Major Technology Landmarks in Yemen [Archives:2000/19/Front Page]

archive
May 8 2000

INTERNET MONOPOLY OVER!
Prime Minister, Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Iryani has confirmed to Yemen Times that the Internet monopoly exerted by Teleyemen over Internet services is now over. By allowing the private sector to invest in the field of telecommunications and Internet, the government has opened the way for companies wishing to invest in the field of Inter Service Providing. “Whoever wishes now to apply for a private ISP company, he is now welcome to do so. Internet monopoly is now over” Dr. Iryani emphasized.
It is worth mentioning that Yemen Times, among other media organs and organizations pleaded to end the monopoly over the Internet. Competition between private ISPs is expected to intensify during the next few years, as the internet is slowly getting more and more access among the public.
Recently, a few Internet cafes were established, and the number of Internet subscribers has more than tripled in the last few years. Many businessmen and private companies are thinking seriously of investing in the field of Internet, with the hope that they would get thousands of subscribers with better services at lower costs.
Most probably, Teleyemen would eventually lower its costs and enhance the quality of its services to be able to compete with the other private companies that are eager to capture the market. This new development will make the Internet more popular in Yemen, and will increase the desire of middle class Yemenis to subscribe into the new millennium’s communication network.
GSM Tender Finalized
The permission to provide GSM telecommunication services in Yemen has been given to the two companies, Libancell of Shahir Abdulhaq, and SabaPhone of Al-Ahar Group. These companies have won the tender, and are ready to begin building the infrastructure to provide the service to the Yemeni public.
The two companies which are cosponsored by Egyptian and Lebanese financing respectively are not 100% guaranteed to carry on the project, and in case of any delays or inability to continue with it, other companies are standing in line. A nominee for replacement in case of any shortcomings of any of the assigned companies is the Omani company Spacetel (Al-Zubeir). The GSM network is expected to operate in July.
“We are glad that we won the tender, and we will definitely work on providing the optimum service for the Yemeni public.” said Hamid Al-Ahmar, the Chairman of Al-Ahmar Group, owning SabaPhone.
It is worth mentioning that Teleyemen is likely to be adversely affected by opening of these services because of the technically higher quality of the GSM system over the regular mobile system used by Teleyemen today.
ALO Phone Cards System to Start Operation tomorrow
ALO Payphone Cards service will start operation tomorrow, Tuesday, May 9, 2000. The service provider, Yemen Payphone Co. Ltd. is considered as one of the leading companies in the field of communication.
It is equipped with advanced technology. This service will start in three governorates, and then will cover all governorates. It participates positively solving a lot of problems faced by phone users. The company always seeks to establish strong relations with contributors, donors, and public and private companies. The service will be cheaper, more convenient, and easy to use service that requires no human interaction. It is believed that this new service will probably signal a landmark in the telecommunication sector in Yemen.

——
[archive-e:19-v:2000-y:2000-d:2000-05-08-p:./2000/iss19/front.htm]