that XPress is the only licensed digital trunked radio service
provider in Jordan, with exclusivity over iDEN technology from the TRC and
Motorola who developed this technology.
He further added that iDEN is the only technology that offers Direct Connect as
an immediate, real time, no delay communication service, whereas, Push-to-talk
Over Cellular (POC)/GPRS, which would be offered through GSM, is just an
added feature, with significant delay and latency.
“When comparing Direct Connect through iDEN network and ((POC)/GPRS),
which would be offered through GSM, the time needed to connect with XPress
service is immediate with no delay (fraction of a second - 0.03), while you need
multiples of that time with GSM. More importantly, Direct Connect on iDEN is the
core technology proven to drastically succeed in other countries, while
((POC)/GPRS) through GSM has not been ETSI approved to this day,” explained
Maani.
The number of users through iDEN technology today reaches more than 16.5
subscribers provided by 18 operators around the globe, which include the US,
Canada, South America, Brazil and Japan, with Saudi Arabia being in its final
stages of acquiring the technology and launching its services.

June 5, 2004