Etisalat

Etisalat & Du agree to share network (UAE)

On 03.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Du, the sole competitor of UAE’s incumbent fixed line operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has been permitted to use its infrastructure starting from the second half of this year. Etisalat has expressed its commitment towards the UAE government and the regulator on network sharing.

A time table has also been drafted by the company for network sharing with its rival. Du planned to offer the first set of fixed line services over shared infrastructure with Etisalat by July.

According to Farid Faraidooni, CCO at Du, its talks on sharing infrastructure with Etisalat and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) are progressing well and the talks are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter while the company is likely to execute the projects by June this year.

Competition will be encouraged and service quality will improve with the sharing of infrastructure between the two companies. Sharing will also lower the country’s fixed telephony and broadband tariffs, which are said to be amongst the highest in the region.

Currently, Etisalat’s nationwide network could not be accessed by Du but it has the permission to provide broadband services to the free economic zones of Dubai.

3 Afghan operators fined by Afghan regulator

On 03.09.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The quality of communications services offered by several mobile companies was found to be below reasonable level in the third and fourth quarter by the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (Atra).

Services of three mobile operators of Afghanistan namely Afghan Wireless Communications, MTN and Etisalat, were found to below the standards required by their license and hence being fined for the low quality output.

A fine of AFN 1.5 million on Etisalat has been imposed by the Atra while Afghan Wireless Communications was fined AFN 3.5 million and AFN 5 million has been asked by MTN.

Tagged with: Afghan Wireless • Afghan Wireless Communications • Afghanistan • Etisalat • Middle East • MTN • operator

Qatar Telecom & Tata partnership confirmed

On 03.09.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The partnership between India’s Tata Communications and Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has been confirmed by both the companies. The deal for the construction of the Tata Global Network (TGN) Gulf Project will see Qtel establish a landing station for the regional undersea network.

The main aim of the project is the connection of the world’s major business hubs and city centers with the Gulf region.
Besides providing the foundations for next generation communications technology, the new network will also improve connectivity. Bahrain Internet Exchange consortium, Nawras of Oman, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates are the other regional partners in the project.

Deployment of an extended portfolio of advanced telecommunications services will also be supported by the development of the cable project, scheduled to be completed by 2011. The services will include- Global Ethernet, MPLS-based VPN and Global Telepresence.

Tagged with: Bahrain • Etisalat • India • Middle East • Oman • Qatar Telecom • Qtel • Saudi Arabia • Tata • United Arab Emie eastrates • VPN

Etisalat’s Sri Lankan operation begins

On 03.04.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After acquiring 100% stake in Tigo mobile firm, UAE operator Etisalat has launched its operations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, targeting 1 million customers by the end of the year. A subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular, Tigo was bought at an enterprise value of USD 207 million.

HSPA+ on the network is expected with a connectivity speed of 28 Mbps, on par with the company’s operations worldwide.

According to Etisalat Lanka CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka, within one year, the company will be rolling out 1,500 2G base stations and 500 3G base stations islandwide. Etisalat will be launching its coverage in Jaffna during the mini Infotel exhibitions scheduled to take place there on 26 February

Tagged with: 3G • ASIA • Colombo • Etisalat • HSPA • Launch • Millicom • Millicom International Cellular • operator • Sri Lanka • Tigo • UAE

Etisalat concerned by low Pakistani ARPUs

On 03.03.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Lowest average revenue per user has been delivered by Etisalat’s Pakistani subsidiary when compared to its other overseas operations. Etisalat generates ARPUs of $49 in its home market while Pakistan Telecom Company’s (PTCL’s) ARPUs have fallen to just US$3.

According to Etisalat chairman Mohammad Omran, the telco is increasing its focus on its international operations where its subsidiaries contribute 10% of revenues but the company aims to increase this to 20% by 2013.

Etisalat’s acquisition of 26% stake in PTCL for $2.6 billion in 2005, which was completed after facing a stiff competition from China Mobile, SingTel and others, failed to live up to Etisalat’s expectation.

Tagged with: Acquisition • ARPU • ASIA • Average Revenue Per User • China • China Mobile • Etisalat • Pakistan • PTCL • SingTel

Etisalat eyes expansion across six markets

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Six countries across the Middle East and North Africa are currently in the eyes of UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat). Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Morocco have been targeted by the company as markets with low penetration levels in which the UAE firm could acquire either a license or a telecoms operator.

