Mr. Gebran Bassil attends mtc touch 4th anniversary media luncheon

mtc touch, the leading telecom company in Lebanon, chose to celebrate its 4th anniversary by holding a luncheon at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Beirut, to honor the media. Amongst the attendees were Telecommunications Minister, Mr. Gebran Bassil as well as Mr. Melhem Karam, the President of the Editors Syndicate and Mr. Elias Aoun, representing Mr. Mohammed Baalbaki, President of the Press Syndicate.

On the occasion, mtc touch General Manager Mr. Claude Bassil expressed the company’s gratitude towards all media supports for their continuous assistance and collaboration since the establishment of mtc touch in Lebanon. He said: “we wanted to thank the people of the media for shedding light on all the issues related to the telecom sector, including mtc touch news and activities. Not only your words have been a key and loyal partner for us but they have also efficiently contributed in positioning the company as the leader of the mobile telecom sector in Lebanon”.
 
In this direction, Bassil highlighted the company’s leading status as it has acquired 52% of the Lebanese mobile market due to the full-fledged strategy which was adopted by mtc touch upon establishment in Lebanon, four years ago. Indeed, the company has been a pioneer in introducing new and all-exclusive products and services”.

From his end, Telecommunications Minister, Mr. Gebran Bassil said: “I would like to seize this opportunity to announce, for the first time, the new strategy to be adopted by the ministry of telecommunications. We will mainly focus on increasing the number of subscribers, reducing the mobile rates, and maintaining if not boosting the government’s revenues from the sector. In this direction, allow me to highlight the full collaboration of mtc touch during the past four years and in many occasions wishing other companies would adopt the same performance in order to complete the reform of this sector. I would also like to thank the media and emphasize their key role in transmitting the image, policy and activities of the new ministry as they largely contribute enhance our relation with the consumers and to introduce our future steps”.
 
Minister Bassil added: “I am aware that one major concern of the Lebanese people remains the high mobile rates which are still until, this day, the highest in the world, although Lebanon was the first country in the region to introduce the mobile technology in its market. During the past years, we have wasted our qualified and specialized human resources which were capable of developing the sector and we have driven them out of the country instead of putting their expertise into use and investing in them to preserve the sector’s best interest”. He continued: “To request the reduction of the mobile rates is the natural right of any citizen. That is why we will try our best, in reference to the studies we have undertaken, to draft a clear plan to improve the sector. I personally rely on mtc touch and the media to assist the ministry in implementing its strategy in order to achieve the long-awaited results”.
 
Claude Bassil on mtc touch’s experience in Lebanon
 
Looking back at mtc touch’s experience during the last four years of managing the mobile network MIC2 for the Lebanese government (represented by the ministry of telecom), Bassil said: “When Zain group, the mother company of mtc touch, first entered the Lebanese market as a managing partner with the Lebanese government, it had the hope of acquiring a mobile operations license and not just to manage an existing network. Today, we are still working to achieve this objective and await with great enthusiasm the privatization of the telecom sector which will hopefully bring us one step closer towards our goal”.
 
In terms of accomplishments, mtc touch has recently launched the revolutionary Roaming on Aircrafts service, thus being one of the few mobile operators in the region and the world to provide this high-end service for its clientele. The company also offers two other exclusive services, namely the Credit Transfer service which have witnessed great success in the Lebanese market and the DATA Roaming services used while traveling and enabling postpaid “touch” subscribers to check their e-mails, surf the internet and access chatting sites. mtc touch has also extended the availability of this service to include 65 mobile operators in 44 countries in the world. 
 
On another level, the company’s excellent professional track record, has earned it a prestigious certificate highly commending it to the “Highly Recommended Employer” Award during the “IIR Middle East Business Achievement Awards” ceremony in 2007. Furthermore, mtc touch was awarded the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certification for compliance with high environmental standards.
 
In addition, the company was able to cope with the increase in the market demand by adding 250,000 customers despite its under-dimensioned network, to satisfy customer need of new lines. It also extended its coverage to 98.5% of the Lebanese territory by adding 85 new sites nation wide since 2004.
 
Bassil concluded: “We hope that we will gather again soon to celebrate the re-branding of mtc touch under the umbrella of “ZAIN Lebanon” which will allow us to upgrade the products and services in the telecom sector to the level of other sister companies in ZAIN Group, which is a leader in providing mobile telecom solutions in the Middle East and Africa”.

July 17,2008