Celtel honour for MTC-VB official
MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain) chief operating officer Mahmoud Hashish has been named to Celtel Kenya board of directors, replacing Mandla Ndlovu.
Mahmoud has also been appointed the Vice President for Celtel International in-charge of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar.
Mahmoud, who has over 25 years experience in sales and marketing management, joins the board at a time when the company is busy rolling out new products and services.
Prior to assuming his position with MTC Group, where he supported the far-reaching strategic development programs being brought to life by the MTC Board in Kuwait, Mahmoud had led several regional projects in the Banking and Telecommunications Industries throughout Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.
In April 1992, Mahmoud moved to Kuwait where he played the role of Senior Account Manager at International Turnkey Systems (ITS).
He was responsible for developing the company’s business in the Telecommunications industry.
Mahmoud helped in the growth of ITS from a regional annual revenue of $6.3 million in 1991 to US$12 million in 1995.
Mahmoud holds a Masters degree in Computing from the Monash University, Australia and is married with one son.
MTC is the pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and now a major player on the African continent.
They began life in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, and since the initiation of our 3x3x3??? expansion strategy in 2002, we have expanded rapidly.
As a leading mobile and data services operator in 6 Middle Eastern and 14 sub-Saharan African countries with 10,000 employees, they provide a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 25 million individual and business customers.
They operate in Kuwait and Bahrain as MTC-Vodafone, in Jordan as Fastlink, in Iraq as mtc atheer, in Lebanon as mtc touch, in Sudan as Mobitel and in 14 sub-Saharan countries in Africa as Celtel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria.
Source- tradearabia Wireless Mobile Telecom
MTL to dispose 36% stake in Malawinet
Fixed line incumbent Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) has announced that it intends to sell its 36% stake in internet service provider Malawinet because it plans to set up its own ISP later this year. Press Corporation Limited (PCL), the 80% shareholder in MTL, said in a statement that the move would be part of a wider expansion drive for the company.
As it stands almost all of Malawi’s ISPs depend on MTL for connectivity and the launch of an ISP operation by MTL may spell a big challenge to the existing players in the market. PCL group chief executive officer Matthews Chikaonda said MTL will be investing close to USD70 million across its operations over the next three years in a bid to improve service delivery.
Kenya Tailing in Celtel Bloc Growth
Celtel Kenya is tailing Uganda and Tanzania in percentage subscriber growth, a company report has shown.
The report that Business Week has seen, reveals that while Kenya still continues to perform exceptionally well, its subscriber base grew by a mere 19% compared to Uganda’s 64% and Tanzania’s 83%.
While subscriber numbers in Tanzania and Uganda grew from 738, 000 to 1.349 million and from 233,000 to 381,000 respectively, Kenya’s grew from 1.461 million to 1.743 million.
Announcing the 2006 third quarter earnings for the nine months ending September 30, Celtel’s parent company, MTC of Kuwait said the company recorded positive subscriber growth in all 15 African countries in which it operates.
In the report, MTC recorded consolidated revenues of US$ 2.92 billion, an increase of 115% over the same period in 2005 and posted a net income of $767.46 million, an increase of 64% compared to the same period last year.
The report released last month in Kuwait shows that while the group boasts of a growing customer base of 24.9 million customers in both Africa and the Middle East, total Celtel subscriber growth alone stood at 15.270 million up from 5.375 million (184%).
Celtel Zambia topped all the other countries after recording a 116% growth in subscriber numbers while Sierra Leone tailed at 48% growth.
Burkina Faso recorded an 86% growth, Chad (70%), Congo Brazzaville (87%), DR Congo (80%), Gabon (66%), Malawi (107%) and Niger (107%).
Statistics for Nigeria and Madagascar subscriber growth were unavailable because the two operations were only acquired in May 2006 and December 2005 respectively.
However, their customer base stands at over 5.993 million and 302,000 respectively.
There are over 2.462 million subscribers in Sudan where the pan African mobile firm operates as Mobitel.
With 12,000 employees in both Africa and the Middle East, MTC has mobile voice and data services operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon.
Industry experts tie the good group performance figures to organic growth, new license awards and acquisitions over the past three and a half years since the company embarked on its profitable expansion strategy.
“The company’s remarkable customer growth is primarily driven by its African operations; and its enviable financial performance is driven by its more mature Middle Eastern operations,” a company statement said.
