Palestinian cellular market competition triggers unique deal

An unprecedented agreement signed between the Palestinian cellular phone operator Jawwal, which is owned by the Palestinian communications company Paltel, and the Kuwaiti company Zain, which provides mobile telephone services throughout the Arab world, will allow West Bank and Gaza Strip residents visiting Jordan to use their mobile device in Jordan and pay local Jordanian rates for their calls, text messages and data services.

The deal, which Paltel and Zain have dubbed "One Network," will come into force in February. Similar services in other Arab countries where Zain operates, such as Iraq and Bahrain, will be offered in the future, the companies say. Zain has shown interest in purchasing Jawwal in the past but the transaction never came to fruition.

With nearly 3 million Palestinians living in Jordan, the deal has huge implications for Jawwal subscribers in the West Bank and Gaza who visit their families in the Hashemite kingdom.

The agreement is a response to attempts by Jawwal's new competitor Al-Wataniya, which began operating last November, to lure Jawwal's clientele with especially low rates for calls from Jordan.

Paltel's chairman, Palestinian businessman Sabih El Masri said at the signing ceremony that Jawwal and Zain intend to join forces in a strategic alliance.

Zain CEO Abed Al Malek Al-Jaber, who is also a well known Palestinian businessman, said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with a representative of the company and with Kuwait's ambassador to Jordan during his visit to Amman on Monday and expressed satisfaction with the partnership. The signing ceremony was also attended by Jordan's communications minister.

Although Al-Wataniya has offered a variety of deals for new subscribers since its launch two months ago, there has been little change in the price of calls, and neither company has offered rates much lower than its competitor. Nevertheless, the competition has been making itself felt through huge advertisements in the Palestinian press and on billboards throughout Palestinian cities.