Issue No ( 1 ) 2014

METO MMUNITY

METCO

Message

Toufiq Ahmed Bin Sultan

Chairman

the latest innovations in our field in order to keep our offerings in accordance withthe highest standards.

I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate 35 years of leading the industry. The promise to remain on the cutting edge of progress is one that we make to ourselves, to our valued clients and to our industry. We embrace the challenges that our clients face and wemake them our own.

It is through hard work and commitment that we earned our clients’ trust and loyalty. It is the same recipe that will carryus forward.

Welcome to the first issue of(Metcommunity)- the newsletter of METCO.

Metcommunity aims to bring all the company s news and updates together in one place. This issue includes our latestevents, achievements and solutions.

Established in 1978, Middle East Telecommunications Company (METCO) - a subsidiary of Towell International Holding- is a leading telecommunications and information technology solutionsintegrator in the Middle East and Africa.

To deploy its solutions and deliver its services, METCO partnership with leading manufacturers of enterprise and carrier grade technology including Avaya (Platinum Partner), Aviat Networks, Ciena (Golden BizConnect Partner, and a Diamond Accredited Partner for Ethernet Products), Juniper, NEC,Alcatel - Lucent and other vendors.

METCO is dedicated to provide its clients with end to end telecommunications solutions, from basic infrastructure to customized applications. We seek to address the challenges of the clients business using a turnkey approach toservice delivery.

We will constantly maintain outstanding quality of service and remain abreast of

Middle East Telecommunications Company (METCO) - a leading integrator of telecommunications and information technology solutions in the Middle East and Africa has been granted two awards byAVAYA telecommunication.

In a vast celebration AVAYA a global leader in business communications, has honored METCO with two awards “Data Networking Partner of the Year 2013” and “Partner of the Year Enterprise 2013” for their utmost workin the field of telecommunication.

In this regard ……. - AVAYA Chief Executive Officer stated: “METCO’s great demonstration of overall commitment to Avaya. Alongside with exhibiting innovation and creativity made them eligible to the awards”

….. And added: “METCO’s proactive engagement in compliance with AVAYA’s cutting edge technologies. Along with their continuous pursuit to develop solutions that addresses business challenges in organizational productivity and efficiency, positioned them at vanguard oftelecommunication sector

In this occasion Bassem A. Jalil- METCO Chief Executive Officer stated: “We are honored and humbled by AVAYA’s recognition and award. At METCO we aim to grow strong and solid, and in the midst of the immense competition we are pleased to distinguish ourselves with these awards. Recognition is an incentive that gives us thrust towards to diligent work.”

It is noteworthy to bring to light METCO’s fruitful corporate background that extends over 35 years, including many glorious collaborations.

Middle East Telecommunications Company (METCO) participated for the third time in the 2013 Zain Technologies Conference that was held in Dubai between the 1st and 3rd of December at the Atlantis Resort thePalm.

METCO’s effect ive presence and representation of major international telecommunications companies in ZTC demonstrates the unparalleled efforts that METCO devotes in being a top solution provider in the field of telecommunications.

In this regard Bassem A. Jalil- METCO’s Chief Executive Officer stated: “We are not strangers to ZTC as we have been at the forefront of this event since its inception in 2009. The event was a

resounding success and we praise Zain for the outstanding planning, organization,and content quality presented”

Abdel Jalil added: “our presence this year was complemented by the attendance of three of METCO’s key partners who conducted sessions that covered the latest in technology trends and innovations. These sessions included JUNIPER’s core technologies and CIENA’s SDN (Software Defined Networks) for Packet Switching and transport, while AVIAT talked about “The cost of microwave backhaulnetworks.”

It is noteworthy to mention that METCO has been one of Zain’s vendors for over 25 years providing them with leading edge solutions.

METCO

NewsMiddle East Telecommunications participates in “ZAIN Technology Conference 2013”

AVAYA graciously awards Middle East Telecommunications for their devotion

assured networking and cloud computing. The lab was available at Zain Kuwait’s

Headquarters, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) andthe Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Headquarters.

METCO Chief Executive Officer, Bassem A. Jalil, praised Ciena for its tireless efforts in the field of network solutions and for supporting fourth-generation technology-LTE for GSM service providers in the region as well asother business networks.