Mr. Asaad Ahmed Al-Banwan, chairman of MTC said, “We are continuously on the look out for new profitable opportunities.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a process that will lead to a 3rd license award and we will participate. We are also evaluating a couple of smaller opportunities in Africa.”
Celtel is still basking in its world record borderless network for East Africa launched in September 2006 that allows customers to travel across the three borders without roaming call surcharges and paying to receive incoming calls.
Source- allafrica Wireless Mobile Telecom
Celtel introduces One-4-All payphone
Celtel Malawi Limited on Friday introduced the ‘One-4-All’ payphone service which is touted as the first sim-based mobile public payphone in the country.
Celtel Malawi director of marketing Charles Maye said during the launch in Blantyre the ‘One-4-All’ payphone is powered by the Motorola C113 handset which will cost operators K8,000 [about US $ 57].
He said the payphone service is one of the many business solutions Celtel has to offer to Malawians at this time when signs point to a rebound in economic activity.
One-4-All is a flexible business tool because it gives the operator the discretion to choose where and when to do business. At the same time, customers would now have the convenience of getting instant access to telecommunication services wherever they are,??? said Maye.
Its introduction on the local market builds on the success that the business concept has registered in Uganda, Zambia and Kenya where Celtel also has operations, according to Maye.
The ‘One-4-All’ payphone will complement the existing payphones which use a desktop handset, according to Bigboy Makoloma, Celtel’s payphone Sales manager.
Makoloma said the ‘One-4-All’ payphone has a metering system to monitor usage and its tariff is K25 per 30 seconds.
He said operators stand to make K1,250 profit for an hour’s talk.
Doreen Milanzi, a payphone operator from Sharpe Vale in Ntcheu, said the payphone system has simplified communication in her remote area where previously people had difficulties to link up with the outside world.
Milanzi, who was one of the 10 operators to receive complementary ‘One-4-All’ payphones from Celtel, said she ventured into the business in October last year.
The payphones concept has enabled millions of Malawians who cannot afford to own mobile phones. Maye said studies show that only one percent of the Malawi population has access to fixed lines while only five percent can afford cell phones.
Source- nationmalawi Wireless Mobile Telecom
Zimbabwe, Botswana sign Eassy undersea cable protocol
Zimbabwe and Botsawana have signed the East African Submarine System (Eassy), taking the total number of signatories to nine our of 23 countries that originally agreed to implement the project in 2003. ITWeb reports that Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, Zambia and Malawi, all of which were expected to sign up, did not do so. The current signatories include South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Lesotho, Madagascar and Malawi, which signed the protocol in late August. There is a deadline of 30 November to sign the protocol.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Celtel to introduce one network in Ghana
Celtel International, a telecommunications group based in the Netherlands, has declared its intention to invest in Ghana, as well the as likelihood of introducing its mobile phone system that networks countries and eliminates roaming charges.
It is currently undertaking investment studies in the country, which will become the sixth West African country it will be operating in and the sixteenth in Africa.
Once operational in the country, the company will study the network system in other West African countries and decide on when to introduce its unique “One Network” service.
The service, which is currently in use in East Africa (Tanzanian, Uganda and Kenya) makes it possible for a user of a Celtel mobile phone to use the same number in another networked country without paying for roaming surcharges.
The “One Network” is automatically activated once a customer crosses over into the geographic border of any other networked countries without prior registration or new cellular phone chip. The customer can also place calls to any of the networked countries without any restriction.
Dave Hagedorn, Business Development Manager of Celtel, and Khaled Al-Anjiri, Mergers and Acquisitions Specialist from Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), the parent company of Celtel, headquartered in Kuwait, are in the country this week to hold talks with investment partners.
Without mentioning the amount to be invested, Mr. Hagedorn told the Times “we are looking at the opportunities and we will be investing substantially.
“We are hopeful that we will start operations in the coming month that Ghana will be the next country for the group,” Mr. Hagedorn added.
He indicated the expansion of their operations to Ghana was in line with their vision to cover the entire continent. Celtel is also operating in Burkina Faso, Chad, DR Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Congo, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Sudan.
The company intends covering the entire Africa with the “One Network” service by implementing it on a regional basis, he said.
Mr. Al-Anjiri, for his part, said the MTC was committed to investing in infrastructure to offer improved services for customers and also taking advantage of opportunities that could be used to remove barriers between populations and make life better.
