Reliance plans IPO for Infrastructure arm. Hopes to raise $1Bn for 10% via IPO.
India’s second largest Mobile Operator, Reliance Communication plans to seek regulatory approval for selling 10% of Reliance Infratel (its infrastructure arm) for close to $1Bn.
Reliance Infratel sold a 5 percent stake to global investors for about $290 million in 2007. It had revenue of more than $1 Bn and a profit of $300 Mn in the year ended March 31, according to Billionaire Chairman Anil Ambani.
The share sale will help fund an expansion of the nationwide network of 48,000 towers at Reliance Infratel as demand for leasing networks is likely to double in the next couple of years according to Ambani.
The Largest Mobile Operator in the world now has over half a billion customers!
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, said on Sep 21, 2009 that it has over half a billion customers now.
China Mobile recorded a customer base of 502.936 million as of August 31, 2009, after net additions of 5.3 million during August alone. The company has gained more than 45 million subscribers since Jan 2009.
According to China Mobile,the number of 3G subscribers on China Mobile’s homegrown TD-SCDMA network reached 1.33 million in August 2009, up from just over a million in July.
Equipment spending by Chinese mobile operators is estimated to hit $41bn over the next two years.
MegaFon reveals 3G suppliers (Russia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Russian mobile operator MegaFon, announced Finland-based equipment vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) as the winner of its tender for the right to supply and construct 3G networks for MegaFon. NSN is said to supply at least 60% of 3G node-B base stations for the operator’s upcoming network expansion.
Five firms, NSN, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and ZTE, would collaborate on the company’s 3G deployment and upgrades until 2010 end. Moreover, Huawei and NSN will provide MegaFon’s staff with full technical support for the supplied equipment. The cellco says it will decide the territory of the deployments within Russia and there will be no exclusive rights granted to vendors.
MTNL, BSNL refuse to form consortium to buy Zain stake (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTNL and BSNL have refused forming a consortium to buy a 46% stake in Zain.It was earlier reported that India’s Vavasi Group, and Indian state-owned operators BSNL and MTNL as well as Malaysian businessman Mokhtar al-Bukhari would pay KWD 2 a share for a 46% stake in African and Middle East mobile operator Zain Group.According to the statement issued by MTNL and BSNL, they are not participating in a consortium but that they are always on the look out to explore all types of overseas business opportunities to expand operations.
Smart Roamer service launched by Asiacell (Iraq)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Asiacell, an Iraqi mobile operator, launched its Smart Roamer Service. This offers all Asiacell subscribers roaming facilities with no additional registration procedures.
Subscribers would now benefit from discounted rates of local calls as well as call back to Iraq and to other countries within the Smart Roamer Zone. Also, the service offers a fixed rate for receiving calls and sending SMS within the Smart Roamer Zone. The Smart Roamer Service includes a number of selected operators within the Smart Roamer Zone, these include the likes of Etisalat in the United Arab Emirates, Orange in Jordan, Qtel in Qatar, Nawras in Oman, Wataniya in Kuwait and Turkcell in Turkey.
M1 inks deal with Novatel Wireless (Singapore)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Novatel Wireless has inked a deal to supply Singaporean mobile operator MobileOne (M1) with its ‘MiFi’ battery-powered Intelligent Mobile Hotspot solution. With this Mobile hotspot, the subscribers can create their own personal Wi-Fi hotspots, revolutionising the way mobile broadband is used, it claims.
Svyazinvest gets approval for stake sale (Russia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: According to a media report, Russia’s economy ministry has approved the government purchase of Sistema’s holdings in fixed line group Svyazinvest and mobile operator SkyLink. The state will take on Sistema’s RUB26 billion (USD827.7 million) debt to Siberbank in order to acquire the conglomerate’s 25% plus one share stake in Svyazinvest and its 50% stake in SkyLink. The deal will also see Sistema’s fixed line subsidiary, Comstar UTS, take on a 23% stake in Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS), owner of the capital’s fixed line network, bringing its total stake in the operator to 94.9%.
