Morocco plans 4G licence auction in 2012 (Morocco)
Morocco will launch a tender in the autumn to sell 4G licences in a move that may allow the entry of a fourth operator to the market, according to a report by Reuters.
As per the report, Azdine el-Mountassir Billah, head of the Telecommunication Regulatory National Agency (ANRT), said that the regulator plans to launch an international tender for 4G licences in fall, 2012.
He added that ANRT plans to award the licences at the start of 2013 and expects they will be operational by the end of that year at the earliest.
Morocco’s telecommunications market is dominated by Vivendi’s Maroc Telecom, France Telecom’s affiliate Meditelecom and Wana, owned by a holding controlled by the Moroccan monarchy and Kuwait’s Zain.
The report revealed that while mobile penetration hovers around 110 percent of the 33 million population, Internet subscribers reached only 3.2 million by the end of 2011, rising 70 percent from the previous year, as per ANRT data.
Skype blocked in Morocco (Morocco)
The major Moroccan telecom company, Maroc Telecom, has blocked several sites that offer VoIP services, including Skype. It is speculated that the decision to block VoIP sites by Maroc has been taken, in an attempt to establish a monopoly in the telecom market.
According to sources, VoIP sites were not blocked by Maroc following any Government order, however, the telecom company is marketing its own VoIP service named MTBOX in the Moroccon market. Access to TeamSpeak and overseas call via VoIP were mainly hit by the block. Several complaints of difficulty in accessing VoIP sites were registered. Consumers complained about poor signals and dropped calls. It was speculated from thereon, that Marco might take the extreme step of banning the VoIP sites.
As per sources, the telecom operator has opted to block all the VoIP sites in order to erase the competition and to compel the users to stop using free calling services offered by sites including Skype, TeamSpeak, etc.
Being the default internet provider for a large number of Moroccan users, the company aims to compel the users towards paid calling, added sources. Maroc telecom was sold to the French Company Vivendi. The telecom operator was yielding high profits for Vivendi for several years and was fetching high revenues for the company on the grounds of its monopoly in the telecom market.
Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)
Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.
In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.
France Telecom to acquire Congo-China Telecom (France, Africa)
France Telecom SA, a dominant telecommunication company in France, is reportedly looking to purchase Congo-China Telecom, the fourth largest telecom operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As per reports, France Telecom will acquire 51 percent of Congo-China. Congo had earlier approved a 49 percent stake sale to France Telecom for which the African country expected to receive $78 million, according to Faustin Mpako, Chief of Staff, Portfolio Ministry.
France Telecom has been entering new markets such as Iraq and Morocco so as to increase its revenue which has been stagnant owing to the increase in mobile penetration in most markets. However, industry analysts believe that Congo may prove to be challenging owing to its lack of infrastructure and low mobile penetration. Further, it also considered as one of Africa’s poorest nations with an average per capita income of only $300.
Sale of stake in Maroc Telecom in Moroccan government’s radar (Morocco)
The Moroccan government is looking at selling a portion of its stake ownership in Maroc Telecom. The state owned stake in the operator stands at 30%. The government is aiming at raising funds to take the edge off of its recent spending spree.
According to sources, the Moroccan government is bracing up to sell part of its stake in Maroc Telecom.
In addition, the finance and economy ministry is known to have said that they are considering the sale of 7% stake in the company. Although, not many details have been revealed, France based Vivendi that owns 53% controlling stake in the company could be involved in a trade transaction.
On the other hand, selling shares in the stock market could also be an option. Currently, the government has 17% of the company shares listed.
Bharti Airtel clears final payment with Zain for African networks (Kuwait)
Kuwait-based Zain announced the receipt of the final tranche in the amount of $700 million from Bharti Airtel. The Indian compnay paid up the remaining amount as part of the purchase the preceding year of Zain’s African networks.
According to a statement issued by the company, it said that with reference to the June 8, 2010 sale of Zain’s African assets with the exception of Morocco and Sudan, and specifically to the deferred installment of $700 million, they would like to inform the stock holders that the company has received that amount, in accordance with the agreement of the transaction, in which the sum was to be paid one year after the transaction, conditional on the completion of both the final approvals and of the sale and transfer of property.
