Tunisie Telecom to add 100,000 ADSL lines by year-end
Tunisie Telecom plans to double the number of ADSL lines in service by the end of the year, and add 250,000 lines in 2007 to reach a total of at least 450,000 lines, according to Telecompaper citing the company’s marketing director, Michael Foley, in an interview with La Presse. He acknowledged that Tunisia had fallen behind other countries in the provision of broadband services and said Tunisie Telecom would do everything possible to boost ADSL penetration in homes, businesses and schools.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
Wataniya sees profit rise
Kuwaiti telco Wataniya Telecom has posted a net profit of KWD50.1 million (USD172.3 million) for the first nine months of 2006, according to AMEinfo, up 22% from KWD39.2 million in the same period last year. More details will be posted when the company reports its full third-quarter financial results. Wataniya is Kuwait’s second largest cellular operator, with 988,000 subscribers at the end of June. It also has operations in Tunisia, Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the Maldives.
Source- http://www.telegeography.com
Orascom keen to hike holding in Hutchison
The Egypt-based telecom service provider Orascom said that it was looking to increase its stake in Essar Hutchison by hiking its holding in Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom. Orascom said that it was interested in increasing its presence in the booming cellular market in the country through this route as its attempts to find a local partner had failed.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orascom, said, “We are interested very much in the Indian market and we are hoping to increase our stake in Hutchison. We had tried in the past to invest in India through a local partner but we found it difficult.”
Orascom currently holds about 9 per cent in the Indian cellular venture Hutchison Essar after it had acquired nearly 19 per cent in Hutchison Telecom. Orascom’s indirect entry into the Indian telecom market was earlier raked up by the Essar Group, which had pointed out that its consent had not been taken before the international deal between Orascom and Hutchison took place.
Essar had said that such international deals could bring in investments from companies in unfriendly countries. Some of the security agencies had also expressed concerns with investment. The Government has, however, given its approval to the investment, which paves the way for Orascom to further increase its stake. Foreign Direct Investment level in Hutchison Essar is currently at 68 per cent.
Speaking at the 3GSM World Congress Asia, Mr Sawiris said that Orascom was not lucky enough to find a partner in India unlike TM (formerly Telekom Malaysia) and Sing Tel who have partnered with Spice and Bharti respectively. ‘We decided to invest in Hutchison Telecom because it has operations in countries such as India and Vietnam where we had failed to make an entry due to local circumstances. We are hoping that Hutchison would agree to gives us more equity in the company.’
No 3G votary
Orascom offers telecom services in Pakistan, Italy, Algeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Tunisia, Bangladesh and Egypt. It had 17 million subscribers as on March 2006.
On the technology front, Mr Sawaris said that he was not a great fan of 3G technology and it may be prudent to delay the launch and wait for the right price points before offering it to consumers.
When asked about the advantages of acquiring equity stakes in emerging telecom markets, Mr Sawaris said that there was not much opportunity with greenfield projects and therefore acquisitions made more sense.
Bullish on India
TM (formerly known as Telecom Malaysia) said that it was expanding its operations in India with its partner Spice Telecom by acquiring licences for more circles. Mr Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar, the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, told Business Line that the company was hoping to move from being a two circle operator in India to having pan-India services. Mr Wahid Omar said that Indonesia and India were its key investments as the markets in these countries were growing at a rapid pace.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang, CEO SingTel Group, said the growth from Bharti Airtel was contributing significantly to its international operations. ‘Bharti is adding close to a milion subscribers a month compared to 20,000 being added in Singapore in a quarter.’
Source- http://www.moneycontrol.com
Orascom says wants to buy Hutchison phone unit
SINGAPORE, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it wants to buy Hutchison Whampoa’s (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) emerging markets phone unit, or at least take a controlling stake in the firm.
Orascom bought a 19.3 percent stake in Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (2332.HK: Quote, Profile, Research)(HTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for $1.3 billion last December, obtaining exposure to Asian markets.
