Orange Jordan CEO emphasises roles of technology, telecom sector in equipping Kingdom for crisis

AMMAN — The coronavirus crisis has shown the concept of cooperation in the local telecommunication sector, demonstrated the importance of the Internet and technology and significantly changed citizens' digital habits, said Orange Jordan CEO Thierry Marigny.

In a press statement shared with The Jordan Times on Thursday, Marigny asserted that “since day one of the crisis”, the company “has proactively declared” the state of alert and prepared its networks to deal with the expected increase in traffic, especially as people were asked to stay home and decisions of continuing study and work remotely were announced.

The company has adopted financial and social initiatives to support governmental efforts to overcome the crisis, Marigny said, noting that Orange Jordan’s support provided to combat the pandemic amounts to around $2 million, which reflects the company’s social responsibility and values, according to the statement.

He added that telecom operators have taken the initiative to deal with the massive increase in data consumption, as the company's networks have witnessed a 60 per cent increase in traffic. Telecom companies have reinforced their networks to deal with this sharp increase.

Marigny pointed out that the Kingdom has also witnessed a “significant increase” in Internet usage due to the lockdown.

Telecom companies have been “the first contributors to the success of the government’s decision to digitise learning:” by offering free browsing of the Ministry of Education’s e-learning platform “Darsak” for school students, in addition to offering special bundles for university students and additional internet bundles at affordable prices, he said in the statement.

The strength of these networks has, as well, contributed to the success of the specialised medical and supply digital platforms, on which demand have increased during the self-quarantine, Marigny said.

Orange Jordan’s technical and engineering teams have been ready to address and fix any malfunction or interruption in a timely manner, while the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) has granted companies additional frequencies, thereby providing greater capacities for network operators, he said.

The huge surge in data usage during the lockdown was expected, as shown by TRC’s technical reports. The daily data traffic on mobile fourth-generation networks alone increased by 31 per cent, which is equal to 1,260 terabytes, he noted.

Download speeds improved by 36 per cent to 73 per cent among mobile companies, considering that the Internet networks have proven their resilience to endure any emergency, which “demonstrates the sector’s strong infrastructure and ability to maintain sustainability in all circumstances, despite the immense pressure”, the CEO said.

Providing more insights, Marigny noted that, parallel to the “unprecedented” increase in Internet usage, the Kingdom witnessed an increase in the use of social media applications, for instance, usage of WhatsApp and Instagram increased by 40 per cent, while watching videos via social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok made up 52 per cent of the total data flow.

“This crisis has cast a shadow over a vast segment of society. As part of our social responsibility and commitment to local communities, we presented the Himmat Watan fund with JD1 million to support the government’s efforts, alleviate economic and social repercussions and stand united to confront such consequences,” Marigny asserted in the statement.

The Orange family also donated $100,000 to support the Ministry of Health, in addition to JD20,000 to the NAUA platform initiative aiming to support daily wage workers who have been affected by the lockdown, as well as increasing Internet capacity in quarantine hotels for free and recently supporting the Ministry of Health with 120,000 euros in cash and necessary medical equipment, he added.

Marigny said that the company further provided 4,500 free mobile lines, charged for three months for nurses working at the hospitals that are dealing with potential and confirmed COVID-19 cases, noting that the total support provided by Orange Jordan amounts to around $2 million, “reflecting the company’s social responsibility and values of reinforcing cooperation and solidarity and commitment to harnessing resources to support and serve the Kingdom”.

The company decided to keep all lines and Internet subscriptions, including those with unpaid bills, active and grant free 5GB internet bundles to all mobile users across the Kingdom and 20GB to Irbid residents during the complete isolation period, he said.

Orange Jordan has also enabled people with disabilities to request support via an emergency line that answers their inquiries and connects them with concerned authorities regardless of their network, according to the statement.

The company has promoted several digital channels to ensure safety, such as My Orange App, Orange.jo, eFAWATEERcom and Orange Money App, with a new feature that allows all mobile phone users to activate their e-wallets from home without visiting any shop.

On the level of strategic plans and policies adopted by the company to face the crisis and ensure business continuity internally and externally, Marigny described Orange Group's global response, which was reflected on the local level, as “proactive”, according to the statement.

“When 100 per cent of the company moved to work from home, following the government decisions, we completed our operations according to our business continuity plan and harnessed our technical resources to excel and succeed in this challenge,” he asserted.

Marigny went on to say that customer call centre agents are now working from their homes with laptops and VPNs.

“We are at a crossroad of the country’s digitalisation due to the coronavirus crisis. Citizens have had to change their habits and this will continue in the future, not only because we are all convinced that it perfectly meets our needs during the containment, but also as it makes us more efficient,” Marigny said.

He highlighted the e-learning experience as a “prime example” that will lead universities and high schools to consider adapting part of their curricula to be online after this alternative has proven to be efficient and convenient for teachers and students, according to the statement.