Author: Nation Correspondent
Date: January 17, 2007
Type of article: Business News
Source: The Daily Nation - only available online by registration and paid subscription fee

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Celtel has announced a Sh20 million sponsorship deal to cover both the communication and cultural music fiesta during the World Social Forum slated to begin on January 20.

The announcement was made by Michael Dabaly, the company’s chief commercial officer.

“We will provide communication services for the entire conference including Internet services,” Mr Dabaly said.

The services in the sponsorship include voice, SMS, data services and roaming services in East Africa. 

“We will also provide the capability to make international calls,” he added.

The company’s support will also include provision of 30 edge cards to ensure “high speed transmission of data”.

Based on utilization, the network can support speeds from 85 kbps to more than 200kbps, Mr Dabaly added. 

The forum has attracted a global delegation of about 100,000 and will be held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Each delegate will receive a free Celtel GPRS sim card on arrival. The service will enable participants to receive information simultaneously in English, Kiswahili, Spanish and French.

Celtel has boosted its capabilities at the sports complex “to take 100,000 people calling from the same venue at the same time, Mr Dabaly added.

The marketing manager James Naikuni said Celtel will have an opportunity to showcase its internal capabilities that are up to global standards.