Saudi Arabia

Qatar Telecom & Tata partnership confirmed

On 03.09.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The partnership between India’s Tata Communications and Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has been confirmed by both the companies. The deal for the construction of the Tata Global Network (TGN) Gulf Project will see Qtel establish a landing station for the regional undersea network.

The main aim of the project is the connection of the world’s major business hubs and city centers with the Gulf region.
Besides providing the foundations for next generation communications technology, the new network will also improve connectivity. Bahrain Internet Exchange consortium, Nawras of Oman, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates are the other regional partners in the project.

Deployment of an extended portfolio of advanced telecommunications services will also be supported by the development of the cable project, scheduled to be completed by 2011. The services will include- Global Ethernet, MPLS-based VPN and Global Telepresence.

Viva Bahrain begins operations

On 03.05.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Viva Bahrain, Bahrain’s third mobile network and a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) opened its doors to the customers by launching its commercial services. Mobile broadband access at speeds of up to 21Mbps, packaged with unlimited downloads is included in the service spread across Bahrain.

Wireless broadband at peak speeds of 7.2Mbps via a single router could be enjoyed by upto five people. Free calls and SMS within its Bahraini network and free calls to STC numbers in Saudi Arabia will be offered by Viva for the next three months. 90% discounts on calls made to 18 popular international destinations will also be offered by the operator.

The 3G-enabled pre-paid SIM cards will cost up to BHD2 (USD5.3), while the -paid handset bundles come with up to 200MB of inclusive data usage per month. An offer of 24% more credit with the recharge of the SIM has also been announced by the company.

Till date, an investment of USD200 million has been made by STC in Bahrain and a further investment of ‘several hundred million’ dollars is expected in the next few years.

According to Viva Bahrain CEO Abdulrahman Al Omar, the company plan to compete in the Bahraini market by providing innovative services that meet the needs of the market and enrich the level of services, whether voice or data transmission or even high speed broadband.

Tagged with: 3G • Bahrain • Launch • Middle East • operator • Saudi Arabia • Saudi Telecom • STC • USA • Viva Bahrain

Kuwait’s Wataniya net profit declines by 22.5%

On 03.03.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: With a year-on-year loss of 22.5%, a net profit of KWD11 million (USD37.9 million) has been posted by Kuwait-based National Mobile Telecommunications Company (Wataniya), for the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, its full year net profit was up to KWD108.3 million in 2009, from KWD82.4 million in 2008. No reasons have been revealed by the company behind its declining bottom line.

Its parent company Qatar Telecom (QTel) is also expected to release its preliminary results for the full year 2009 soon, with a full disclosure scheduled for March 7. Wataniya’s operating market includes Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the Maldives.

Tagged with: Algeria • Kuwait • LG • Maldives • Middle East • Qatar • Qatar Telecom • Qtel • Saudi Arabia • Tunisia • Wataniya

Motorola, Zain Saudi Arabia ink LTE deal

On 02.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Zain Saudi Arabia and Networks business of Motorola has signed a contract to deploy a LTE network in Saudi Arabia. Both the companies will deploy a FDD LTE network in the 2.6GHz band, overlaying Zain’s existing 3G network.

One of the first in the country, the deployment of the LTE network will begin in the second quarter. The contract will enable Zain to offer high-speed mobile broadband services to its customers.

Radio access network, evolved packet core, devices and optimization and integration services will be provided by Motorola under the deal.

Tagged with: 3G • LTE • LTE network • Middle East • Motorola • Saudi Arabia • Zain

Nokia’s Comes with Music service released in Middle East

On 02.11.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nokia’s Comes with Music service has been released by the firm in the Middle East, available in the region next month along with its new X6 handset. Users will have access to a music catalog of an estimated four million tracks from international and regional labels by purchasing the new Nokia X6 16 GB Comes With Music edition.

