Kuwait-headquartered Mada Telecom Group, in partnership with Zain Telecom Jordan, has announced the launch of an 802.16e network in Jordan.

Previously known as ArabTel, Mada has ambitions to deliver personal broadband across the Gulf region, with services soon to be made available in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon through the combination of fibre and wireless technology. Mada says it has already spent $20m on its regional broadband project but the final cost is expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Head of Zain Jordan, Abdullah Fazah, says the service in Jordan would provide 5Mbps for subscribers using a USB device.

Mada joins two other WiMAX operators in Jordan: Umniah, owned by Bahrain-based operator Batelco, which launched WiMAX service in November 2007; and WiTribe, a joint venture between Qtel and ATCO of Saudi Arabia, which began operations in June 2008.Mada’s service will initially be offered to wireless internet subscribers in three cities in Jordan; Amman, Irbid and Zaraq, before the network is expanded across the rest of the country.

According to a survey conducted by Arab Advisors at the end of last year, WiMAX had an 8.3 percent share of Jordan’s residential broadband market.

Mada says it will announce the acquisition of two more WiMAX licenses before this year is out, with a plan to become the largest WiMAX operator in the region by end of 2009.

You can hear from Medhat Amer, CEO of Mada Communications, at WiMAX MEGNA in Dubai 23-24 June 2009.

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