Mobily and six telecom operators from five countries collaborate on Regional Cable Network (RCN) Project
Seven operators, including Superonline, a Turkcell Group company, from Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria today announced that they are building the Middle East’s longest redundant terrestrial communications infrastructure along a 7,750 kilometer round trip route. The RCN project will extend from the city of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul in Turkey and then to Europe and will serve as a gateway to the Internet for 2 billion people.
The RCN project was signed by the seven telecom operators during a ceremony held today in Ankara. The event was attended by the Minister of Transport and Communications Binali Y?ld?r?m, RCN Project Interim Consortium Chairman Ali Amiri, the CEO’s of the founder members of the Consortium; including Turkcell CEO S¼reyya Ciliv, Mobily COO Mr. Abdulaziz Altamami, Jordan Telecom Group CEO Mrs. Nayla Khawam, Mada Group Managing Director Charles Hage , Syrian Telecommunications Establishment Director General Nazem Bahsas and Superonline CEO Murat Erkan.
The Middle East’s longest redundant terrestrial fiber Internet infrastructure
Starting from Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) and passing through Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Amman (Jordan), Tartous (Syria) and reaching Istanbul (Turkey), the RCN project’s fiber optic cable line will cover the entire Gulf region in the Middle East for the first time through a uniform infrastructure. 3,875 km in radial length and totaling 7,750 km with its round trip routes, the RCN project will become the region’s longest redundant terrestrial fiber infrastructure between Fujairah, one of the busiest nodes for submarine and fiber cables, and the West.
“Our participation in the regional cable network comes as part of our commitment to contribute to the regional and global connectivity by expanding the reach of our robust, reliable and trusted Saudi National Fiberoptic Network through having multiple routes available for data communication traffic originating from inside the Kingdom or transiting from the networks of other operators”
Turkcell CEO S¼reyya Ciliv: “The world’s newest Internet base is Istanbul”
Speaking at the Signing Ceremony, Turkcell CEO S¼reyya Ciliv emphasized Turkcell’s satisfaction at this joining of forces between powerful, excellent organizations intent on technological leadership in a region where Turkey and the Turkcell Group are major players. Drawing attention to the changing global economic situation, S¼reyya Ciliv remarked that the RCN project, which is noteworthy for its capacity and its diversified structure, is planned to accommodate specific requirements to bring significant advantages to the region by connecting it to the world via Turkey. Predicting that the RCN infrastructure would promote growth of Internet penetration in the region, Mr. Ciliv said, “This will enable still wider Internet expansion as Internet use will become even faster throughout the region.”
He added, “Through this gigantic infrastructure project which starts in the United Arab Emirates and runs the entire length of Turkey, we are building an Internet highway between Fujairah and Istanbul. The RCN project will allow Internet traffic from so far has struggled along a narrow pathway to comfortably reach the speed of a multi-lane highway. One of the key stops along this route will be Istanbul. Positioned in the project as the Middle East’s Internet gateway to Europe, Istanbul is poised to become the world’s newest Internet base due to its geostrategic location. We, the Turkcell Group, are proud to be making such a beneficial investment for Istanbul, for Turkey, and for the region changing lives by offering users an enhanced communications experience.”
Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Communications Binali Y?ld?r?m: “RCN will foster greater capacity in communicating with the countries in the region, as well as greatly benefiting business relations and trade.”
Minister of Transport and Communications Binali Y?ld?r?m stressed that the RCN project would create a welcome opportunity for investors in the countries involved to access their investments and businesses in other countries. Commenting that the establishment of this fiber optic network would help boost Turkey’s communication volumes, business relations and trade within other countries in the region, Mr. Y?ld?r?m said, “We regard this project as one of the fruits of our successful foreign policy. This cooperation between five countries will further enhance the already close relations we have been cultivating recently across in the region.”
Minister of Transport and Communications Mr. Y?ld?r?m went on to say, “The RCN project is a high-capacity infrastructural system that is far more economical, much more reliable, and – most importantly – diversified into two separate routes. Our geographical positioning allows us to develop this hugely valuable piece of Internet infrastructure. As the Transport and Communications Minister of the Republic of Turkey, I am especially pleased that our country is becoming one of the world’s key fiber optic nodes. My heartfelt congratulations go to all the companies taking part in the project, notably the Turkcell Group. This is a project for the whole world to envy and I hope it proves auspicious to Turkey and the region.”
