CGC launches Nokia Bluetooth headsets
doha • Consolidated Gulf Co the biggest retailer of Nokia mobiles phones and accessories as well as the one of the largest IT and telecom solution company in Qatar launched series of Nokia Bluetooth headset, BH-202, BH-500 & BH-501, a press release said yesterday.
Anil Mahajan, head of Business Development, said, CGC-Nokia is committed to offering the best and the most comfortable devices in terms of technology, design and usability. We are pleased to launch a fabulous range of Bluetooth headsets in Qatar which would bring a paradigm shift in enhancement usage.???
Nokia Bluetooth headsets are user-friendly devices that enable customers to communicate using wireless technology. The BH-500 and BH 501 have add-ons that provide the comfort of enjoying music and taking calls and switching between both effortlessly. BH-500 comes with high quality headset having ear-sized plugs and a wireless audio adapter that allow taking calls even while listening to your favourite music from the compatible device, while BH-501 comes with larger, better fitting comfortable earpieces.
BH-202 being the light-weight stylish hands free allows the customer to take calls through its hands free control panel.
Source- http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
More mobiles than people..!
BAHRAIN has more mobile phones than people, according to a survey conducted by Dubai-based Madar Research.
It found the country had the highest mobile phone penetration rate and second highest Internet user penetration rate in the Arab world at the end of last year.
There were 771,000 mobile phone subscriptions in Bahrain at the end of December compared to 724,645 people, according to researchers.
That means the country had a mobile penetration rate of 107 per cent, well above the average of just 28pc across all Arab countries at the end of last year.
However, the pan-Arab mobile penetration rate did increase from 17pc in 2004.
Meanwhile, the same organisation found that Bahrain had the second highest Internet penetration last year.
It said the country had an estimated 228,000 Internet users, which was equivalent to an Internet penetration rate of 31.67pc – much higher than the pan-Arab average of 8.5pc and well above the world average estimated at 14pc.
The study showed there had been a massive increase in the number of Internet users across the entire Arab region, which saw Internet subscribers rise by more than nine million last year alone to reach 26.3m.
“Madar Research expects growth in the Arab Internet population to continue increasing over the next few years before it stabilises at moderate levels,” the company said in a statement.
Experts predict that around 200 million mobile phone subscribers will be added to the existing users in the Middle East and Africa by 2008.
They are expected to constitute 20pc of mobile phone subscriber growth in emerging markets, which in turn will account for 80pc of growth in the global market.
There are a number of factors that have helped Bahrain become one of the most telecom-savvy countries in the Arab world, said Madar Research president and research director Abdul Kader Kamli.
“This includes a very low illiteracy rate, coupled by a high rate of people with academic of professional training,” he said.
“A free economy that encourages private ventures and foreign investment, along with an environment that is among the most liberal in the region, also contributes to high levels of Internet adoption in Bahrain.”
The UAE achieved the second highest mobile penetration rate in the Arab world at 96pc, but remained the leader in terms of Internet penetration rates, followed by Bahrain in second and Qatar in third.
However, he warned said there was a huge gap in terms of Internet penetration between the GCC and other Arab countries.
There was only one Internet user in every 15 people in the 12 non-GCC Arab countries included in the study.
The Madar Research Internet survey covered 18 Arab countries.
Source- http://www.gulf-daily-news.com
Cisco Systems Gulf ranked 3rd fastest growing region in the world
Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, has announced that its Gulf operations have delivered 50 per cent growth in fiscal year 2006, establishing it as the company’s third fastest-growing region in the world.
The company also fared well in the Middle East and Africa, with the MEA region delivering 56 per cent growth in FY 2006 over the same period last year.
The announcement, which follows Cisco’s recent international reporting of Q4 and fiscal-year results for the period ended July 29, 2006, is a shot in the arm for the region’s nascent IT industry.
Samer Alkharrat, General Manager, Cisco Systems Gulf, said the company’s human capital is a primary factor in its record growth.
Alkharrat said. ‘The region is in rapid growth mode, and Cisco has responded to this growth with continuous strategic investments in the right people and the right training. This commitment, and the rewards we reap from it, is in sync with Cisco’s operating philosophy around the world.’
The investment in human resources has enabled Cisco to expand rapidly across the region, Alkharrat explained. The company recently opened a new office in Qatar, and additional offices are slated to open in Oman and Bahrain in coming months.
‘Having a talented corps of people suited to the needs of the region has allowed us to get closer to our partners and customers,’ he added. ‘We have now subdivided the Gulf region into three key territories, and appointed country managers for each.’
Cisco Systems Gulf’s investment in its human resources begins at the recruitment level. An entrenched system of continual training ensures that staff is provided with the right focus and direction, and the right tools to operate in this rapidly developing market.
FY06 also witnessed the introduction of Cisco Gulf’s TREC vertical team, an industry first specialty group dedicated to the fast-growing tourism, real estate and construction sectors.
Cisco’s globally recognised Networking Academy Program is also moving at full throttle in the region. Established to address the market’s growing need for training in networking technologies, the program offers structured courses at educational and training facilities around the region. Since its launch in 1997, the NetAcad has enlisted more than 11,000 academies and nearly two million students around the world.
The Fortune Global 500-listed company also concluded several major business deals in the region this year, including a new all-IP network vision for Kuwait-based Wataniya Telecom; an advanced IP call centre (IPCC) solutions for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO); a strategic consultancy agreement with the National Bank of Kuwait and PWC Logistics, and an infrastructure transformation contract with the Saudi Post Corporation.
Source- http://www.ameinfo.com
Technorati : Cisco Systems, Middle East, Mobile
Ice Rocket : Cisco Systems, Middle East, Mobile
BSNL slashes ISD rates to Sri Lanka, West Asia
New Delhi
: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) 5.8-crore telecom service subscribers stand to benefit as the PSU announced a 40 per cent reduction in ISD rates to
Sri Lanka
and a 20 per cent cut to West Asian countries from next month.
From October 1, a BSNL subscriber would have to pay Rs. 7.20 a minute for a 10-second pulse rate from Rs. 12 a minute, a statement from the company said. The revised rates would apply to all calls from fixed line, mobile, WLL (M) as well as PCOs and trunk calls.
For West Asian countries such as
Kuwait
,
Bahrain
, the U.A.E.,
Oman
and
Qatar
, the rates have been reduced from Rs. 12 a minute to Rs. 9.6 a minute and the pulse rate has been increased from six seconds to 7.5 seconds.
Maximum call traffic
The sector comprising
Sri Lanka
and West Asian countries has the maximum call traffic from
India
. The tariffs have been reduced to offer customers a good choice and to be ahead of competition, the company said.
Current rates
Private cellular operators currently offer ISD rates of Rs. 9.99 a minute to
West Asia
with some operators offering Rs. 8 a minute to the same destination under certain plans. But, none them offer a unified package of same rate for calls from fixed lines, mobile and WLL phones.
Price war likely
BSNL’s latest rate-cut is likely to start another round of price war in the ISD segment on this busy traffic route of
West Asia
where a sizable Indian population stays.
BSNL has about 3.8 crore fixed line subscribers and a little over two crore mobile subscribers.
Source- http://www.hindu.com
