His Excellency the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh has commended The Gambia's fourth GSM operator, QCELL for making every Gambian proud. He made this statement on Saturday during the inauguration of a multi-million dollar new QCELL office complex and QCELL 'SUNU BUSS' 3G services at Kanifing. The occasion was witnessed by Vice President Ajaratou Isatou Njie-Saidy, Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice, Cabinet Ministers, the Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, religious leaders, as well as other senior government officials and a cross section of the general public.

President Jammeh said with the establishment of QCELL a short time ago, he was being informed that the demand base for QCELL's services is highly appreciable and likely to expand even more.

He commended QCELL and said now that The Gambia has joined the rest of the world with the latest technology in telecommunications, with this wide range of unique 3G services in The Gambia, Gambians and non-Gambians alike living in the country are now able to transcend from audio to video calls which is a more fashionable option in this age and time of a digital world we live in.

President Jammeh further stated that the very widely used QCELL USB Data Card that provides faster internet access to all parts of the country, with all these innovations now in place The Gambia will contribute in helping to bridge the digital divide and join the Global Information Super-highway with greater ease.

He continued to emphasize that his government believes that a viable ICT sector is needed to support the aspirations of Vision 2020, the MDGs and the Silicon Valley dream pointing out that the task is too huge for government alone to handle it all by itself and therefore there is need for a greater public-private partnership. The Gambian leader thanked Mr. Muhammed Jah, the Chief Executive of QCELL, for his zeal and vision as a consistent player in the development of this beloved country.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of QCELL Muhammed Jah said the launching of QCELL Limited and QCELL House is a cause of inspiration by His Excellency the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh in the early days of the July 1994 revolution. The president, he said, consistently encouraged every young Gambian to invest in skills, knowledge, discipline among other things for the development of this country.

“The QCELL Sunu Buss product is a success story of our time which is attributed to a three way marriage between a benevolent economic climate at home, a world economy increasingly transforming into a digital economy, and our own personal ambitions and hard work,” Mr. Jah further pointed. He noted that QCELL Sunu Buss kicked into life with its original orange colour from the standard setting bedrock we had created in 1998, Quantum NET Co. Ltd.

The QCELL CEO revealed that QCELL SUNU BUSS hit the ground running with its unique 3G technology with a solid investment of over one billion dalasis in 2009. “Its introduction into the market QCELL has made The Gambia proud to be the second country in Africa to have a 3G GSM network”, Jah further noted He said that the idea of bringing the highest and the best to Gambians as His Excellency the President always puts it in telecommunication technology was significant in giving our vision its initial fire.

Mr. Jah further revealed that communication is more of a necessity rather than a privilege thereby making QCELL the cheapest GSM network in The Gambia. He said QCELL offers Caller User Group (CUG) services which will facilitate all users working in the same institution to talk and see each other free of charge, thereby reducing the communication costs on both the individuals and institution drastically.

Commending the Gambian leader, Mr. Jah said the President Jammeh's Presence in this occasion is a gain they will forever treasure and that he (the President) is an exemplary patriotic leader we must follow his lead and help his consolidate the enormous gains we have seen in this country.

Mr. Jah went further to highlight some of the challenges they are facing noting that as a 3G mobile company the provision of a reliable Internet Bandwidth at an affordable cost is vital to their survival and that has been a serious challenge since the beginning.

He dilated that the cost of financing and interest rates is still a challenge for all young entrepreneurs who may have wonderful available business propositions but lack access to financing to be able to realize their dreams and aspiration.

Mr. Jah finally urged both the private sector especially the financial institutions and the Gambia government to come together to address this important instrument which he believe can positively change the economic situation of our people.

Earlier on in his statement the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure Alhaji Cham said that it was in 2008 when his Ministry issues license to QCELL limited to operate a 3G network services including voices video and internet in the Gambia. He added QCELL took up the challenge when GSM operators would have a second thought to become the first GSM operator in a market that is very small compared to other markets.

Honourable Cham said the inauguration of QCELL is another testimony towards our efforts in making the smiling coast of Africa an information and knowledge based society through the adoption of new and emergence technology in line with our dynamic leader's vision 2020.

He said he must commend our dynamic and visionary leader His Excellency the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh for creating the enabling environment in the ICT sector and the country as a whole. “Such conducive environment enable QCELL 'SUNU BUSS' and other GSM operators to be where they are today”, minister Cham added

He reassured them that under the able leadership of His Excellency the President his ministry will continue to support the public/private partnership in the ICT sector through appropriate policy, legal and regulatory frame work. He recognized the efforts of PURA for regulating the industry to ensure fair play in accordance with the PURA information and communication act 2009.

By Alhagi Ceesay