France Telecom Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard told media representatives on Wednesday that the company is committed to continue investing in Jordan where it owns a 51 per cent stake in Jordan Telecom Group ( JTG ). "Our investment in Jordan is strategic and a long-term one as we are here to stay," Richard said during a meeting with journalists. Noting that JTG has invested more than $1 billion in Jordan, Richard stressed that France Telecom is committed to continuing investments. He described a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour as positive and said it covered challenges the JTG is facing in the country. The Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported that the premier labelled JTG as one of the successful stories of privatisation that reflects true partnership between public and private sectors. The premier said major investors have other responsibilities because, in addition to providing services, as they play a role in the transfer of technology and provide training in latest technology, Petra reported. During the meeting with the press, Richard described the investment climate in Jordan as one of the best in the Middle East and Africa, and emphasised that regulations governing the telecom sector in Jordan should be stable to encourage more investment in the country. On the company's plans to introduce Fourth Generation (4G) services in Jordan, Richard said France Telecom is technologically ready to provide the service in Jordan. But JTG Chief Executive Officer Jean-François Thomas indicated that competition in the Jordanian market is strong, noting that it is still premature to introduce the 4G services in the Kingdom. "We introduced the Third Generation (3G) services two years ago and there is still a large room for adoption and growth in the usage of 3G services," Thomas said . In 2010, Orange Jordan was the first to launch the 3G service, enabling new mobile services such as video calling, multimedia and high-speed Internet access. The service was later launched by Zain Jordan and Umniah. In the meeting, Richard said France Telecom will continue and enhance its corporate social responsibility in Jordan. He added that Orange Foundation will be launched to boost CSR in different fields in the country. JTG Chairman Shabib Ammari stressed that France Telecom will continue to invest in its networks and infrastructure in Jordan. He said JTG is keen on increasing its investments in Jordan and boosting the coverage of networks in the Kingdom. Jordan Times