RCN Project Consortium Chairman Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President / Carrier & Wholesale Services Etisalat UAE: “A project unmatched in speed, quality, redundancy, and reliability.”
Addressing the ceremonial assembly, Consortium Chairman Ali Amiri described the RCN as being unmatched in terms of speed, quality, ease of upgrade, redundancy, and reliability. Recalling that the dual fiber lines would cross five countries and intersect in five cities, Amiri stated that this infrastructure has the ability to provide the tremendous capacity of 12,8 terabits per second. “The demand for intercontinental connectivity continues to grow at a remarkable rate. The region’s governments are encouraging investment in new technologies to bolster the performance of their national economies. Operators are deploying Next- Generation Networks for both fixed-line and wireless environments which in turn allow an increasing volume of services to be provided to ever more consumers. These factors as well as the growing technical literacy of the local population and availability of rich local content are all driving the demand for ever more capacity. Etisalat is delighted to partner with six of the region’s leading operators in a project which will enhance the lives and increase the reach of over two billion people ,” Amiri said.
RCN Project: 12.8 Terabits/second capacity with a diversified system
Designed to stretch from Fujairah to Istanbul and offer connectivity to Europe through more than 15 access points readily available on the Bulgarian and Greek borders of Turkey, RCN infrastructure boasts a data carrying capacity of 12.8 Terabit per second. 2.4 Terabit per second of capacity will be activated initially along the two different routes and the fiber optic cables will follow. In contrast to similar systems, all the operators taking part in RCN, will dedicate fibers on both routes exclusively to RCN, paving the way to immediately upgrade or re-route the entire path when needed.
Seven operators from five countries, half a billion dollar worth of investment
The RCN project brings together top telecom companies from five countries. Each a leader in communication technology in their respective countries, Etisalat (UAE), Mobily
(Saudi Arabia), Jordan Telecom/Orange Jordan and Mada-Zain Partnership (Jordan), Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (Syria), and Superonline (Turkey) have signed their names to the Project. With an approximate investment value of half a billion dollars, the fiber optic line will be operational in the second quarter of 2011.
More reliable, redundant and faster Internet for 2 billion people
With the potential to directly serve the largest population in the Middle East region, the RCN project will ensure more reliable, redundant and faster Internet connectivity for roughly 2 billion people with its diversified route. Envisaged to satisfy the Internet demand in the countries involved and to become the preferred route for transit traffic across all the countries it passes through, this Project will increase speeds throughout the region.
Gulf telecoms on smooth tracks
As per the analysts and bankers, the industry may soon enter a period of more measured, organic†growth, as acquisitions targets are scarcer and competition heats up in domestic markets.
Etisalat’s $11.7bn blockbuster bid for 46% of Zain, the Kuwaiti operator, is anticipated to go through and lead to the eventual sale of Zain’s 25% stake in its Saudi subsidiary which competes against Etisalat’s Mobily.
Most of the region will have been carved up by the Gulf’s remaining three large operators the United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat, Saudi Telecom (STC) and Qatar Telecom, or QTel once Zain Saudi Arabia is sold.
According to Victor Font, head of Delta Partners, a telecoms-focused management advisory and investments firm, there were a number of players in the region that had the aspiration to become relevant operators in the global scene, but there isn’t space for all of them to be successful and consolidation was to be expected.
The Gulf’s mobile companies are left in the Middle East, or even in the wider Asian and African markets. Whereas, there is a license for sale in Syria, and Lebanon’s long-delayed privatization plans remain.
According to Mr Font, most of the other regional players are government controlled and it is very unlikely that the company will see any of these sold, at least in the medium term.
Etisalat, STC and Batelco, the Bahraini telecoms company, are active in the rapidly growing but fiercely competitive Indian market, which is the largest pool of potential subscribers close to the Gulf. Etisalat is also in talks with Reliance Communications about a tie-up, which are expected to continue in spite of a Zain deal.
As per a senior telecoms-focused investment banker, once Etisalat closes the Zain and the India deal, they will be done with their acquisition expansion. The question is what QTel and STC will do now. There aren’t a lot of opportunities left in the Middle East.
QTel is a hot favorite amongst those who are eyeing on buy Zain Saudi Arabia if it comes up for sale. Batelco has also expressed interest, but lacks the financial heft of its Qatari competitor, and Saudi Arabia would fit well with QTel’s Middle East footprint, analysts say. Other possible, but less likely, buyers include South Africa’s MTN, India’s Bharti Airtel and Turkcell.
