Virgin Mobile Saudi Consortium, the Saudi Arabian subsidiary company of Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, is now serving over a million customers in Saudi Arabia. The milestone has been achieved in less than one year since the commercial launch of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), making it the mobile telecommunications company with the fastest growth rates across the GCC in 2014 and 2015. Karim Benkirane, CEO ofVirgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, said: "At Virgin Mobile we are working hard to be right at the front of the customer revolution that is sweeping our industry, and make mobile better. Virgin Mobile is the next generation mobile service that is being built by today's talented young Saudi Arabians, so we are on a great path." Virgin Mobile was the first fully-licensed MVNO to market in Saudi Arabia when it launched in October last year, following a landmark decision by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to award two MVNO licenses in the Kingdom. Reaching one million customers within one year of launch is a demonstration of how successful Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa has been in Saudi Arabia, and how customers have welcomed the new mobile provider. Mikkel Vinter, CEO and Founder of Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, said: "The CITC showed great vision in bringing more competition to the Saudi Arabian telecommunications market, which benefits consumers and their society as a whole. At Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa we are proud that we have been able to play a role in making this vision a reality, providing our customers great value and an award winning experience. One million customers is a great achievement by our team in Saudi Arabia, and we are hopeful that the future will bring further growth." Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa is the region's most successful Mobile Virtual Network Operator, and the only regional group with MVNO operations in five countries across the Middle East and Africa. Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa plans to further strengthen its market-leading position across the region by launching in more countries, and is targeting a regional customer base of over 10 million subscribers within five years. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa is part of the Virgin family group of companies. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa is responsible for all Virgin Mobile operations in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia region, and is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa has been in the region since 2007, and operates the two consumer brands of Virgin Mobile and FRiENDi Mobile across the region. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa has established a leading MVNO position across South Africa, Oman, Malaysia, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and has strong growth ambitions with more operations in the pipeline. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa is proud to bring innovative products and services to customers, and to change the industry in every country it operates in. It makes mobile better for its customers, through the help of its people and partners. It works closely with other Virgin companies across the world to make sure it can create experiences for its customers which surprise and delight them, and which can't be matched. Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa believes in having the best people on the team, and the management team is made up of senior level team members from a variety of successful regional and global mobile operators, as well as from MVNOs. The company has a strong financial foundation supported by well-respected and global and regional shareholders, including Virgin Group, GIC, ePlanet Capital, Dolphin International, NTEC, and members of the senior management team.
