Hormuud Telecom
Encyclopedia
Hormuud Telecom Somalia Inc. (HORTEL) is a privately held telecommunication
s company established in April 2002 in Somalia
. It has its headquarters in Mogadishu
.
investors have shares in Hormuud Telecom. One of the leading telecommunications service provider
s (TSP) in southern and central Somalia, the company offers a variety of telecommunication services such as fixed line
, GSM and data services.
Hormuud employs more than 4000 full-time and part-time staff with different specialties such as telecommunication engineering, customer service, sales and marketing, and finance.
Hormuud's headquarters are located in the HORTEL building and the Darusalam building in Bakara Market. It has other offices in Hiliwaa, Madina and Kaaraan, as well as other districts in Mogadishu and every major city in southern and central Somalia.
Hormuud's main rivals are Golis Telecom Somalia
, Telcom
, Telesom
and NationLink
.
service, allowing customers to use their money for transfers, purchases, payment of bills, and airtime recharge. The service was launched on February 20, 2010.
Although the ZAAD service is and remains one of the most interesting and influential innovations in both the telecom and remittance industries, it is primarily intended to facilitate sharing of airtime or credit with friends and family. It can be used for shopping as an alternative to carrying cash around, and for paying telephone bills over the mobile phone
. According to the company, this service is also aimed at facilitating remittance transfers via mobile devices, albeit locally.
Hormuud was threatened to shut down its ZAAD service by Al Shabaab before the end of 2010
after Al Shabaab claimed that the service was an easy way to channel funding to the TFG of Somalia.
, which are more costly to keep and may be more vulnerable to theft, thereby necessitating greater security precautions on the retailer's part. The E-voucher, by comparison, is more secure and quicker.
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s company established in April 2002 in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. It has its headquarters in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
.
Overview
More than 600 SomaliSomali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
investors have shares in Hormuud Telecom. One of the leading telecommunications service provider
Telecommunications Service Provider
A telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...
s (TSP) in southern and central Somalia, the company offers a variety of telecommunication services such as fixed line
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
, GSM and data services.
Hormuud employs more than 4000 full-time and part-time staff with different specialties such as telecommunication engineering, customer service, sales and marketing, and finance.
Hormuud's headquarters are located in the HORTEL building and the Darusalam building in Bakara Market. It has other offices in Hiliwaa, Madina and Kaaraan, as well as other districts in Mogadishu and every major city in southern and central Somalia.
Hormuud's main rivals are Golis Telecom Somalia
Golis Telecom Somalia
Golis Telecom Somalia is the largest telecommunications operator in northeastern Somalia. Founded in 2002 with the objective of supplying the country with GSM mobile services, fixed line and internet services, it has an extensive network that covers all the major cities and more than 40 districts...
, Telcom
Telcom
Telcom is a telecommunications network operator in Somalia. It is the first major privately-owned company providing telecommunications services to Somali cities.-Overview:...
, Telesom
Telesom
Telesom is a privately held telecommunications company. It is headquartered in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.-Overview:...
and NationLink
NationLink Telecom
-Overview:NationLink Telecom was founded in September 1997 by Abdirizak Ido, a Somali Businessman who is currently President of the company based in East Africa. The company is one of the leading telecommunications service providers in Somalia and offers its services throughout the...
.
ZAAD service
The ZAAD service is a mobile bankingMobile Banking
Mobile banking is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments, credit applications and other banking transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant . The earliest mobile banking services were offered over SMS...
service, allowing customers to use their money for transfers, purchases, payment of bills, and airtime recharge. The service was launched on February 20, 2010.
Although the ZAAD service is and remains one of the most interesting and influential innovations in both the telecom and remittance industries, it is primarily intended to facilitate sharing of airtime or credit with friends and family. It can be used for shopping as an alternative to carrying cash around, and for paying telephone bills over the mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. According to the company, this service is also aimed at facilitating remittance transfers via mobile devices, albeit locally.
Hormuud was threatened to shut down its ZAAD service by Al Shabaab before the end of 2010
after Al Shabaab claimed that the service was an easy way to channel funding to the TFG of Somalia.
E-Voucher service
The E-Voucher is a USSD-based credit transfer facility that enables all Hormuud customers to transfer credits from their account to any other Hormuud customer. This service replaces scratch-off cardsScratchcard
A scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...
, which are more costly to keep and may be more vulnerable to theft, thereby necessitating greater security precautions on the retailer's part. The E-voucher, by comparison, is more secure and quicker.
EVCPlus
E-Voucher Plus which is abbreviated as EVCPlus is a service for upgrading the former E-VOUCHER which has replaced the traditional Scratch Cards. It works similar to the ZAAD Service as mobile banking but its restricted to the amount of $200.See also
- Golis Telecom SomaliaGolis Telecom SomaliaGolis Telecom Somalia is the largest telecommunications operator in northeastern Somalia. Founded in 2002 with the objective of supplying the country with GSM mobile services, fixed line and internet services, it has an extensive network that covers all the major cities and more than 40 districts...
- TelcomTelcomTelcom is a telecommunications network operator in Somalia. It is the first major privately-owned company providing telecommunications services to Somali cities.-Overview:...
- TelesomTelesomTelesom is a privately held telecommunications company. It is headquartered in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.-Overview:...
- NationLink TelecomNationLink Telecom-Overview:NationLink Telecom was founded in September 1997 by Abdirizak Ido, a Somali Businessman who is currently President of the company based in East Africa. The company is one of the leading telecommunications service providers in Somalia and offers its services throughout the...
- Somali Telecom GroupSomali Telecom GroupSomali Telecom Group is a telecommunications company based in Somalia. It was founded in 1993 in Rockville, Maryland, in the USA, by Abdirazak I. Osman, Edmund L. Resor, Abdiaziz Ismail Dualeh and Luis F. George. According to the company's website's front page, it is Somalia's "first telecom...
- Netco (Somalia)
- SomafoneSomafoneSomafone Telecommunications Service Company is Somalia's leading telecommunications company. It was formed in 2003 as a fully owned subsidiary of Somafone FZ LLC of the Dubai Internet City. The firm's head offices are located in Mogadishu.-See also:*Golis Telecom Somalia*Hormuud...