208 operators in 80 countries currently investing in LTE- Report
A recent report by Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has revealed that around 208 operators are now investing in LTE, which is 98 operators more than in June 2010.
According to the report, the number of countries and territories where LTE systems are deployed or planned has increased by 32 in the same period.
The report confirms 154 firm LTE network deployments are in progress or planned in 60 countries, including 20 networks which have commercially launched. A further 54 operators in 20 more countries are engaged in LTE technology pilot trials or tests.
Taken together, it means that 208 operators in 80 countries are now investing in LTE. The report covers both LTE FDD and LTE TDD systems. The 60 countries and territories having firm LTE network commitments are Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong S.A.R., Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore , South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, UAE, UK, Uruguay, USA, and Uzbekistan.
LTE networks are launched in 14 countries, namely Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, USA, and Uzbekistan. GSA forecasts that at least 81 LTE networks will be in commercial service by end-2012.
Qtel boost Shahry phone number promotion (Qatar)
Qtel has again extended its Shahry promotion, which offers an Easy-to-Remember (ETR) number every time customers subscribe to a new Shahry line.
With the new promotion, customers who subscribe to standard Shahry plans or Shahry Value Packs between now and 20 May can get an ETR worth US$274.62 free.
Alternatively, customers who want a top-of-the-range ETR worth between US$411.93 and US$823.86 can choose from a special selection and get a US$274.62 discounts on their chosen number.
Vodafone introduces promotion on Calling Card 25 (Qatar)
Vodafone Qatar has introduced a new promotion on its International Calling Card 25 that will offer calls to 15 popular international destinations at US$0.13 a minute.
The promotion will run until 31 May, and customers will get 51 minutes of international calling when they buy the card to call India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The International Calling Card 25 can be used by all Vodafone customers on their mobile phones.
Unlike other calling cards, consumers do not need to dial special numbers and enter PIN codes to use the card; with Vodafone’s International Card 25 all they need to do is load the card as they would any other scratch card.
RIM offers BlackBerry App World in UAE
Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that the BlackBerry App World service has launched in the UAE, offering BlackBerry smartphone customers easy access to a broad range of mobile applications.
The service is available with both mobile operators, Du and Etisalat, for all BlackBerrys with a trackball, trackpad or touch screen running BlackBerry OS 4.2 or higher. The service is now available in a number of Middle East countries including UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Lebanon.
BlackBerry App World, the official on-device app store for BlackBerry smartphones, allows customers to discover, download and enjoy applications that are purpose-built for their BlackBerry smartphones.
Vodafone Qatar launches international calls at $0.17
Vodafone Qatar’s World Calling Club is offering international call rates to more than 190 countries for US$0.17 a minute.
Calling destinations included in this promotion are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, US and Yemen.
Vodafone is also running a promotion on its International Calling Card 25 that gives customers 46 minutes of talk time to 15 popular destinations at a rate of QAR 0.14 a minute. Both promotions run until the end of May.
Qtel to launch Aruba mobility services (Qatar)
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Aruba Networks have announced an alliance to offer Aruba’s Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture for local businesses.
Aruba Mobility Network Services are delivered centrally from the data centre, providing a flexible service for enabling employee mobility.
Qtel launches Hala 15/15 promotion (Qatar)
Qtel has launched an offer for its Hala prepaid customers. Each time a customer spends US$4.12 on Hala in a day he will get US$4.12 worth of free credit to spend on voice and video calls, SMS, MMS and collect calling.
The bonus credit will be available once per day, per customer, until 3 June. Once the customer spends US$4.12, the bonus US$4.12 will be automatically applied to the balance, and the custoemr will have the rest of the day to enjoy the free credit.
Every day that a customer is rewarded with free credit, they will be alerted by SMS that they have received their bonus credit. Qtel has also made international rates more affordable.
From 4 May, Qtel is making international calls US$0.18 per minute on both Hala and Control for almost all countries. This is a permanent price change for both peak and off-peak periods.
BlackBerry to introduce app store in UAE
Research In Motion (RIM) is all set to launch its BlackBerry App World store in the UAE in June. RIM released the beta version of its app store last month in the country.
According to Mike Al-Mefleh, Director of product management for the Middle East, RIM was undergoing due diligence in testing and qualifying the BlackBerry App World store with different carriers in the country. Once operational, the BlackBerry App World store will enable BlackBerry users in the country to download tailor-made applications directly on to their phones.
Mefleh added that the BlackBerry App World store is currently up and running in the Middle East markets of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. David Ashford of AppsArabia, a newly established investment fund to promote mobile app development in the MENA region, stated that now the BlackBerry app store is live in four MENA countries, with others to follow, they are actively looking for commercially viable BlackBerry app investment opportunities.
Mefleh pointed out that less than 5% of apps used in the region are developed locally. BlackBerry has an alliance program with partners such ASGATech, and MobiDev that supports developers to grow their applications in the region.
Qtel offers iPhone 4 with mobile data promotion (Qatar)
Qtel is offering new iPhone 4s as prizes for customers who sign-up for Mobile Internet Packs before 10 May.
Customers can use the Mobile Internet Packs across all smartphones and web-enabled devices. Packs range from 50MB of data at US$6.86per month through to unlimited internet access.
Now that the packs are available on the IVR service, Qtel stated customers just need to dial 114 and follow the automated instructions to sign up.
Syrian government postpones 3rd licence auction
The government of Syria has postponed indefinitely the planned auction of the country’s third GSM mobile licence – due to start on 27 April – amid ongoing political unrest in the Middle Eastern country.
The decision comes as President Bashar al Assad struggles to contain increasing anti-government protests in Syria, which have reportedly resulted in the deaths of dozens of people.
According to previous reports, Syria’s planned auction of a third mobile licence became a two-horse race between Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Qatar Telecom (Qtel) after France Telecom (FT) became the latest telco to pull out of the contest, just hours after Turkcell revealed it would not be participating. Earlier, Etisalat also turned its back on the Syrian auction citing dissatisfaction with the condition that the winner pay a 25% revenue share to the government. Although Turkcell declined to give a reason for its exit, FT joined Etisalat in blaming the terms and conditions of the licence award. The French group said that the decision to withdraw was not linked to political upheaval in Syria, ‘but the conditions of the licence’.
If and when it takes place, the auction for a third mobile network operating licence in Syria carries a minimum reserve of US$122.2 million. The bidders left in the process are, however, committed to their bids.
