Morocco

Maroc Telecom’s revenue rises 2.8%, net income falls 1% (Morocco)

On 02.24.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 1% year-on-year fall in 2009 net income has been posted by Moroccan full-service telco Maroc Telecom MAD9.43 billion (USD1.15 billion) on consolidated revenues that climbed by 2.8% to MAD30.34 billion. Group EBITDA for the year rose by 2.9% to MAD18.15 billion.

Net revenues of MAD25.76 billion in 2009 have been generated from the operations in Morocco 0.1% versus 2008. Due to the impact of promotional initiatives deployed to stimulate the market and maintain its leading position, the EBITDA went down 1.5% to MAD16.16 billion, and earnings from operations went down 3.5% year-on-year to MAD13.08 billion.

Maroc Telecom’s domestic mobile subscriber reached 15.27 million at end-December 2009 growing by 5.6% in twelve months.

Wana launches 3rd mobile operator in Morocco

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A new GSM mobile service, Inwi has been launched by Moroccan operator Wana. The third mobile operator in Morocco will cover three-quarters of the population. The GSM license was awarded to Wana in early 2009.

Prepaid offering with per-second billing as well as four postpaid plans with free on-net calls are included in the service along with a range of corporate offers.

Daily and weekly unlimited SMS plans, BlackBerry services, prepaid and postpaid 3G mobile internet using a USB modem, a Windows Live Messenger service, roaming are also offered by Inwi.

A wide range of handsets from Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola are also an exclusive offer to the customers. The company will compete against incumbent Maroc Telecom and Meditel on the GSM market.

Tagged with: 3G • Africa • Blackberry • Ericsson • GSM • Inwi • Launch • LG • Maroc Telecom • Morocco • Motorola • Nokia • operator • Samsung • Sony • Wana • Windows Live Messenger

Etisalat eyes expansion across six markets

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Six countries across the Middle East and North Africa are currently in the eyes of UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat). Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Morocco have been targeted by the company as markets with low penetration levels in which the UAE firm could acquire either a license or a telecoms operator.

According to the telco’s chairman, Mohammad Hassan Omran, Etisalat is in an excellent position financially and operationally to capitalize on these opportunities.

The company has also said it is targeting majority stakes in its subsidiaries and associates for greater operational and financial synergy.

Tagged with: Acquire • Africa • Etisalat • Lebanon • Libya • License • Middle East • Morocco • Oman • operator • Syria • UAE

Indian telco Bharti & Zain to sign Letter of intent

On 02.22.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A letter of intent (LoI) will be signed between Bharti Airtel and Zain for the proposed USD 10.7-billion deal for the African assets of the Kuwait-based firm by the end of this week.

An exclusive talk is carried out between the two companies till March 25 for the proposed deal as per which Bharti would buy Zain’s African assets except those in Morocco and Sudan.

USD 9 billion for the assets would be paid by Bharti and the rest would be towards the debt of the Kuwaiti firm.

Tagged with: Africa • ASIA • Bharti Airtel • India • Kuwait • LOI • Morocco • Sudan • Zain

Zain not to sell stake in Morocco’s telecoms venture

On 02.19.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The 31% stake in Zain’s Morocco’s telecoms venture Wana, will be kept by the company which it bought for $324 million last March. The purchase was made less than a month after Wana won the concession to operate the North African country’s third wireless phone network.

Wana will launch its mobile phone operation next Tuesday under the trade name Inwi and currently offers limited-range mobile, fixed-line and Internet services.

According to Wana’s Managing Director Frederic Debord, Inwi’s mobile network capacity is ready to receive two million clients from the first day of the beginning of its operation and noted that there is a huge potential growth in the mobile phone market in Morocco where more than 80 percent of the population owns a mobile phone.

Tagged with: Africa • Mobile Network Capacity • Morocco • Wana • Zain

Kuwait’s Zain expects huge returns from mobile deal with Airtel

On 02.16.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Five billion dollars is expected to be made by Kuwait’s Zain telecom from selling its operations in Africa to India’s Bhrati Airtel for 10.7 billion dollars. As per the agreement, Bharti is to pay 10 billion dollars when the deal is completed and the remaining 700 million dollars after one year of signing the agreement.

Company’s shareholders’ equity will be increased by nine billion dollars after the sale of operations in 15 African nations.
Zain’s operations in Sudan and Morocco are excluded from the deal.

Tagged with: Africa • Airtel • ASIA • India • Kuwait • Morocco • Zain

Zain receives offer to sell African networks

On 02.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An unnamed group has offered K¬uwait based Zain to acquire its operations in Africa excluding Morocco and Sudan. Though the name has not been divulged by the company, the local media group suggests that the company might be India’s Bharti Airtel.

It has been reported that Bharti Airtel has offered around US$10.7 billion for the former Celtel networks while Zain acquired the pan-Africa Celtel for $3.4 billion in 2005.

Over a year, Zain has been seeking to either sell the African networks or take an outside investor into the whole company.

Tagged with: Africa • Airtel • ASIA • Bharti Airtel • Celtel • India • LG • Morocco • Sudan • Zain

Alacatel-Lucent to provide BSS solution to Morocco’s Maroc Telecom

On 12.11.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Maroc Telecom, a global fixed, mobile and internet telecommunication operator in the Kingdom of Morocco, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent as its billing and customer care system integrator. As per the deal, Alcatel-Lucent will evolve Maroc’s mobile billing platforms towards a new fully converged and integrated version.

Alacatel-Lucent’s solution that combines customer care, rating and billing and network integration services will help Maroc to offer flexible, high-quality, value-added services to its mobile customers. Through this contract, Alcatel-Lucent has confirmed its leadership in business support system (BSS) solutions, including software and integration services.

According to Abdel Mounim Ghetreff, Head of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in Morocco, the deal establish relationship between Alcatel-Lucent and Maroc Telecom and will enable Maroc Telecom to propose more personalized billing and support services to its customers. It will also improve revenue collection and leakage prevention.

Tagged with: Africa • Alcatel-Lucent • customer care system • Maroc • Mobile Billing • Morocco • network integration services • operator • quality value added services • system integrator

Etisalat says has enough funds to acquire Meditel (UAE, Morocco)

On 08.31.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat, the Middle Eastern mobile operator has reportedly unveiled that it has enough funds to pay in order to acquire the Moroccan mobile operator, Meditel. The list of bidders for the deal includes Oger Telecom, a telecom group controlled by the Saudi Oger Group, Qatar Telecommunications (Qtel) and Etisalat, the bankers close to the deal said. Confirmed bids are due by September 14 and a decision is expected later that month.

Tagged with: Ufone • Heinz • Kabel Deutschland • Morocco • Redknee • WAP

RCom shows interest in Zain’s African operations (India)

On 08.18.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: As reported yesterday, Zain is in talks with three foreign telcos for Celtel sale which includes an Indian telco, which is Reliance Communications (RCom). The sales will not include the Moroccan and Sudanese operations.
RCom shows interest in Zain’s African operations as its Indian rival Bharti Airtel is in talks with MTN South Africa for a possible merger.
The African operations are being seen as lucrative for the telcos due to its low penetration and reasonably well ARPUs.

Tagged with: 2008 Mobile Marketing • Africa • CNDC • Hutchison • Hutchison Telecom • Mauritania • Middle East Broadcasting Corporation • Mobile Advertising India • Morocco • Window mobile 6