Mobily goes point-to-multipoint to backhaul its rapidly expanding 3.75G HSPA network (05/10/2009)

Cambridge, UK - 5 October 2009 - Saudi Arabian operator Mobily, partially owned by
UAE operator Etisalat, has awarded Cambridge Broadband Networks a significant
contract for the provision of its VectaStar, point-to-multipoint, microwave backhaul
platform.

Mobily is using VectaStar in the licensed 26GHz spectrum band to backhaul its 3G high
speed packet access (HSPA) network. The initial deployment was in Saudi Arabia’s
capital city, Riyadh, in 2008, with installations also underway in the Western Region
(Jeddah , Mekah and Medinah ), the Eastern Province (Al-Khobar , Dammam and
Dhahran) as part of its plans to expand its VectaStar network nationwide.

After a thorough benchmarking against legacy point-to-point technologies, Mobily
selected VectaStar because it provides significantly greater capacity within the same
spectrum allocation. Its future-proof architecture gives Mobily the confidence to invest in
an infrastructure perfectly in line with its plans for rapid growth in data services.
VectaStar has also proven to be flexible and fast to deploy in other installations in the
region.

“Our HSPA network continues to grow quickly, and our backhaul network needs to be
able to cope with rapidly increasing data traffic,” said Nasser Al-Nasser, Mobily’s CTOMRN.

“VectaStar provides us with the capacity and scalability we need to get new
services to our customers before our competitors. It is unique in its ability to optimise
and statistically-multiplex mobile broadband data traffic from our 3.75G base stations.
Furthermore, its support for a wide variety of traffic protocols gives us great confidence
in its ability to support our current and future ventures.”

Kamel Kaddoumi , Regional Manager – Middle East of Cambridge Broadband Networks,
said “Mobily has been offering third generation services for more than two years now
and as one of the Middle East’s fastest-moving operators it needs a backhaul network
that can grow to satisfy the increasing demand for advanced services.”

“This latest agreement further validates the VectaStar point-to-multipoint platform’s
ability to meet mobile operators’ needs for flexible and scalable backhaul infrastructure.”
Mobily’s mobile data network is the busiest in the world, with 800,000 HSPA subscribers
signing up in 18 months and 3.75G HSPA service coverage reaching 326 cities, regions
and areas in the Kingdom, covering 75% of the population.. In 2005, Mobily became the
first Saudi 3G mobile operator. By 2006 Mobily subscribers had soared to 6 million and
was described by the GSM World Association as the fastest growing operator in the
MENA region. Today it has in excess of 11 million subscribers.

Cambridge Broadband Networks’ value added reseller, WiConnect, is responsible for the
systems integration of Mobily’s VectaStar network.

Mohammed Ramadan, Director at WiConnect said “the deployment of VectaStar in
Saudi for Mobily has clearly demonstrated the true beneficial impact that a point-tomultipoint
architecture and traffic optimization can have on 3G backhaul in comparison
with the traditional point-to-point solutions.”

“We are pleased to be combining our industry-leading system integration knowledge with
Cambridge Broadband Networks’ market-leading technology to serve Mobily by
contributing in its tremendous OpEx & CapEx reduction facilitated via VectaStar,”
Ramadan said.

About Cambridge Broadband Networks
Cambridge Broadband Networks (www.cbnl.com), a member of the Next Generation Mobile
Network (NGMN), provides telecommunications operators with carrier-class wireless point-tomultipoint
transmission equipment. The company’s unique approach to backhaul means that its
technology provides operators with a highly compelling business case, reducing backhaul costs
by up to 60%. To date, Cambridge Broadband Networks products have been commercially
deployed and technically proven in more than 30 countries, and the company continues to
expand into new geographical markets as wireless networks become more widespread
throughout the world. Privately-held, Cambridge Broadband Networks has headquarters in
Cambridge, UK, with offices in Middle East (location to be announced soon), Malaysia and South
Africa and manufacturing facilities in China.

Media contacts
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Eleanor Filgate, Babel PR
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