According to the telco’s chairman, Mohammad Hassan Omran, Etisalat is in an excellent position financially and operationally to capitalize on these opportunities.

The company has also said it is targeting majority stakes in its subsidiaries and associates for greater operational and financial synergy.

Tagged with: Acquire • Africa • Etisalat • Lebanon • Libya • License • Middle East • Morocco • Oman • operator • Syria • UAE

Etisalat inches closer to Korek acquisition (Iraq)

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The long-anticipated acquisition of a majority stake in Iraqi mobile network operator; Korek Telecom by the UAE based Etisalat seems to be on the verge of completion. The talk between the two companies has been going on since September 2008.

Zain, Asiacell and Korek Telecom are the three operators in the country. Orascom owned the Iraqna network, but failed to get an operating license in the last round of auctions and had tried to set up a joint venture with Korek Telecom but that fell apart. Iraqna was later sold to Zain.

Etisalat may seek to raise funding via bonds to expand into up to six additional markets, including a possible acquisition of Orascom Telecom’s troubled Algerian subsidiary, Djezzy.

Tagged with: Acquisition • Algeria • ASIA • Asiacell • Auction • Djezzy • Etisalat • Iraq • Iraqna • Korek Telecom • LG • operator • Orascom • UAE • Zain

Indosat might be acquired by XL Axiata (Indonesia)

On 02.19.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Indonesia’s second largest mobile operator, Indosat might be acquired by XL Axiata by the end of 2010. Strong subscriber and revenue growth has been aimed by XL Axiata this year and it has also been confirmed by the company that dividend payments were likely to resume this year following a return to profit in 2009.

86.5% of XL Axiata is owned by Malaysia’s Axiata Group and 13.3% is owned by Etisalat of the UAE while the remaining 0.2% is publicly held.

Tagged with: Acquire • ASIA • Axiata group • Etisalat • Indonesia • Indosat • Malaysia • operator • UAE • XL Axiata

Etisalat surpasses 100m subscribers across 18 markets

On 02.18.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The subscribers’ base of Etisalat exceeded 100 million across its 18 markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The announcement came shortly after the acquisition of additional share equal to 18% in “Atlantic Telecom”, thus increasing the shareholding to 100%.

Apart from this, Etisalat has also given an application to the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), to obtain approval to raise its 45% stake in its Indian subsidiary Etisalat DB to 50% plus one share.

Net Revenues of AED 30.83 billion and Net Profits of AED 8.836 billion has been recently announced by the company thus marking an increase of a 5% and 16% respectively, compared to 2008.

Tagged with: Acquisition • Africa • ASIA • Atlantic Telecom • Etisalat • Foreign Investment Promotion Board • India • Middle East • Net Profit • Net Revenues

Bharti going after Zain with a $10.7 bln offer

On 02.14.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Bharti is eyeing the african market all over again, with an offer of $10.7 billion for Zain’s african operations.

With acquisition talks abuzz, Zain’s share price on the Kuwait Stock Exchange has risen by more than a fifth in about a week, raising it’s value to $16.2 billion.

Zain – Recent Developments

- Earlier in Feb, Zain CEO Al-Barrak handed his resignation to the Chairman of the board. The New Zain CEO is ex-minister Nabil Bin Salama.

- In August 2009, Reliance Communications started talks to buy Zain’s African operations.

- Etisalat was also a suitor for a 51% stake in Zain at the “right price”.

- Zain operates in 23 countries. Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund is Zain’s biggest shareholder with a 24.6% stake and the Kharafi Group is the second largest shareholder with 13.7%.

-In 2008, Zain reported revenues of 2 billion dinars (USD 6.96 billion) and net profit of 322 million dinars. Current liabilities stood at 1.5 billion dinars at the end of March 2009.

- In May 2009, Zain announced a rare cut of 2,000 jobs of its 15,500 workforce, signalling that the expansion was probably being re-visited. Zain has spent in excess of USD 12 billion in Africa since 2005.

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Tagged with: Africa • ASIA • Bharti Airtel • Etisalat • India • Kuwait • Reliance • Reliance Communications • Zain