Motorola on Sunday announced the signing of a multi-million dollar contract with Zain Iraq, the leading mobile provider in the country with over 9.7 million active customers, to provide managed services to the operator.

The three-year contract will enhance Zain Iraq’s overall network performance, improving the customer experience and enabling subscribers to enjoy feature rich services, said a top Motorola official.

Under the managed services contract, Motorola will improve Zain Iraq’s network performance, operate and maintain it as well as provide training to the technical support team.

This level of network management and technical expertise will enable Zain Iraq to focus on building a better network for its customers, whilst improving its operating margin and increasing overall productivity.

The successful growth of the operator has been due to an increase in customer satisfaction through enhanced user experience and the largest reach in Iraq.

This contract further develops the relationship by providing expertise for the delivery of enhanced user experiences, increased revenue growth through network coverage, improved customer satisfaction and on-the-job training for Zain resources.

Motorola has a strong relationship with Zain Iraq including a number of multi-million dollar contracts since 2004, which have laid the groundwork for Zain’s future success.

More recently, Motorola successfully integrated the Zain Iraq and Orascom networks when the two companies merged in 2008.

Today’s contract further underlies the trust and assurance Zain Iraq has for Motorola to successfully deploy networks in difficult terrains and support their phenomenal subscriber growth rates, said a top executive.

Ali Al Dahwi, chief executive officer, Zain Iraq said, “We have taken this step due to our enduring faith and trust in the business we have built with Motorola, and the enormous potential of Iraq’s telecommunications industry. We are confident this relationship with Motorola will positively impact Zain’s future telecommunications offering in Iraq, to the delight of our many stakeholders.”

Eric Pradier, vice president, Home & Network Mobility Services, Motorola EMEA & Asia Pacific said, “Often in these complex nationwide infrastructure environments that are located in challenging areas, the operator has to devote large portions of their internal team to managing the day-to-day operational requirements of the network.

Zain’s management had the vision and clarity to opt for a single point of contact that integrates the response to all service requirements, freeing the operator to focus on running its business and serving customers across the country.”

A portion of revenue on this contract was recognized in the previous quarters of 2009.

Zain and Motorola also have existing contracts in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Jordan for several different technologies and service functions.-TradeArabia News Service