Saudi Telecom Company (STC) was awarded “The Telecommunications Company of the Year for 2008” in an event organized by Arabian Business for the Saudi businesses and enterprises. The prestigious award was received by Eng. Saud Bin Majed Al-Daweesh, president of STC, in a ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel and attended by leading businessmen in the Kingdom. Al-Daweesh said he presents this award to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Crown Prince and the Saudi government . He added that this award comes in line with the company's continuous efforts in raising its service performance. Al-Daweesh further said that STC has a highly extensive infrastructure which is considered the largest in the Middle East and North Africa serving more than 22 million customers and has more than 10,000 fixed and mobile base stations across the Kingdom. He added that the fiber optics system extends 40,000 kilometers in length connecting all parts of the Kingdom covering more than 35,000 kilometers of highways between the cities. The rationale behind the selection of STC came as a result of the company's comprehensive coverage of Al-Jawal which covers more than 98 percent of the inhabited land area in addition to the provision of new and innovative services as well as the success of its strategy to meet the continuous development of technology in the telecommunications sector in the region. Winning the award was also attributed to STC's continuous efforts to reinforce its vision of leadership in the mobile telephone market, its positive contributions in various communications services ranging from internet or video conferencing and data from home, distinction in products and services of its Enterprise sector, as well the company's efforts in achieving external growth, he said. STC previously took first position among telecommunications companies across the region and the 4th largest company in the region following a study executed by Forbes in December 2007. Meanwhile, due to increasing demands, STC announced the continuation of free installation of its IP-VPN service until July 19 this year at various speeds which can reach up to 2.5 gigabytes. Eng. Samir Matboly, vice president, Enterprise, said the demand for IP-VPN service exceeded all expectations in 2007 adding that “we are aiming to install this service to all Government sectors and private companies and enterprises by 2008 due to the direct contribution of this service in linking and transferring data between the various sectors in the Kingdom. Doing so, commercial enterprises are ensured better performance and profitability of their operations inside and outside the Kingdom. The network uses “IP” protocol for data transfer in the customer's network in addition to providing data security throughout the transfer process that is safe and secure allowing customers to transfer all types of applications whether audio, visual, internet, and data with high efficiency and security.” Matboly further said that “what really distinguishes the IP-VPN service is its connectivity with the available technologies in the Kingdom such as (WIMAX) and (VSAT) enabling customers to link their branches Kingdom-wide in a integrated form regardless of location. __
