Page 32 - Sphere No.10 (Dec 2003)

S PHERE
122230
It is rare to find an Israeli who does not
own a mobile phone and carry it every-
where. For many Partner customers the
cellular handset has become an essential
personal communication device, providing
voice and data services at the office,
at home, while on the move in Israel,
or abroad.
Previously a traditional economy based
mainly on agriculture, light industry and
labour-intensive production, Israel has
become a knowledge-based economy with
internationally competitive telecommuni-
cations, IT, electronics and life sciences
industries. The country’s GDP in 2002
was approximately US$100 billion,
or US$15,782 per capita.
There are now four cellular players
offering services to some six million cus-
tomers. Partner was the first cellular oper-
ator in this developed market to offer
GSM technology and to launch a GPRS
network. From a technological point of
view the Israeli market is unique, offering
the widest range of technologies available
in any one country, including NAMPS
(analogue technology) CDMA, CDMA-
1XRTT, TDMA, iDEN, and the
GSM/GPRS technology, now offered by
two operators.
Partner’s cellular offering is distin-
guished by excellent voice quality, superb
customer service, nationwide coverage,
and a range of services specifically
designed to provide communication and
content solutions for residential and busi-
ness customers alike.
PARTNER FOR THE PEOPLE
Partner’s strategy has always been to satisfy
the needs of society by understanding the
particular needs of every segment.
Israeli society has been built by immi-
grants who have poured in from 70 coun-
tries around the globe, creating an unusual
and exciting cultural diversity.
Partner provides coverage to 97% of the
population using more than 2,100 cell
sites, and leads the market with ground-
breaking and user-friendly applications.
Attractive demographics (more than 40%
of the population is under 25), high
technology literacy, and a keenness
to use advanced services and applications
create an Israeli cellular market that is
ready and willing to absorb a range of
innovative services.
Since many Israelis have strong ties
with family members and colleagues
worldwide, international services are par-
ticularly important to Partner’s sub-
scribers. The company’s advanced roam-
ing capabilities – helped by the fact that
virtually the whole of Europe uses the
GSM standard – enable its customers to
use more than 280 network partners
worldwide in 125 destinations. Innovative
roaming agreements with satellite
providers enable seamless roaming in
more than 40 additional countries and
territories. Visitors to the country can
also enjoy extensive roaming cellular ser-
vices provided by Partner.
Close to home, Partner provides a vital
mobile lifeline for Palestinians when they
are in Israel, even during periods of
heightened political tension.The company
has a good working relationship with
mobile operator Al-Jawwal, owned by
Palestine Telecommunications Co (PAL-
TEL) and is the only Israeli network to
provide such a service.
Partner has been adept at responding
to market needs, introducing a wide
selection of useful and entertaining
applications, along with customer-friendly
tariff plans.
Using the obox services, customers can
enjoy a rich selection of content, including
timely updates on the latest news, stock
markets, sports, weather reports and daily
horoscopes – wherever they are.
One recently introduced capability, the
innovative omail service, provides live
updates of mail messages and attachments.
Another, the oklik service, enables cus-
tomers to take and send pictures from
wherever they are.
T E L E C O M S
Partner’s customer
service is
rated No.1 in
the country