METCO and NEC cooperate to deploy Microwave Backhaul Network for Zain

Middle East Telecommunications Company (METCO), a leading integrator of telecommunication and information technology solutions in the Middle East and Africa, and NEC Corporation (NEC), a leading provider of IT and network solutions, today announced a new contract with Zain Kuwait that will enable the operator to increase its LTE, 3G and 2G network capacity, enabling it to continue to deliverhigh speed connectivity to consumers.

METCO’s in-depth mobile network expertise, combined with NEC’s iPASOLINK series of advanced microwave radio solutions and network management system, will upgrade Zain Kuwait’s backhaul transmission network to meet growing mobile broadband demand. The project is expected to be completed by theend of 2014.

METCO, appreciative and proud of their strategic relationship with Zain that began

provide the most advanced backhaul solutionfor Zain’s 2G/3G and LTE network.”

Abdel-Jalil added: “It was through our partnership with NEC that we were able to meet Zain’s challenging requirements. Furthermore, the advanced technology that we are going to deliver will help Zain tackle the exponentially growing demand for data traffic. In other words, Zain wants to offer the best and most reliable network to their customers. This is what NECand METCO will deliver.”

Noboru Takahashi, President of NEC Saudi Arabia said, “As more people switch to LTE phones, it is vital that operators have the backhaul capacity to take the strain and deliver the high speed, high capacity mobile broadband experience consumers want. Far from just making calls, consumers now want to use their phones to do everything from streaming high definition videos to browsing the web. NEC is pleased to work with METCOto help Zain Kuwait to meet these demands.”

METCO has an ambitious strategy to expand its presence in the Middle East and Africa. In order to remain a leading company in the ICT field, METCO has adopted a range of initiatives within the framework of achieving their goal. METCO will continue to focus on delivering the latest technologies complemented by best inclass service levels.

more than 25 years ago, also indicated that the new Zain Kuwait microwave network will be one of the most extensive in the world. Zain is currently the leader in the mobile broadband field in relations to the amount of active mobile customers who have already migrated to theLTE network, which is available nationwide. Chief Executive Officer of Zain Kuwait, Omar Al-Omar said: “We have established a fruitful relationship with METCO over the last 25 years, where they were our partners in thejourney to success during that period.” Al-Omar added: “The most significant accomplishment was METCO’s involvement in the backhaul upgrade for the launch of our nationwide LTE service two years ago that has been providing our customers with a reliableand ultra-fast mobile Internet speed in Kuwait.” AL-Omar elaborated that he values METCO’S efforts and the advanced technologies that they are providing with NEC to support the very high growth in demand that is expected for Zain Kuwait’s LTE network in 2014. The joint technologies of METCO and NEC will support Zain to achieve the best technological solutions and help offer its customers anexciting network experience.

METCO’s Chief Executive Officer Bassem A. Jalil stated: “We are determined to attain premium technology solutions that measure up to the best international standards. By joining forces with NEC we were able to

Middle East Telecommunications Brings Ciena’s Mobile Innovation Lab to Kuwait

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO, showcased Ciena products and solutions during the visit of Ciena’s Mobile Innovation Lab to Kuwait for the second consecutive year to build on the success ofits first tour in the region.

Ciena’s Mobile Innovation Lab was equipped with a team of specialists that gave live demonstrations for METCO’s clients of Ciena’s 40G/100G solutions, Carrier Ethernet,

A. Jalil concluded, “METCO is fully committed to providing clients with the latest telecommunication and infrastructure solutions as a Ciena Golden BizConnect Partner and a Diamond Accredited Partner for Ethernet products.’’

Middle East Telecommunications participates in Global Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition 2014 ( GOGCE )

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO participated in the annual Meeting and Exhibition that was held between KuwaitOil Company and contractors.

The conference and exhibition was organized by KOC, and was held recently at the KuwaitInternational Fairgrounds in Mishref Hall 8.

METCO CEO, Bassem A. Jalil, said “We are proud to present our services at Kuwait Oil Company Exhibition in which we are keen on participating every year. This will allow the oil sector companies staff to obtain the latest telecommunication solutions that METCOoffers.”

A. Jalil, added “Our participation this year in Kuwait Oil Company Exhibition is in collaboration with Avaya, a global company specializing in providing solutions and services for business networks. Through our Platinum Partnership with Avaya, we have provided new solutions designated for telecommunication applications and services that include call centers and data solutions, which are bound to improve work efficiency

With hard work we achievedISO 2008: 9001

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO - has achieved the ISO 9001:2008 certificate for quality control management. The ISO 9001:2008 certificate is granted to companies that achieve the highestinternational standards in that sector.

