Asiacell expects 30% rise in the revenue this year (Iraq)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 30% increase in the revenue is expected by Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell this year as a result of demand from an influx of foreigners working in the oil sector. According to Asiacell CEO Diar Ahmed, turnover will rise to between USD1.4 billion and USD1.5 billion in 2010, compared to USD1.1 billion a year earlier, despite a global downturn and a tough investment climate.
Asiacell Communications is a consortium comprising Asiacell Iraq owning 30% stake, Qatar Telecom or Qtel with 30% stake and investment group Merchant Bridge with 40%.
He also announced that Asiacell signed up almost half of the two million new subscribers in Iraq in 2009 and growth is expected to accelerate as the private sector plays a wider role in an improved regulatory climate. The government of the country is planning to license a fourth national operator, in which the Ministry of Communications (MoC) would have a 35% stake.
Ahmed feels that the entry of the MoC as a competitor will create a conflict of interest because the government cannot be an operator and regulator and competitor at the same time.
Bharti Airtel creating a new business model for Africa
Bharti Airtel is planning a new collaborative business entity in Africa. The World’s fifth largest mobile operator, already having pioneered Network Outsourcing as well as IT outsourcing, is attempting to try out a new idea which has not been tried elsewhere in the world, except in England, where also it is a 3G network deal.
The idea is to engage with Tier II operators where it has acquired Zain’s assets, and form a new company and share Radio Access Network (RAN) and realted cost burdens. The network will include base transceiver stations and base station controllers. There will be an arms length relationship between the radio access network company and its customers – the mobile operators including Airtel.
Bharti-Airtel is speaking to various companies at this stage to make this a reality. Significant capex savings can be achieved if all these Tier II operators were to come on-board. This move is directly aimed at achieving some leverage against MTN the market leader in some of these geographies.
Airtel has proven that it will do whatever it takes to make Africa a success and will not necessarily just replaicate it’s indian models but use innovation and leverage wherever possible.
Singapore’s StarHub Q4 net profit drops by 15.1%
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 15.1% drop in the net profit has been recorded by Singapore telecommunications firm StarHub Ltd in its fourth quarter due to higher cost of equipment as the operator launched Apple’s iPhone in December. The net profit lowered from S$87.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 to S$74.2 million in 2009. The service revenue of the firm rose 1% to S$2.06 billion.
A dividend of five Singapore cents per share for the fourth quarter has also been declared by StarHub.
According to StarHub Chief Executive Neil Montefiore, considering the competitive landscape and slow economy, they have delivered a stable FY2009 result, with all their lines of business performing as expected.
