MTC boss on the mobile future

Q. On a strategic level, what motivated MTC's decision to adopt an aggressive, cross-border expansion strategy?

A. MTC found itself piling up massive financial resources with a very long industry experience (around 20 years), locked in a small market, with an ultra-aggressive competitor encroaching on its main market.

On the other side, we saw a two-year window for a big opportunity in a high-growth market (the Arab world) that is severely underserved. [At the same time] world-renowned players were preoccupied with their problem of stock market collapses, huge debts resulting from greed for their 3G licenses and business xenophobia that have kept those players from leveraging this high-growth market.

Q. In what ways has the relationship with Vodafone helped to make this policy such a success?

A. When we decided to go out of our immediate boundaries and become an international player, progressing towards a global player, we had to achieve world-class standards and the shortest route to this was to enter into a strategic partnership with the most renowned global player in the business.

Q. What challenges has MTC had to face in penetrating regional markets, and how has the company overcome those challenges?

A. The challenge was to achieve exponential growth in our skill set and capabilities in a very small window (two years) and the challenge is how to mobilize and create the sources - not the resources - that are conducive to creativity, reliability and excellence.

This requires nothing less than exceptional management, capable of attracting and retaining the scarce best of breed talent in our part of the world.

Q. Looking to the future, which new countries is MTC targeting? Is the Middle East still full of opportunities, or have the best opportunities already been taken?

A. Our 'Vision 3x3x3' entails going regional - across the Arab world and its immediate surroundings - within the first three years. Then we plan to move into the international arena that entails Asia and Africa in the following three years.

The last stage is global - including Europe and the Americas, which are the most promising markets. We believe the Middle East is a very lucrative market with many opportunities because of the low penetration rate, which is still less than 11 percent, while mature markets enjoy penetration rates of at least 50 percent.

We are already bidding in Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as looking at other new opportunities that may arise.

Q. How excited are you about suggestions that the UAE may open up to foreign operators?

A. The UAE liberalization of the telecommunications market is great news for us and extremely interesting.

There is no company that has ever been successful in the international and global arena without first succeeding in becoming a leader in its own backyard, which is the Gulf Cooperation Council market for us.