The certificate was received by Khaled Samy – on behalf of METCO’s Management from Ismail Moustafa, «SGS» representative at a

ceremony held at METCO’s premises in Kuwait.

Bassem A. Jalil – METCO’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) took the opportunity to thank METCO’s personnel for their hard work, team effort, and contributions. “Receiving this certificate does not mean that our work is done, but it means that we now have the tools and experience to continually improveour processes and our quality.” he said.

On behalf of METCO, A.Jalil also extended his appreciation to the Kuwait International Laboratory (LABCO) that worked closely with them on the certification process. “We are happy to have worked with LABCO on the training and certification process. We greatly benefitted from LABCO’s extensive experience and their fully integrated consultancy service on all aspects of this QMS certification.”

Sunil Khubchandani, LABCO’s Director, explained “The ISO 9001:2008 certification is a globally recognized quality management

standard. Achieving this certification demonstrates that the certified organization is technically and functionally focused to meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to the product deliverables.

METCO fits this criteria by providing turnkey solutions including installation, commissioning, training, civil works, and managed services of telecommunications networks, in line withclient’s requirements.

It is worth noting that the Quality Management System (QMS) at METCO utilizes the process approach and quality management principles contained in the International Standards ISO 9001:2008 to enhance its ability to continually improve. METCO uses the QMS to demonstrate its capability to consistently provide services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and to operate with increased effectiveness and efficiency with the overallaim of enhancing customer satisfaction.

and customer service.”

A. Jalil concluded “METCO is fully committed to the Kuwait oil industry, and it is viewed as a dynamic segment that requires state of the art telecommunication solutions. We strongly believe that METCO can play a vital part in this endeavor .”

Celebrating 35 Years of Achievements

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO celebrates its 35 years anniversary of continuing accomplishment since 1978 in Movinepick AlBidaa Hotel, Kuwait.

METCO prestigious reputable name established strong relations with major international companies in the field of telecommunication, such as Avaya (Platinum Partner), Aviat Networks, Ciena (Golden BizConnect Partner, and a Diamond Accredited

Partner for Ethernet Products), NEC, Tellabs, Juniper, also worked with many of the leading telecommunications companies in the MiddleEast.

In this regard METCO Chairman, Toufiq Ahmed Bin Sultan, stated “We are proud of the work we have done in these 35 years. We are keen on developing our services and elevating our standards to maintain our statue that we always sought for”

Continuous presence in Erbil International Fair

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO took place in the 9th edition of the multi- sector trade fair. The exhibition was hosted by Erbil International Fair under the presence of prestigious dignitaries. Notably the Mayor of Erbil Nozad Hadi, and General Manager of the Erbil International Fair Grounds, Abdallah Abdel Rahim, representative of the British Prime Minister for business affairs, along with large number of significant public figures.

In the past nine years EIF was held yearly, and accordingly ranked one of the most dominant exhibitions, covering a wide range of sectors

and stimulating development globally.

METCO CEO, Bassem A. Jalil, stated “We are proud to present our services within a prominent fair. We made promise to remain on the cutting edge of progress, to serve premium, ideal services to our clients and our industry.”

A. Jalil added “METCO is dedicated to elevate its standards, through participating in dynamic international fairs, and enhancing the telecommunication solutions. We strongly believe that METCO can play a vital role in thetelecommunication endeavor“

It is a noteworthy to bring to light METCO’s social responsibility, as they took it upon themselves to cater to the needy.

In this occasion Bin Sultan added “METCO is fully committed to the society. This kind of work makes us proud; a good deed never goes in vain. Also, we didn’t forget our responsibility towards our employees. We have been eager to support them to assurethe maximum growth in our company.”

Lebanon

Bayan Tech was established as an associate company to METCO in Lebanon to fulfill the need for excellence in today’s rapidly growing telecommunication business. Our thorough experience in the industry combined with our high energy, strong standards and certified professional crew allows building and maintaining a strong market position throughout MENA region.

