Celtel evaluating plans to build mobile network in Ghana
According to a report from Business in Africa Online, pan-African mobile operator Celtel International is considering plans to build a mobile network in Ghana and to that end is conducting a feasibility study regarding the construction of a network in the West African country. The online portal cites a Celtel official as saying that the company is interested in ‘investing substantially’ in Ghana, with the aim of getting a network off the ground within months.
Celtel International already has 15 networks on the continent of which five are in West Africa. It has not clarified whether it plans to introduce its ‘One Network’ service in the country a service that allows Celtel users to make use of networks in neighbouring countries without incurring additional roaming charges but says it is keen to expand its footprint across the entire African continent.
According to Telegeography’s GlobalComms database, Ghana is home to one of the most dynamic mobile markets in Africa. At the last count in June 2006 the number of mobile subscribers stood at over 3.34 million, up from around 2.65 million at the start of the year. By 1 July 2006 GSM operator Spacefon Areeba, backed by Lebanon-based Investcom Holdings, had an impressive 2.018 million subscribers, putting it ahead of Millicom International Cellular’s (MIC’s) Mobitel unit, the oldest of all the providers, which had 737,749 users to its Tigo-branded service. State-owned national PTO Ghana Telecom (GT) claimed an estimated 450,000 subscribers to its GT-OneTouch GSM network, while Kasapa Telecom, the country’s sole CDMA operator, had an estimated 135,700, up from 57,100 at the start of the year.
Source- http://www.telegeography.com
MTC expects to double profit to record KD375m
KUWAIT: Mobile Telecommunications Company, the third-largest Gulf Arab telecom company by market value, expects to double profit this year to a record KD 375 million . “We will achieve record profits that will surpass the profits for 2002 five-fold,” Saad Al-Barrak, the Kuwaiti company’s chief executive, said at a company event late on Sunday. MTC earned KD 75.04 million in 2002 and KD 185.9 million last year, according to Reuters data. Arab telecoms companies, buoyed by record earnings and oil revenues generated by their government shareholders, have been on a spending spree in the last 18 months, buying companies from Pakistan and Italy to Africa.
MTC, which is 24.42 per cent owned by the government of Kuwait, last year bought Netherlands-based Celtel with operations in Africa for $3.36 billion.
Al-Barrak said 2006 revenue at MTC, which has 25 million subscribers in 20 nations in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, will be about $4.5 billion. That compares with KD 579.5 million ($2 billion) last year.
“MTC is now the fourth largest (telecom) company based on geographical coverage,” Al-Barrak said at the event.
The company plans to more than double subscriber numbers to 50 million within five years, possibly expanding operations into Asia and eastern Europe, Al-Barrak told the Kuwait News Agency last month. The agency did not give details.
MTC, whose remaining shares are traded on the Kuwaiti stock exchange, may post an average 87.3 percent increase in third-quarter net profit, three analysts said in a Reuters earnings survey last month. See [nL30893867] for more details on the forecast.
Net income may rise to an average KD 87.08 million in the three months to Sept 30, compared with KD46.69 million in the year earlier period, according to the forecast.
MTC operates in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, and about 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. – Reuters
Source- http://www.kuwaittimes.net
Arab mobile provider, Nokia launches Sudan operations
Oct 5, 2006 (DUBAI) — i2, the largest and most diverse mobile provider in Africa and the Middle East announced today in a press briefing the launch of its operations in Sudan.
i2 introduces its retail concept and after sales services for the first time in the country.
i2 is the first authorized Nokia distributor and service center in the country as well as being the first to offer mobile subscribers original Nokia devices with matching accessories and a one-year warranty. In Sudan, i2 will be available through its showroom, distribution network and service center.
i2′s operation in Sudan will be managed by Mohamed Osman El Tayyeb, Chairman, and Hussein Raouf Atwi, General Manager.
i2 plans to expand its operation throughout Sudan within the year to include Bahri, Omdurman and Kalaka. i2 has opened a branch in the state of Adbara and plans to expand to Madani and Port Sudan.
Nokia has long recognized Africa as an important market for the company’s business. Since early 1990, Nokia has provided mobile phones, enhancement, telecoms networks and related infrastructure and services to operators and customers throughout Africa.
‘Nokia’s approach is to develop and support all local distributors and service partners in all countries. Nokia has been working closely with our regional distributor, i2 across most countries in the Middle East and Africa for many years now.
i2 will be able to offer Nokia’s customers authentic Nokia handsets and official Nokia Customer Care Services to ensure that customers in Sudan receive the best possible Nokia experience.” Said Jarmo Santala, General Manager for Nokia Customer and Market Operations North West Africa.
The cost effectiveness of GSM-based services in comparison to fixed-lines has encouraged the fast growth of mobile services in Africa. Nevertheless, mobile penetration levels in Africa remain low.
‘i2 has a big role to play in the development of the mobile market in Africa. We want to make sure that it’s growing market follows international standards of product quality and service’ stated Abdul Hameed Al Sunaid, President and CEO, i2.
Founded in 1993 in Saudi Arabia as Itsalat International, i2 is the region’s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider in the region. i2 operates in: Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Reunion, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and UK.
Source- http://www.sudantribune.com
