Batelco names Rashid Abdulla as the new CEO
Bahrain Telecom (Batelco) had named Mr. Rashid Abdulla as the new Chief Executive for its Bahrain Operation.
Mr. Rashid Abdulla has been in the telecommunication business for 30 years and is the Managing Director of Qualitynet, Batelco Group’s Kuwait Operation. He will take the responsibility for Batelco Bahrain at the end of January 2011.
Mr. Abdulla began his working career at Batelco in 1986 as an Engineering Manager, having completed a BSc in Electrical & Electronics Engineering as a trainee with Cable & Wireless, Batelco’s former shareholder.
According to Batelco Group CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos, he is looking forward to welcome Rashid and to support him and his team to keep Batelco as a market leader in the very competitive market in Bahrain and continue to make Batelco a company that all Bahrainis can be proud of.
Mr. Kaliaropoulos added that they have faced many challenges this year with the competitive pressures in Bahrain and they expect that those challenges will intensify in the New Year. Having worked alongside Rashid as part of Group Operations over recent years, he believes that he has the right leadership, competitive ethos, enthusiasm and energy necessary to address competitive challenges, focus the company on delivering value to their customers and drive the company’s growth and future success.
AT&T ups Middle East presence (USA)
AT&T announced on Monday that it is expanding its presence in the Middle East, with network node deployments in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and a virtual private network services (VPN) contract across the region with Ericsson.
AT&T is ramping up its services in the Middle East, “as part of an ongoing strategic investment in the region,” said a company statement, released at Gulfcomms 2007.
In cooperation with Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) and NavLink, a company in which AT&T has a minority stake, the network node first announced by the U.S. carrier last year is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2007.
The new infrastructure is being rolled out to allow AT&T and NavLink customers interconnectivity with STC’s national MPLS network.
AT&T also said it is working with QualityNet and NavLink again, to deploy a network node in Kuwait.
The deal will allow AT&T to offer IP-VPN services to Kuwaiti-based enterprises, as well as multinationals looking to expand their Middle East presence, said AT&T.
The Kuwaiti MPLS node is expected to be activated during 2008, and the telecoms giant said it is growing its Dubai-based sales and support team in order to complement its expanded network reach.
The expansion initiatives form part of a $750 million global investment programme announced by the telecoms giant earlier in the year.
The U.S.-based carrier said at the time it planned in 2007 to focus on high-growth emerging markets in Asia Pacific and Latin America, as well as the Middle East.
Furthermore, in a separate announcement also made Monday, AT&T said it has been selected by Ericsson to provide VPN services across the Middle East region in a contract worth $6 million.
AT&T said the deal will see it provide services to Ericsson’s operations in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
“A reliable network, backed by a comprehensive service level agreement, the ability to execute locally and speedy implementation, were all key requirements for us when choosing our network provider in the Middle East,” said Carl-Magnus M¥nsson, CIO of Ericsson, in a statement.
“We are dedicated to the Middle East as a growth area of our business and feel that this is matched by the commitment that AT&T has made to the region,” he added.
“Through our direct investment in NavLink, partnerships with other key players in the Middle Eastern telecommunications market and our regional office in Dubai, we are confident that we can serve the needs of enterprises in these high-growth markets,” said Tom Regent, head of EMEA operations, AT&T, in a statement.
