Umniah Telecom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Waseela, a leading Jordanian and regional provider of integrated ICT solutions and services, for a key Ministry of Education project in the kingdom.

The agreement, signed by Umniah CEO Engineer Ziad Shatara and by Waseela CEO Dr Samer Taha, will see Waseela’s microwave technology adopted by Umniah to implement the Connect and Protect electronic project for the Ministry of Education's schools and directorates, which was recently launched by the ministry in cooperation with the Special Communications Commission, said a statement.

Shatara said: "We are proud to be a partner in the process of developing and growing the education sector through the provision of modern and innovative technological solutions that contribute to improving the quality of education for our children. This is where the importance of partnership with companies such as Waseela becomes clear, to ensure the best use of available technological services and the means to implement the project.”

Dr Taha said: "Waseela is honored by the trust that Umniah Telecom has shown it, and we are proud to be a main partner in the implementation of this important national project by executing the necessary telecommunications infrastructure, a field that Waseela has been specialized in for more than eight years."

Through this project, Umniah will prepare the necessary infrastructure to link the Ministry of Education with around 3,000 schools around the kingdom, providing Internet and communications services through a private intranet network and increasing Internet speeds between the schools and the directorates from one to 15 megabytes, and between the ministry and its directorates by more than 50 megabytes.  This will provide users with the ability to communicate rapidly, facilitating the decision-making process.

The project will develop education tools in a manner that will benefit nearly 1.5 million students and 80,000 teachers by providing advanced technological solutions, including an internal communications network using Voice over IP (VoIP), enabling the ministry to communicate with its directorates without any additional financial costs.

The network will also enable the teaching staff to conduct meetings and outreach virtually through video conferencing, eliminating the need for movement among the directorates.  Additionally, this move will help control official working hours at the ministry, its schools and its directorates by installing the necessary equipment to establish an electronic monitoring and protection system, as well as prepare the correct infrastructure to carry out online exams in the future.

Umniah was selected to implement this project, the first of its kind in both the Kingdom and the Arab region, after its offer complied with all the standards and conditions set forth by the Ministry of Education and the Special Communications Commission in a tender proposed by the Jordanian Armed Forces, said the statement. - TradeArabia News Service