Airtel Rwanda to launch service operations (Africa)
India’s leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel’s unit in Rwanda will launch its operations today. According to reports, the launch takes place at Airtel’s office in Remera. The operator won the licence in September last year, and will be the third operator to offer wireless services in the region, after MTN Rwanda and Tigo.
As per reports, Bharti Airtel will invest around $100 million over the next three years. According to a company statement, Chief Executive Office Anglophone Africa, Bharti Airtel, Jayant Khosla said Rwanda is a market with great growth potential. He said that as with all their operations, the leadership team in Airtel Rwanda will be made up of passionate and experienced Rwandans who are committed to the goal of providing best-in-class mobile broadband services.
Turkcell files legal case claiming MTN bribed officials for licence (Asia, Africa)
Leading mobile operator in Africa, MTN Group Ltd., has allegedly bribed officials, arranged meetings between Iranian and South African leaders, and promised Iran weapons and United Nations votes in exchange for a license to provide mobile-phone service in the Islamic Republic, said Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS in a lawsuit.
According to a report by BN, rival operator Turkcell filed a legal claim against MTN seeking $4.2 billion in damages. The company filed a complaint stating that upset by the loss of the open competition, MTN sought to obtain illegally what it could not obtain through honest competition and thereafter embarked on a premeditated program of corruption through bribery and trading in influence.
The report also reveals that MTN had issued a statement previously; accusing Turkcell of attempted extortion and saying Turkcell threatened a lawsuit alleging improper payments to an Iranian and a South African official. MTN said at the time that any such suit would lack merit.
Further, MTN also said that U.S. courts would not have jurisdiction over any such a case, because the accusations involve conduct alleged to have taken place in South Africa and Iran, and have no connection to the United States.
MTN to investigate Turkcell’s bribery claim (South Africa, Iran)
Leading mobile operator in South Africa, MTN, has said that it is investigating accusations by rival Turkcell regarding a bribery claim for its Iran business. According to company reports, Turkcell has claimed that MTN transferred improper payments to a government official in Iran in order to secure a licence.
The company has said that they have set up a special committee to investigate these claims. In a statement, the company has said that Turkcell was planning to initiate legal action in the US claiming that the operator violated the laws while applying for the licence.
Further, the company has said that MTN has zero tolerance for corruption and unethical business practices. Accordingly, the Board of Directors has established a special committee consisting of non-executive directors to consider the allegations made in support of the Turkcell US Claim. The Board has appointed Lord Leonard Hoffmann, an internationally renowned jurist, to chair the committee, to oversee and validate its investigation, and to ensure the integrity and independence of the investigation.
Qualcomm may lose mobile licences worth $ 1 billion (India)
Qualcomm, an American based communications company, may be at risk of losing its mobile broadband licences in India. As per reports, Qualcomm was required to submit its application for an ISP licence within three months of the conclusion of the BWA (broadband wireless access) auction in June 2010. However the Department of Telecom (DoT) has claimed it did not receive Qualcomm’s paperwork until December 2010.
Although Qualcomm had spent more than $ 1 billion to acquire four BWA licences in the auction in 2010, the DoT has warned the company that its entire investment will be relinquished if its permits are cancelled.
Qualcomm has responded saying that the DoT did not make its request for the application until November 2010, following which Qualcomm sent its reply the following month. As per reports the company said that they have followed all the stipulated rules in both letter and spirit and that the DoT should grant them a licence immediately so that they can execute their plans of empowering India and its consumers with broadband connectivity.
Greek authority EETT cancels Cosmoline WiMAX licence
Greek telecoms regulator EETT has canceled the 3.5GHz WiMAX broadband fixed wireless access licence owned by Cosmoline, after the operator failed to pay its licence fee in full.
According to reports, Cosmoline had defaulted on a payment of US$5.7 million due in August 2009, the final installment of the US$28.65 million asking price of its 3.5GHz licence won via a tender process launched by the EETT in August 2006.
The authority added that it had repeatedly issued written reminders to the operator, which also received an extension of the deadline to roll out a WiMAX network, but Cosmoline failed to launch the service. The EETT intends to pursue legal action to recover the outstanding licence fee amount.
Portugal Telecom supports 3G bid (Cape Verde)
If reports are to be believed, Portugal Telecom is bidding for a 3G licence in Cape Verde. According to reports, the bid on the tender was submitted on 31 January, but declined to disclose the value of the planned investments in the African country.
The offer was presented by Cape Verde’s mobile operator CV Movel, in which PT has a 40% stake. Other bidders taking part are T+ and Cabo TLC de Sao Vicente. Cape Verde’s telecommunications regulator ANAC will announce the result of the tender in March.
Tigo Rwanda to be launched by End 2009
Millicom will be launching TIGO Rwanda by the end of this year. Millicom paid USD 60 Million for a 15 year license in November 2008.
Tigo Rwanda’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alex Kamara, told a newspaper that Millicom is still committed to what was submitted during the negotiation for the licence last year. In a statement Kamara said that they will launch before the end of the year and their strategies are focused on the service delivery.
Millicom holds 87.5% of the joint venture company in partnership with Marathon Corporation, an established Rwandan conglomerate.
MTN Rwanda and Rwandatel are currently serving over 1.5 million Rwandan mobile subscribers currently.
Mobinil may seek its own international gateway licence (Egypt)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobinil, the Egyptian mobile telephone operator, may have to buy its own international gateway licence if its current provider does not cut prices. Mobinil now wants Telecom Egypt (TE) to reduce charges for leasing circuits and telephone exchanges and for international calls.
Yasser Radwan, Mobinil’s Commercial Vice President, said, “Mobinil wants to obtain better prices than anyone else seeking its service,”.
Radwan also stated that every company may start getting its own licencef, if TE does not provide for the needs of its customers at competitive rates for international calls.