In retrospect, the amount was already calculated as profits in the financial statements of the second quarter, 2010. Therefore, it will not have any consequence on the financial statements for the current quarter, 2011.
STC rolls-out offer for international calls (Saudi Arabia)
STC has introduced Sawa International, offering international calls to selected countries from US$0.14 per minute.
The company claims this is the cheapest international fare for prepaid cards in the country.
Under the new offer, STC customers can make discounted calls to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and Philippines for US$0.14 per minute, while calls to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon and Nepal cost US$0.18 per minute.
Calls to Kuwait and UAE cost US$0.23 per minute. The discounted rate for calls to Morocco, Algeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea is 102 halls per minute and calls to Somalia are US$0.34 per minute.
STC announced that this offer is available to all Sawa and Lana customers for one month starting 13 May.
Moroccan Q1 mobile users grow by 4.36%
Morocco’s telecommunications regulator, ANRT ha stated that the country reported a 4.36% increase in mobile subscribers in the first quarter, reaching a total of 33.38 million with over 96% prepaid at the end of March.
The penetration rate grew to 104.78% from 101.49% at the end of December 2010.
Maroc Telecom’s customer base declined by 1.39% to 16.66 million from 16.89 million, Medi Telecom’s grew by 3.08% to 11.12 million from 10.79 million, and Wana’s surged 30.12% to 5.6 million from 4.3 million. Their market shares stood at 49.9%, 32.32% and 16.78%, respectively, at the end of the first quarter.
Meditel selects Fujitsu to create ICT platform (Morocco)
Meditel has selected Fujitsu to create an ICT platform for the company’s Next Generation Intelligent Network (NGIN) 3G system.
Meditel is using the Fujitsu technology including some seventeen Primequest x86 servers, 40 Primergy x86 servers and an Eternus storage system, as the foundations of its enhanced network technology.
The NGIN system provides real-time unified management of data, including customer, call time, and call frequency information for Meditel’s prepaid mobile phone service. In addition, the new system is being introduced to take over a range of mobile telecommunications services.
Meditel is also launching NGIN features and services including location-based services, carrier selection, number portability, advanced routing services and intelligent call centre re-routing. By selecting Fujitsu Primequest x86 servers and Eternus storage systems, including a complete disaster recovery system installed platform and software features, Meditel has been able to improve network and system performance, while at the same time reducing power consumption and ICT equipment space requirements.
Norea Mobile introduces new international MVNO in Netherlands
MVNO Norea Mobile has launched in the Netherlands. The provide of international telecom services says it targets customers of “all cultures”. It will serve both consumer and business customers, with the latter able to take up to five lines with the company.
Using the KPN network and MVNE Aspider Solutions, Norea offers Sim-only voice and data plans. The SIM Only 20, 40, 80 and 150 plans offer customers the equivalent value in airtime. Within the bundle, calls to fixed lines are billed at EUR 0.09 per minute, mobile calls at US$0.15 per minute, SMS at US$0.18 and internet at US$0.13 per MB.
The company claims a first with international calls charged from the bundle, with rates to mobiles such as 9 cents a minute for India and China, Morocco at 34 cents and Turkey at 12 cents. Calls are billed by the minute, with no set-up fee. Data services are not available abroad.
For the first four months, calls made while roaming are not available, but customers will be able to receive calls when abroad. According to spokesman Erhan Ozdemir, the company targets 10,000 customers by year-end, a “conservative estimate”.
Promotional activites at the start include a presence at the concert of Turkish singer Arkan on 23 April and other multicutural events, as well as one month free with a one-year contract and two months free with a two-year contract.
As per Ozdemir, the company is also planning a SIM 10 plan, as well as a special offer for young people integrating internet and international services. While the company has already been approached with takeover offers, the spokesman stated Norea wants to first focus on achieving its own goals.
