Game-changing Qualcomm Powered initiative launched in Saudi Arabia

Qualcomm today launched its Qualcomm Powered smartphone initiative in Saudi Arabia, aimed at bringing OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), retailers, and network operators closer together to drive mobile data usage.

Speaking exclusively to Comm., Jay Srage, Qualcomm’s president for the MEA region said that the technology provider had partnered with Saudi telco Mobily; Saudi handset retailers Axiom and Jarir Bookstores; and six device manufacturers – Sony Ericsson, HTC, Alcatel, Samsung, Acer, and Huawei – in the offer of a joint strategic and marketing campaign aimed at driving up smartphone and data usage in the kingdom.

Jay Srage says Qualcomm Powered is an early-stage model that has the potential to uplift the entire smartphone-accessed mobile data ecosystem

“Qualcomm has always been interested in working with ecosystem players across the entire telecom value chain, and with respect to the Qualcomm Powered initiative, I like to refer to us as being the glue that binds the various parties together,” Srage said. “What we have done in Saudi Arabia, and aim to do in other parts of the region, is to enable data packages and connections to be accessed in a way that unleashes mobility and mobile data usage,” he added.

The six OEMs have a combined portfolio of around 25 smartphones offered in Saudi Arabia, and as part of the Qualcomm Powered initiative in the kingdom Mobily has agreed to offer customers who purchase any of the smartphones included in the campaign data usage at no charge for a period of time following the purchase.

Qualcomm Powered looks to benefit OEMs through offering a potential differentiation tool, while complimenting their existing in-country supply and distribution channels. The initiative seeks to benefit retailers given it works as a virtual subsidy of the smartphones sold, allowing retailers to sell more of them. It is also set to benefit service providers by raising the awareness of smartphones and their capabilities, with the view to more subscribers becoming paying customers to data services in the longer-run.

“We are following up the launch in Saudi Arabia with similar launches in Egypt and the UAE in due course,” Srage revealed. “These are all high-growth markets in which smartphone usage is increasing rapidly. Our aim is to launch these initiatives and then after a few months assess their impact. If it is successful our aim is to roll it out across the MEA and even beyond the region,” he added.

In Egypt, more than one network operator has already signed up to Qualcomm Powered, and Srage said he also expects that the number and size of OEM partners is likely to grow should this new model of joint, strategic marketing focus be vindicated.