It now wants to take over the phone unit, or at least own a controlling stake in it.
“We are in constant talks on the price, to come to a price that is fair to both parties,” Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Egypt-based Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA: Quote, Profile, Research)(ORTEq.L: Quote, Profile, Research), told Reuters on the sidelines of a telecommunications conference in Singapore.
When asked what share he wanted to purchase, Sawiris said: “All of it,” adding “We want to at least get to a controlling stake.”
He declined to provide a timeline or the premium that he would be willing to pay for the shares.
Orascom has mobile phone subsidiaries in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan.
It operates GSM networks in Algeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and is traded on the Egyptian bourse and on the London Stock Exchange. The firm’s subscribers exceeded 30 million by the end of 2005.
Source- http://today.reuters.com
Wataniya Telecom reinforces Ericsson/Nokia partnerships
KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom, Kuwait Red Carpet Co announced yesterday that its customers will have wider access to its advanced broadband networks through the expansion of the deployment phase, all over Kuwait, of HSDPA functionality empowered by its leading partners, Ericsson and Nokia. This will secure higher speed audio and video streaming and the usage of sophisticated applications over the Wataniya network.
“Our customers are driving the evolution of our networks, demanding more advanced services”, said Harri Koponen, GM & CEO, Wataniya Telecom. “There’s a growing demand for mobile data services in Kuwait, so in order to serve our customers better we decided to expand our existing HSDPA network and extend the Red Carpet services to new areas”.
Under the agreement both Ericsson and Nokia will provide radio equipment and implementation services for the mobile internet (HSDPA) enabling Wataniya to introduce a new generation of mobile broadband services including high speed internet access.
Per Uppstorm, President, Ericsson Kuwait says: “Wataniya makes a very strong statement on the Kuwaiti market at a very exciting time in telecommunications history. HSDPA deployments are taking off around the world, and we are extremely pleased to power Wataniya’s HSDPA network”.
Approximately few months after the first deployment of HSDPA which has provided remarkable speed in audio and video streaming additional to internet access via W-net, the Wataniya internet card, Wataniya follows swiftly with a sizable expansion aiming at providing customers with unique experience of high speed downloads virtually from everywhere in Kuwait.
“Nokia’s simple HSDPA software upgrade enables Wataniya to offer their customers mobile broadband services cost-efficiently. We are committed to supporting Wataniya in introducing new services in Kuwait and providing them with Nokia’s end-to-end expertise ranging from network equipment and services to devices”, said Walid Moneimne, Senior Vice President, Networks, Nokia.
Wataniya customers will start reap up from the expansion of this remarkable solution soon through a rich portfolio of unprecedented services based on seamless speed level.
“Customer satisfaction is priority for us”, said Koponen. “We had made a commitment to deliver the latest technologies needed to deliver latest services. With both Ericsson’s and Nokia solutions in place, we’ll be able to consistently roll out services of the highest calibre to our customers, most suited to their requirements”.
About Wataniya Telecom
Launched in December 1999, Wataniya Telecom is positioned today the leading provider of mobile services in Kuwait and has been a driving force in increasing the mobile communications market penetration to over 90% percent of the population.
With operations in Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Maldives, Wataniya is actively expanding its presence within the region as well in Asia, serving over 6.3 million customers, in countries counted over 92 millions citizens in total.
The Company provides a wide range of leading EDGE wireless voice and data services delivered with high quality and designed to meet customer’s needs and requirements.
Source- http://www.kuwaittimes.net
Arab mobile provider, Nokia launches Sudan operations
Oct 5, 2006 (DUBAI) — i2, the largest and most diverse mobile provider in Africa and the Middle East announced today in a press briefing the launch of its operations in Sudan.
i2 introduces its retail concept and after sales services for the first time in the country.
i2 is the first authorized Nokia distributor and service center in the country as well as being the first to offer mobile subscribers original Nokia devices with matching accessories and a one-year warranty. In Sudan, i2 will be available through its showroom, distribution network and service center.
i2′s operation in Sudan will be managed by Mohamed Osman El Tayyeb, Chairman, and Hussein Raouf Atwi, General Manager.
i2 plans to expand its operation throughout Sudan within the year to include Bahri, Omdurman and Kalaka. i2 has opened a branch in the state of Adbara and plans to expand to Madani and Port Sudan.