The attraction of Zain’s Saudi operations is clear. While Zain Saudi Arabia has struggled because of a price war with STC and Mobily, the overall size of the market will reach $11.6bn in revenues this year, says research by Delta Partners.
As per recent reports, Saudi Arabia alone will grow, in absolute terms, more than the rest of the [Gulf] telecoms markets put together.
Competition has increased across the Gulf, and eroded the average revenue per user (ARPU) a common industry measure of customer profitability. Across the Middle East, the overall ARPU rate has slipped from $20.85 a month in June 2008 to $13.95 in June 2010, Informa estimates.
The Gulf markets remain more lucrative. At $18.86, Saudi Arabia’s ARPU is the region’s lowest, while the figure is $44.64 and $33.14 in Kuwait and the UAE respectively, in line with richer developed markets.
Saudi Mobily net profit rises in Q3
Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s second-biggest telecom operator, placed a better-than-expected 41% rise in quarterly profits, assisted by a fall in the cost of international networks and higher broadband revenues.
Mobily, a.k.a. Etihad Etisalat, made US$303.5 million in the three months to Sept. 30, up compared to the previous year.
It was the highest quarterly net profit for Mobily, which competes with state-controlled Saudi Telecom and Zain Saudi Arabia, while it started up as the kingdom’s second mobile phone operator five years ago.
Mobily benefits from its affiliation with Emirates Telecommunications, its biggest shareholder, with a 27.4% stake, which grants it cost-competitive access to networks partially or wholly owned by the UAE-based firm.
Total revenues for the quarter rose 13.6% to US$1.06 billion on a year earlier, but only inched up from US$1.05 billion for the second quarter. Net operating income in the third quarter rose 38% to US$317.33 million.
Earnings per share for the nine months to end-September stood at US$1.04, up from US$0.74 a year earlier and US$0.61 in the first half of 2010.
Qatar Telecom mulls bid for Zain’s Saudi Subsidiary
If reports are to be believed, Qatar Telecom could bid for Zain Saudi Arabia. If the UAE based Etisalat succeeds in acquiring a majority stake in the parent company of Zain, the Saudi government could demand that Zain Saudi stake be sold off by Etisalat because Etisalat already owns Mobily in Saudi.
The stake is expected to be worth around US$925 million, assuming a 25% premium for a controlling stake.
According to Sico Bank’s research reports, a merger of Mobily and Zain seems doubtful since it would violate merger guidelines in Saudi Arabia’s Telecom act. In this context, Qatar Telecom could be a possible nominee for taking over Zain’s Saudi operation considering its planned aims to expand its operations in the region.
Zain had successfully acquired the 3rd GSM license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2007 for an investment of US$6.1 billion.
Saudi cellco Mobily offers 21.6Mbps across HSPA+ network
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: It has been announced by the Saudi cellco Mobily that its customers are receiving a mobile transmission speeds of up to 21.6Mbps. The target has been achieved following recent upgrades delivered across its evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) network.
Connectivity and transmission speeds will be enhanced by the new TurboConnect-based service throughout the company’s HSPA+ footprint. The network currently covers Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar, although a national rollout is underway.
Mobily launches 3.5G wireless technology globally
MUMBAI: Saudi Arabia mobile operator Mobily has announced the offer of its 3G services internationally. Mobily subscribers will be able to make video calls to UAE, Italy, Hong Kong, Luxemburg and Australia using the technology of 3G or 3.5G. Mobily has just completed its own 3.5G network which covers 15 cities in Saudi Arabia, consisting more than 900 base stations.
Subscribers will also be able to watch TV channels live on 3.5G. These include Alarabiyah channel, CNBC Arabiya channel, Saudi TV, Space Toon and others. Mobily says that it is offering a very competitive rate compared to other operators. The cost of video telephony is 0.80 halalas per minute for postpaid subscribers, whereas a minute cost one riyal when using the TV streaming. Mobily does not demand any monthly fees for all the third generation services.
Media reports indicate that the 3.5G service will also allow for multiplayer gaming. Most of the 3.5G (HSDPA) services require 2G and 3.5G phone handsets, except for the video calling which works only on 3G handsets. One of the excellent services the 3.5G will provide is the access to the internet with 3G speed from laptop using the mobile as a modem. The setting of the internet will not be different from 2G web setting. The speed exceeds four mega per second for download.
Source- http://www.indiantelevision.com
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