They can download the tracks for free for 12 months, and use across multiple devices including their computer, laptop and MP3 players. 3.2-inch touch display, 16GB of memory, a 5 megapixel camera and a battery life that can play up to 35 hours of music are some of the features of X6.

The service covers eleven regional countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Tagged with: Bahrain • Comes With Music • Egypt • Iraq • Lebanon • Middle East • Nokia • Qatar • Saudi Arabia

Qtel signs framework agreement with NSN

On 02.10.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A global purchasing agreement has been signed between Qatar based Qtel and Nokia Siemens Networks covering its various international networks. Indonesia, Kuwait, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria and Palestine have the subsidiaries of the company. The initial term of the agreement is one year and may be extended at Qtel International’s option for up to two additional years.

According to Dr. Nasser Marafih, chief executive officer of The Qtel Group, partnership for the future will ensure the highest quality of network development supporting the firms strategy for business growth and the support of Nokia Siemens Networks will provide essential resources as they continue to enhance their operations.

Standard terms and volume-based discounted pricing for network equipment will be available to companies under the agreement.

Tagged with: Africa • Algeria • Indonesia • Kuwait • LG • Maldives • Nokia • Nokia Siemens • Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Tunisia

Bahrain’s Batelco Q4 net profit falls 1.5%

On 01.29.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The fourth-quarter net profit of Bahrain’s biggest telecom operator, Batelco, fell 1.5% to 25.5 million Bahraini dinars ($67.6 million) from a year earlier period. However, 0.8% rise in the net profit of the operator was recorded in 2009, to BHD105 million from BHD104.2 million a year earlier.

31% of gross revenues last year have been contributed by overseas operations of the company. Year-on year increase of 19% has also been recorded by the in company in its subscriber’s base in 2009 reaching up to 5.1 million.

Batelco’s joint venture in India operating under the name of Stel reached a customer base of over 450,000 in the Asian country within six weeks.

Tagged with: ASIA • Bahrain • Batelco • India • Middle East • operator • Saudi Arabia

Loan commitments missed by Zain Saudi Arabia

On 01.28.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Zain Saudi Arabia after missing some of its commitments on a two-year USD2.5 billion Islamic loan, entered into negotiations with creditors. The commitments in question were related to performance ratios the company was supposed to deliver to banks and not debt repayment.

According to Saad al-Barrak, Zain’s chief executive, Zain has not defaulted on any payment of debt, not even on payment of interest. In a statement released to put investors mind at ease, the firm said that is in contact with creditors to provide them with information based on the company’s current financial forecasts to ensure that it honours its commitments for the quarterly periods (2010).

Tagged with: Middle East • Saudi Arabia • Zain

One-Off gains increases Saudi Telecom profits

On 01.28.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Due to the capital gains from the floatation of a 25% in the Malaysian subsidiary, a sharp rise in the fourth-quarter profits has been reported by Saudi Arabia based Saudi Telecom (STC). Net profit of SAR2.94 billion (US$785 million), compared to US$309 million a year ago has been announced by the company.

One-off gain of US$182.3 million has also been booked by the company from the sale of 25% stake in Malaysia’s Maxis. However, fell by 16.8% to SAR13 billion (US$3.46 billion), while revenues reached around US$13.3 billion.

Tagged with: Malaysia • Maxis • Middle East • Saudi Arabia • Saudi Telecom

STC records 154% increase in net profit for 4Q

On 01.21.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 154% rise in net profit has been announced by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) for the three months that ended December 31, 2009. The leading mobile and broadband provider by subscribers, STC, made SAR2.94 billion (USD784 million) in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from SAR1.16 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, a net loss of SAR657 million for the three months ended 31 December 2009 has been reported by Zain Saudi Arabia. However, a decline of 44.3% to SAR436 million has also been estimated in the operating losses. The fourth quarter revenue of Zain jumped by 110.6%, up to SAR895 million.

Tagged with: Middle East • Saudi Arabia • Saudi Telecom • STC • Zain