Mobily CEO claims Saudi Arabia may cut connection fees in 2013 (UAE)
Mobily CEO, Khaled Al-Kaf, has said that Saudi Arabia may cut call-termination rates for telecom operators in 2013, in an attempt to increase competition, according to a report by Reuters. Al-Kaf states that next year, there will be a reduction in termination fees, unless the regulator foresees a more accelerated termination (reduction) rate to be introduced.
As per the report, Saudi termination fees have remained the same for over four years at $0.07 for mobile-to-mobile and fixed line-to-mobile calls and $ 0.027 for mobile-to-fixed line calls, effectively setting minimum call prices.
Industry analysts claim that the regulatory authority has previously been concerned about reducing termination rates stating that the operators may drastically reduce tariffs, negatively affecting competition.
The report reveals that Saudi operators pay royalties of 15 percent on mobile revenue, 10 percent on fixed line and 7 percent on data.
ALBTelecom and Eagle Mobile merge business operations (Albania)
ALBTelecom and Eagle Mobile have merged their business stating that this strategy will offer users even greater benefits. According to company reports, Orhan Coskun, Director General, Albtelecom and Eagle Mobile, has said that the two companies have created a long-term development strategy, where the focus is total modernization of infrastructure and service delivery much more qualitative. He added that that they would provide all kinds of services to the client through a single structure.
He said that one of the advantages offered in this case is the possibility for a One-Stop-Shop, where they wish that through a single structure to provide all kinds of services to the client. Now the user does not care about the technology used, what they want is to access the Internet. They want to increase the amount of communication. They want to follow television channels no matter where they are.
Further, the market is becoming more demanding. So operators have to offer better prices to the consumer. The need is for companies to reduce operational costs and other related costs and this will directly affect the provision of better tariffs to consumers.
Mobile internet recharge cards for Airtel prepaid subscribers (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bharti Airtel launched two mobile internet recharge vouchers today available for Rs 26 (valid over seven days, usage of 15 MB) and Rs 95 (valid over 30 days, usage of 100 MB) for its Prepaid users in the National Capital Region.
This is a significant initiative in making mobile internet more affordable and empower the prepaid customers to control their usage.
“This initiative marks our strategic intent to drive affordability in mobile internet connectivity and add value for our Prepaid customers,” said Bharti Airtel’s CEO, Mobile Services, Delhi and NCR, Shashi Arora. She also stated that these vouchers would enable customers to enjoy mobile Internet at only Rs 95 and Rs 26 per 15 MB, resulting in savings of up to 80 per cent on current competitive tariffs.
KCC asks mobile operators to slash call charges (South Korea)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Choi See-joong, the Chairman of South Korean regulator, has reportedly asked mobile operators to lower call charges on the back of an OECD report highlighting the country as one of the world’s most expensive for mobile phone use .
As per his recommendations, a similar pledge by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to cut mobile rates by 20%. The regulator is considering a variety of methods to force rate reductions, including the banning of handset subsidies to promote cheaper call rates, expanding pre-paid tariffs and most notably allowing the introduction of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). However, all three telcos are not in favour of this. SK Telecom has claimed that government interference could have a negative effect on competitiveness in the wireless sector.
Bharti takes a $2 bn call
MUMBAI: Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, the country’s largest cellular service provider, plans to invest up to $2 billion in its mobile and non-mobile businesses in the country during the current financial year.
In a bid to expand coverage in the rural areas and provide seamless and congestion-free service in the urban areas, it will add 20,000 cell sites during the year, thereby doubling the number of its cell sites.
Sanjay Kapoor, joint president-mobility, Bharti Airtel, told DNA Money, “For the year 2007, the capex for Bharti Airtel will be in the range of $1.8-2 billion across
India, out of which 70% will be on the Airtel mobile business and the remaining on the Airtel non-mobile business.”
Analysts feel that at 10% mobile teledensity, the telecom industry is bound to witness strong subscriber addition for the next few years.
Given its wide geographical coverage and aggressive marketing, Bharti Airtel could be well-placed to tap this growth.
For the first quarter, the Rs 11,290-crore company reported a 13% quarter-on-quarter growth to Rs 3,856 crore, largely driven by the mobility segment that witnessed a growth of 17.7% on account of strong subscriber addition, lower than anticipated fall in average revenue per user and a significant 2% increase in minutes of usage.
Airtel recently launched the InnoWest scheme for its subscribers in Mumbai,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chattisgarh and
Maharashtra and
Goa under which a subscriber visiting these circles would be charged tariffs as applicable in his home circle and no separate roaming rates would be charged.
Source- http://www.dnaindia.com
Technorati : Bharti Airtel, India, Mobile
Ice Rocket : Bharti Airtel, India, Mobile
