Ebtikar Card Systems, a part of Etisalat Services Holding and a major regional provider of Smart Card solutions, unveiled its latest innovation – a high memory SIM card with one Gigabit of memory.

The new SIM card was unveiled to members of the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa Telecommunications Council (SAMENA) at a meeting held in Dubai this week.

“Ebtikar’s MegaSIM has a Gigabit of memory, meaning that operators can now add new applications and functionality and enjoy a closer relationship with their customer from day one,” said head of sales and marketing for Ebtikar Ali Sabetian.

“By bundling software applications onto a SIM card, operators can not only provide new value added services, but can also potentially protect their price points and prevent erosion or the need to heavily subsidise their subscription fees with free air time.”

Ebtikar’s team presented several scenarios where local operators can increase revenues from SIM sales. MegaSIMs can store large files including complicated or localized software such as directory enquiry services, and allow them to be sold simultaneously with the operator’s welcome pack.

This not only reduces the complexity for the consumer, but also increases the chances they will subscriber or use other value added services such as mobile TV or financial remittance services.

Ebtikar is marketing its MegaSIMS to mobile operators across the Middle East and expects the first service providers will begin introducing the new SIMs in the second half of 2008.

Ebtikar Card Systems was established in 1996, to fulfill the exponentially growing card and application demands of the market.  It provides physical support to international telecommunications operators to deliver airtime and value added service to end-users. With 10 years’ experience and strong technology partners, Ebtikar is a major provider of SIM cards, payment solutions and smart cards for Middle East, African and Asian organisations.

Ebtikar was named ‘Best Large Factory 2007’ at an award ceremony for its facilities in Ajman, UAE. – TradeArabia News Service