— Mobile Data Card “cheaper than CYTA”
Alternative mobile phone operator areeba is expected to launch its Mobile TV service before the end of the summer, in an effort to boost its subscriber base, currently estimated at 80,000 or 11% of the mobile phone users’ market.
The company has already enjoyed success with its Mobile Data Card for laptop and notebook PCs used by professionals on the move, which has been available since September 2005, making true its marketing campaign of “Internet Everywhere”.
Bassel Jamaleddine, areeba’s new Deputy Managing Director, said that ever since the company launched 3G services in December 2004, they have recruited about 1,000 subscribers to date.
“We have the advantage of being first in the market and have tested our products according to conditions and local demands in Cyprus,” Jamaleddine added.
He added that a recent market survey found brand awareness for areeba at 82%, which is why the company is building up its content portfolio to include text and images.
The Mobile Data Card package is optimised to work on areeba’s 3G network at speeds of 384 kbps and will only drop to the next-best GPRS network if 3G is unavailable.
“We have 3G coverage in all major towns,” explained Thomas Hoplaros of areeba’s Marketing Department, adding that the easy-to-use card gives immediate access to wireless email, Internet and virtual private network (VPN).
It is also ideal for users requiring wireless internet access and SMS capability without tying up their handset, Hoplaros said.
— Roaming
The card can also provide access to individual corporate networks and secure business-critical information via VPN, he said, adding that roaming agreements are in place with ten overseas operators in the UK, Italy and Hong Kong. An agreement is expected to support international roaming in Greece, while all of the EU member countries will be available on GPRS networks by the end of the month.
Naturally, roaming agreements are also available in partner networks, such as areeba Syria and other areeba operators that are part of the Investcom LLC international telecommunications group.
Having successfully tested the areeba brand in Cyprus, all Investcom networks in the Middle East and central Africa have now adopted the company’s universal brand name.
The latest new venture is the launch of areeba in Afghanistan, which is a very promising market, said Jamaleddine.
— Growing network
Despite all the obstacles it has come across in Cyprus, areeba continues to maintain a non-confrontational policy.
“We have built up our business and the areeba network is growing at a very healthy pace,” he said, denying any reports of harmful electromagnetic emissions from its antennas.
“Only our antennas are harmful and the others are not?” Jamaleddine asked, but explained that most of the arguments are baseless.
“People do not realise that the farther away you move an antenna, the harder it will be to get a clear signal, forcing evening bigger transmissions.”
Jamaleddine said that in the UK, mobile phone operators have placed their transmitter antennas on top of schools and hospitals.
areeba employs 200 people in Cyprus in an equal mix of sales, support and technical staff.
“Any question you have, call our operators on 136,” Jamaleddine said.
— areeba Mobile Data Card
The package is available from areeba’s main offices or its distributor partners (Germanos, Stefanis, Aeliotis). It must have a Pay Monthly or areeba Data Plan subscription and includes a SIM card (CYP 10, USD 21) and a Data Card (CYP 119, USD 249) with easy-to-install software which is compatible with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP. Once installed, connection is achieved by inserting the SIM card into the Data Card, placing the card into the PCMCIA slot of the laptop and clocking “connect”.
The most important advantage of the areeba package is that for a two-year contract, the price of the card drops to CYP 45 (USD 95) and it comes with a flat fee of CYP 27/month (USD 57) for unlimited use of up to one gigabyte (1 GB) downloads, which is estimated as twice the needs of the average professional on the move. areeba does not want to charge in increments of 5MB and 10MB and offers a free one or two months subscription depending on the package.
For the corporate areeba Data Plan for more than five users, the card is free of charge with an additional three months free use.
