The operator is MOOV, a subsidiary of Atlantique Telecom, itself 50%-owned by Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat).
Isolation in remote villages is a real problem for those Ivory Coast citizens who wish to subscribe to any telecoms service. MOOV saw the potential and made its move. The arrival of mobile in these locations has indeed proved a great success.
Ivory Coast may even play her part in making Atlantique Telecom a world-player. Etisalat's chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran has the vision of making his company one of the top ten operators globally within the next four years. Ivory Coast follows Egypt and Afghanistan into the recent Etisalat portfolio.
For the group marketing manager of Atlantique Telecom, Khaled Al Tenaiji, branching out to Cote d'Ivoire comes at a decisive time when Etisalat sees success in its international investments and operations: "Telecom is also experiencing growth in its penetration rates and service portfolio catering to the GSM subscriber in Western Africa, which has some of the lowest mobile penetration rates," he said.
* MOOV supplies GSM to Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Togo, as well as Ivory Coast. Teledensity is less than 8%; total population is 61 million.
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