Nokia has long recognized Africa as an important market for the company’s business. Since early 1990, Nokia has provided mobile phones, enhancement, telecoms networks and related infrastructure and services to operators and customers throughout Africa.
‘Nokia’s approach is to develop and support all local distributors and service partners in all countries. Nokia has been working closely with our regional distributor, i2 across most countries in the Middle East and Africa for many years now.
i2 will be able to offer Nokia’s customers authentic Nokia handsets and official Nokia Customer Care Services to ensure that customers in Sudan receive the best possible Nokia experience.” Said Jarmo Santala, General Manager for Nokia Customer and Market Operations North West Africa.
The cost effectiveness of GSM-based services in comparison to fixed-lines has encouraged the fast growth of mobile services in Africa. Nevertheless, mobile penetration levels in Africa remain low.
‘i2 has a big role to play in the development of the mobile market in Africa. We want to make sure that it’s growing market follows international standards of product quality and service’ stated Abdul Hameed Al Sunaid, President and CEO, i2.
Founded in 1993 in Saudi Arabia as Itsalat International, i2 is the region’s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider in the region. i2 operates in: Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Reunion, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and UK.
Source- http://www.sudantribune.com
UAE: Etisalat plans India move
Etisalat is looking to enter the Indian telecommunications market as a prelude to doing business in other Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Maldives and the Philippines, a senior executive said yesterday.
The Abu Dhabi-based com pany is “studying several offers” from Middle East and Asian companies to acquire more mobile licences, Chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran said yesterday.
Although it is currently focusing on speeding up the operation of the third mobile licence in Egypt, which it obtained recently, Etisalat is “making efforts” to enter other markets, Omran told Al Emarat Al Youm.
Etisalat also recently bought a controlling stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation, but lost the bidding for a 30 per cent stake in Tunisie Telecom in Tunisia.
“We are focused on the Egyptian market because it is an important market in the region, and one that is witnessing considerable growth. We will begin services on schedule in February 2007,” Omran said.
Observers say the Egypt licence witnessed strong competition between rivals, but Etisalat beat rivals from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Africa as well as Egypt, paying some $2.9 billion (Dh10.6bn) for the licence.
The company was earlier this month ranked sixth among 50 listed Arab companies by Forbes magazine. It took top spot in the UAE and fifth in the GCC, in the Shuaa Capital-Gulf Business report on the biggest GCC companies by market value in 2006.
Etisalat has been going global with a vengeance since it acquired the Mobily licence in Saudi Arabia for $2bn (Dh7.34bn).
In the race to acquire Telsim of Turkey, however, Etisalat’s bid of $2.51 billion (Dh9.2bn) was the lowest. Vodafone of the UK won the deal for $4.55bn (Dh17bn).
Source- http://www.zawya.com
Technorati : Etisalat, India, Maldives, Middle East, Mobile, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, UAE
Ice Rocket : Etisalat, India, Maldives, Middle East, Mobile, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, UAE
Vodafone, Sweden’s HIG3 join Iran’s intl. roaming network
TEHRAN – Vodafone from the UK and Sweden’s HI3G have been added to Iran’s international roaming list.
Subscribers to these mobile phone operators can use the services offered by the Mobile Company of Iran as of Monday September 18. Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21), 16 other foreign mobile phone operators, including companies from Bulgaria, Tunisia, China, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Luxembourg, Cyprus, and the Netherlands, joined Iran’s intl. roaming network. The list now includes more than 160 operators from 65 countries.
Source- http://www.zawya.com
Technorati : Iran, Mobile, Sweden, UK, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : Iran, Mobile, Sweden, UK, Vodafone