Bayan Tech provides expertise to telecommunication suppliers, vendors and operation by consultancy, professional services and full turn-key solutions from basic infrastructure to application layer. It also provides services for both wireless and optical networks covering DWDM/Carrier Ethernet/ MPLS/ SDH/ Microwave products.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)Operating under the name of Massila Tech in 2012, METCO has recently launched new operations in Dubai. With more than 25 employees, Massila Tech supplies, installs and operates different telecom solutions to various vendors and operators both locally and regionally.

The main line of business is IBS solutions which includes Design, Implementation, As-Built and Optimization. Successfully designing - using iBwave design software - and implementing more than 50 large size buildings for the local operators in UAE. We have also expanded our profile to conduct Walk Tests, Drive Tests and LTE coverage analysis and much more.

Headquartered in Kuwait, METCO’s corporate presence extends to Lebanon, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Iraq, Sudan, and parts of Africa.

Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia (KSA)In 2012, METCO established an associate company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) under the registered name of Massila Tech.

Massila Tech Installs, operates, and maintains all electrical and electronic equipments, computers, wired and wireless telecom equipments, and software security cameras. In addition to installing and maintaining all types of telecom towers and network managed services in all KSA regions.

METCO

Presence

METCO

Projects

State of Kuwait دولة الكويتاإلدارة العامة للطريان الـمدينDirectorate General of Civil Aviation

General Directorate of Civil AviationAVAYA

Design Supply & install the new weather forecasting Interactive Voice response system .

Wataniya TelecomAVAYA

Upgrade and rebuild the existing contact center to provide latest technology trends such as social media and enhanced customer interaction services .

VIVA Telecom - KuwaitAVAYA

Supply & install Avaya unified communication & telephony applications for the VIVA head office.

Ministry of Electricity & Water AVAYA

Design & supply of communication infrastructure for WDCII Mina Zzour, and WDCII Mina Abdullla. Services included; Microwave, Data networks, Telephony & Towers.

Radisson BLU - KuwaitAVAYA & Juniper Networks

Providing Radisson BLU – Kuwait with a strong converged infrastructure, guest access for telephony, internet and wireless applications.

Zain - KuwaitNEC

Transmission Microwave Network Swap.

Services

METCO

Services&Solutions

Design Our engineers work with our clients in a consultative capacity to define the requirements that meet their business objectives. They are engaged early during the sales process and continuously during delivery and support should variations or optimizations need to be performed.

ImplementationOur project managers are experienced in managing the time and budget constraints of large turnkey projects, as well as mitigating inherent project risks and ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards.

Be it a technology upgrade, a platform swap, a network consolidation, or a green-field roll-out, METCO’s implementation teams bring predictability and control to projects even in adverse conditions. METCO and its partners are dedicated to implementing solutions that translate into tangible business benefits for your organization.

Support METCO’s support teams are in charge of maintaining the solutions that we deploy for carriers and enterprises. We perform both preventive and corrective maintenance in order to ensure that the business value generated is sustained. Our technical staff use proven methodologies to monitor the performance of our solutions and comply with the terms of the service level agreements (SLAs) concluded with our clients.

Managed servicesToday’s expanding networks, scarcity of technical skills, prohibitive management costs and lack of timely expertise means that keeping constant vigil of the Information and Communication Technology ( ICT ) infrastructure has become a growing concern. It often becomes a strategic choice for companies to focus their resources on

the core functions of their business while partnering with managed service providers to ensure that their communication and information technology needs are fulfilled. Leveraging our ICT expertise, we bring budget control, reliability, and predictability to these services.

Program and project management Engaging an experienced Program/Project Management Office (PMO) is critical to the success of these engagements and is a key differentiator of METCO’s proposition. This team of seasoned professionals will ensure that we produce the desired impact for our Clients’ business.

Solution training METCO offers comprehensive training programs to users and administrators of the solutions that it deploys. These programs include standard course modules that cover operating procedures of suites of vendor products and the acquisition of a functional or technical skill. They also include modules developed and tailored to the specifics of a deployed business solution and cover the elements of a complete business process.

METCO is dedicated to providing best-in-class technology solutions and services to its clients. We believe that our main differentiators are the level of expertise of our employees acquired over decades of regional presence and hundreds of engagements, our client focused culture, and the close partnership that we established with leading providers of equipment and product suites.