Source- http://www.andnetwork.com
Nokia and Plan Give a Voice to Africa’s Youth
ESPOO, Finland, October 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Nokia (Nachrichten/Aktienkurs) and international children’s organisation, Plan, have joined forces to use modern communications technologies in Africa to raise children’s awareness of their rights and opportunities. Nokia has provided an initial donation of 1 million Euros for 2006. The first stage of this new joint effort will see Nokia focus on supporting Plan’s existing media and communications technology projects for Africa’s children and youth.
“We believe that we can have a positive impact through mobile technology as it is used to enable young people to realise their full potential. The aim of our cooperation with Plan is to fight poverty by empowering African youth and giving them a voice through the use of technology. Plan has a good existing network, positive track record and extensive experience in using technology for youth development in Africa and was therefore, a very good value fit for Nokia,” said Veli Sundback, Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia.
“Plan is committed to working in partnerships, not only with local groups or governments in the countries where we work, but also with like-minded corporate organisations like Nokia. I believe that this cooperation will deliver long-term sustainable benefits for hundreds of communities in the developing world,” said Tom Miller, Plan CEO.
Access to and use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) such as radio, the internet, mobile devices and television is a vital element in helping to tackle poverty and improve the respect, fulfilment and protection of children’s rights. In this cooperation, ICT becomes an important tool for children and youth to make their voice heard and to learn about issues that are relevant for them.
Involving children in digital media production either on the radio, in video productions or in music helps introduce the potential of ICT to communities affected by poverty in a non-threatening way and links remote communities to a much wider national audience. Producing their own digital media is often revolutionary for many children, providing them with the chance to gain self-confidence and further influence their own future.
About Plan
Plan is a humanitarian child-centred organization working in 46 developing countries, with families and their communities. Founded almost 70 years ago, Plan has no religious, political or governmental affiliation. Plan has 64 child media projects running in 31 countries at present. These projects include radio programs on child rights in West Africa; video projects in India, Kenya and Tanzania; radio and newspaper projects in Central America; TV production in Vietnam; internet projects for teenagers in Burkina Faso; and radio programs in Thailand, the Philippines and Malawi.
About Nokia
Nokia has a positive impact on society that extends beyond the advanced technology, products and services the company creates. Through its cooperation with non-profit and governmental organizations, the company prepares young people to embrace opportunities created by the global economy and new technological advancements. The company has been an active regional contributor to youth and education causes for many years, with Nokia employees making their own contributions as volunteers in a range of programs throughout the world.
Source- http://www.finanznachrichten.de
Uganda: Celtel Takes Over Nigeria’s Vmobile
CELTEL International has fully taken over control of Nigeria’s Vmobile and re-branded it into its famous red and yellow logo along with its brand promise of ‘Making Life Better.’
In a press statement issued recently, the Celtel International Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Marten Pieters, said Nigeria is a very important market for any serious telecommunications operator in the world.
“Celtel has taken Nigeria seriously right from the days of the license auction. We also tried to acquire Nitel, when it was up for sale, but the more attractive option of buying into Vmobile proved too tantalising to be ignored,” he said.
Celtel’s success in Nigeria underscores the increasing competition among telecom players on the continent for more visibility and business as Africa continues to take leaps into the cyber world.
Re-branding Vmobile, the first mobile network to launch commercial services in Nigeria, follows the acquisition of a controlling stake in the company by Celtel.
The deal, worth $1.005 billion (Shs1.8 trillion), was concluded in May 2006. Officials said the Group plans to do an extensive rollout of the Celtel brand in Nigeria, with investments already hitting more than $700 million (Shs1.2 trillion) being spent to improve network coverage through the erection of 1,000 new base stations and bringing the latest mobile network products to our customers
Celtel offers telecommunications services with mobile licenses covering more than 400 million people, close to half of Africa’s population.
Celtel International is owned by MTC, a leading provider of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and Africa.
It has more than 15 million customers and operates mobile cellular operations in 14 countries. These include Burkina Faso, Chad, DR Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia among others.
Source- http://allafrica.com
Technorati : Africa, Celtel, MTC, Middle East, Mobile, Nigeria, Uganda, Vmobile
Ice Rocket : Africa, Celtel, MTC, Middle East, Mobile, Nigeria, Uganda, Vmobile
