Zain seeks to re-initiate merger talks with Palestine’s Paltel
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Resurrection of the aborted merger of the Jordanian assets with Palestine’s Paltel has been seeked by Kuwait’s Zain on the same terms as before.
According to the terms and conditions of the agreement announced by the company in May last year, the ownership of the Jordan subsidiary to Paltel was to be transferred by Zain in exchange for taking an equity shareholding of 56.53% in the enlarged company. However, the company has to call off the talk last November as it did not receive the required government approvals that were condition precedent to concluding the deal.
Significant” synergies and efficiencies in CAPEX and OPEX spend and purchasing power has also been seeked by Zain.
Wataniya and Orange Jordan enter into partnership
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In a bid to provide international and roaming calls at preferential rates, Orange Jordan and Wataniya Mobile Palestine entered into a strategic alliance by signing a deal. As per the deal, the subscribers of both the companies will pay a simple unified tariff per minute for calling internationally, roaming and receiving calls between Jordan and Palestine.
According to Orange CEO Nayla Khawam, through this deal, Orange will try to provide the best service to its subscribers in Jordan along with competitive offers with the highest quality of service.
Wataniya finally launches in West Bank.
Wataniya Mobile finally began operations after months of disputes with Israel. This will break Paltels monopoly and is likely to drive down prices.
Qtel owns 57% of Wataniya Palestine and the remainder is owned by the public Palestine Investment Fund. Wataniya has invested USD 100 Million already and a further $700m is planned over the next decade.
Current penetration in the west bank is only 35% which Wireless Federation expects to go up rapidly following the launch of Wataniya. Paltel currently has 1.5 million Palestinian subscribers.
Wataniya said it has received only 3.8MHz of bandwidth from Israel, instead of the 4.8MHz that had been promised. Without this Wataniya will not be able to launch 3G services.
Wataniya International highest bidder for second Palestinian mobile license
The company offered JD 251million (Two hundred fifty one million Jordanian Dinars) as an upfront license payment to install and operate a 2G/3G mobile telecommunications system and establish the second Palestinian mobile telecommunications service in Palestine.
Wataniya International will now begin negotiations to finalize the license terms and agree on the frequencies required to operate the network. Wataniya International will establish a new company in Palestine which will be 40% owned by Wataniya International where, as per the Request for Application, 30% will be offered to the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and 30% owned by the general population through an IPO.
‘We are grateful for the confidence of the Palestinian National Authority in proceeding with this privatization process. Wataniya has a proven track record at the Greenfield level, building and operating world class networks and delivering innovative services in discerning markets,’ said Mr. Faisal Al-Ayyar, Chairman of Wataniya International.
The license will authorize the building and operating of a GSM telecommunications
network and provide public mobile voice and data telecommunications services in
Palestine. It will also give the right to establish and operate a third generation (3G)
network and to provide international telecommunication services.
‘Wataniya is growing rapidly based on continued success in existing operations and our expansion into new, high growth markets. The company’s entry into Palestine represents a key step in continuing to reach our ambitious growth targets,’ said Ahmad Haleem, CEO of Wataniya International.
Source- http://www.ameinfo.com
Technorati : Mobile, Palestine, Wataniya International
Ice Rocket : Mobile, Palestine, Wataniya International