METCO is a top-tier provider and integrator of information and communication technology solutions that are scalable, secure, and cost-effective. These solutions target specific business challenges and their implementation results in tangible business value. Be it to fulfill the needs of a telecommunications carrier, a private enterprise or a government institution, we tailor and customize our solutions to achieve specific business objectives.

We provide a large spectrum of solutions ranging from providing basic connectivity to implementing operational support or business support applications. METCO specializes in:

Solutions

Services&Solutions

Wireless networkingMETCO designs, supplies, installs, configures, commissions, and operates wireless networks to address last-mile access, backhaul and backbone connectivity requirements of telecommunications operators, government institutions and private enterprises. We implement point-to-point microwave links to connect multiple sites of a wide area network. We can also implement point-to-multipoint wireless solutions based on WiMAX or other technologies.

Optical networkingMETCO is also a key player in engineering and deploying optical network solutions. We provide full optical transmission solutions which include the design, installation, connection, testing and commissioning of single-mode and multimode fiber networks.

In turnkey networking projects, we also perform route planning, trenching, duct installation, and civil works.

METCO has partnership agreements with some of the world’s most advanced optical fiber cabling and networking equipment providers. Leveraging these partnerships, we offer the latest technologies to our customers to design and deploy SDH, IP/MPLS, DWDM, CWDM technologies to create networks accommodating bandwidth-hungry voice and video applications.

Convergent infrastructureMETCO prides itself on being a pioneer in providing integrated voice and data communications solutions in the Middle East. We serve a host of industries including government institutions and ministries, banks and financial services, telecommunications services, utilities, travel and transportation, hospitality, healthcare, and education. Our infrastructure solutions provide voice and data connectivity across Local Area

Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs). We build highly available and secure network infrastructures for our clients within one location or multiple locations, connecting their branches and offices across distances. Our connectivity solutions include structured cabling and Outside Plant (OSP) network deployment.

We also integrate network management platforms and roll-out network operation centers (NOCs) for telecommunications service providers and enterprise clients, comprising of fault management, performance management and configuration management solutions.

Applications As an integrator of communications solutions, METCO addresses the complex needs of today’s businesses for ubiquitous and seamless access to information from anywhere using multiple platforms. METCO does this by partnering with leading manufacturers of voice, data, and multimedia products.

Middle East Telecommunications Company METCO has been working with Zain for thepast 25 years.

METCO offers services to Zain in Kuwait, Sudan, Iraq, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA), and Bahrain.

1. How does METCO services add value to Zain offering?

There are many added values from METCOto Zain.

METCO is not only a local representative of some Telecom suppliers such as (Aviat, Juniper, …etc), METCO is a turnkey company where we buy a complete solution which we don’t have to worry about the compatibility andother integration boxes.

In the telecom industry, it is not only about good products from big company and puttingpieces together.

It is about how you integrate those boxes in a complete platform which will meet andserve our needs.

I believe METCO succeed in achieve thisobjective.

2. What is a key differentiator of METCOcompared to others?

We have long history with METCO (morethan 25 years!!!).

During those two and half decades, Zain and METCO succeed to gain each other trust. A small word from any person from bothcompanies will be considered as a commitment.

I believe the mutual trust is the manydifferentiators.

Moreover, supporting Zain in many difficult

countries where many vendors run away and they don’t want to work, this really helped enhancing the relation and building faith thatthey are the right partner and selection.

3. How has METCO progressed throughoutthe technological revolution?

I believe technology trend is moving very fast, and to cater to this trend, it will require alot of preparation and work to be done.

METCO succeeds to equip themselves with the right resources and knowledgedevelopment to coup with this trend.

Moreover, selecting the right company to partner with by representing them in the region also help METCO to be up to datewith the technology.

4. How does METCO play a vital role in lowering total cost of ownership of network infrastructure &services?

METCO has many partnerships with many companies and most of them have the state of art technology and they are leaders intheir functionality and area.

This gives METCO the variety of selecting the right vendor that suite the target budgetand has a competitive price.

Moreover, since METCO is a system integrator and a company that provide a turnkey solution, then they have the privilege of selectingdifferent platform with low cost of ownership.

Also METCO has great experienced resources certified by many global companies, and since those resources are based in the region, they are familiar to Zain Opco and also some ofthem are local people.

Therefore, the cost of service will automaticallybe reduced.

Interview with Mohammed Al Murshed Core Network Director - Zain Group Technolgy