Morocco plans 4G licence auction in 2012 (Morocco)
Morocco will launch a tender in the autumn to sell 4G licences in a move that may allow the entry of a fourth operator to the market, according to a report by Reuters.
As per the report, Azdine el-Mountassir Billah, head of the Telecommunication Regulatory National Agency (ANRT), said that the regulator plans to launch an international tender for 4G licences in fall, 2012.
He added that ANRT plans to award the licences at the start of 2013 and expects they will be operational by the end of that year at the earliest.
Morocco’s telecommunications market is dominated by Vivendi’s Maroc Telecom, France Telecom’s affiliate Meditelecom and Wana, owned by a holding controlled by the Moroccan monarchy and Kuwait’s Zain.
The report revealed that while mobile penetration hovers around 110 percent of the 33 million population, Internet subscribers reached only 3.2 million by the end of 2011, rising 70 percent from the previous year, as per ANRT data.
Econet seeks damages worth US$ 3.1 billion from Bharti Airtel (Africa, India)
Econet Wireless has reportedly initiated legal action against Indian telecom major, Bharti Airtel, claiming damages worth US$ 3.1 billion, over ownership issues in Airtel Nigeria.
In the previous month, a judgement by a Nigerian court claimed that Bharti Airtel’s ownership of its subsidiary Airtel Nigeria is null and void because co-founder and 5 percent shareholder Econet was not consulted on the transfer, according to a report by Reuters.
As per the report, Bharti said last month that its stake in its Nigerian unit was completely safe and that the world’s fifth-biggest mobile phone carrier by subscribers had appealed against the verdict.
The document filed in the court states that the claim for damages and equitable compensation against the Applicant and some of the Respondents might be in excess of $3 Billion. The above estimated damages might also be in addition to a claim for $100 Million received by the Applicant as fees for the management of VNL (Vee Networks Limited, a former name of Airtel) for a period of 6 years which sum should have accrued.
The report reveals that Econet has claimed that its 5 percent stake was unfairly cancelled when Zain took control, so any decision made since then without it, including the transfer to Bharti, is void.
The Nigerian court has ruled in favour of the claim.
Mobile operators shift focus towards rural markets (Nigeria)
With the increase in saturation of mobile services in urban markets across the world, mobile operators have shifted their focus to towards the relatively untapped rural markets for better business opportunities and a chance at increasing revenues.
According to reports, industry analysts predict Nigeria the largest mobile market in the continent, to be home to over 90 million subscribers by this year end. Further, improvements in broadband connectivity along with the emergence of new generation smartphones are expected to drive mobile data growth in the economy.
In most rural economies, the lack of adequate infrastructure has been a grave cause of concern for mobile operators as it reduces their profits and drives up costs for customers. Currently, industry reports suggest that a fully functioning network grid could help operators cut their mobile tariffs by 50 percent, which is higher than those being offered in developed countries.
Changes have been observed in the investment environment as well. With operators offering discounted services to low income users in order to expand their reach, the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) has witnessed a decline. Bharti Airtel, which had acquired Africa’s Zain, slashed its prices by significant amounts in a bid to increase its market share, which increased the pressure across the industry. Further, sources reveal that Etisalat (Saudi Arabia) and Globacom have also been increasingly gaining customers, giving strong competition to market leader MTN.
The next big thing in the economy is being considered to be mobile banking services. With a large portion of the population being unbanked but gaining access to mobile devices, more and more consumers are using their phone to transfer money and pay for goods, in a more convenient and secure manner.
Zain signs network outsourcing deal with Ericsson (Middle East)
Zain, a leading telecom operator in the Middle East, has reportedly signed a network outsourcing deal with Sweden based Ericsson worth $650 million, in an attempt to improve the quality of its network.
According to reports, under the five year deal, Ericsson will manage Zain Iraq’s mobile network and IT operations and is the next step towards the operator launching third generation (3G) services. Further, Zain has reportedly said that the agreement covers Zain Iraq’s 3,700 network sites, including the Kurdish north where the operator recently launched commercial services, and will enable it to reduce operating costs and bring products and services to market quicker.
The operator claims that this agreement is a significant deal for Zain as it is expected to enhance the company’s competitiveness in the Iraqi market.
Mobile operators in Iraq prepare for the IPO process (Iraq)
Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission has reportedly asked the country’s three operators, Zain Iraq, Asiacell and Korek to offer a quarter of their shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange by August 2012. As per industry sources, the IPO (Initial Public Offering) process could raise over US$ 3 billion for the three operators and if successful, could also double the size of the country’s stock market to $ 8 billion.
However, sources claim that concerns have been raised over the ability of the domestic investors to carry the expected size of the flotation given the challenging capital markets elsewhere in the world. According to reports, in an attempt to increase the shareholder base, banks are considering bringing in international investors along with the domestic investors.
As per sources, the banks chosen for the process include Citigroup, BNP Paribas and NBK for Zain Iraq; HSBC and Morgan Stanley for Asiacell while Korek is yet to finalise its advisors for the deal.
Airtel Money to enhance mobile banking services for Airtel customers (Ghana)
Airtel Ghana has launched Airtel Money, allowing customers to use their mobile handset in place of their wallet. As per reports, Mr Luck Ochieng, Sales Director, Airtel Ghana has said that this innovative mobile service would help customers to overcome many challenges that they go through when transacting business in their daily lives. He added that the company’s objective was to make communications, banking, payments, retail, and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa, especially in Ghana through Air Money. He said the company had enhanced public safety by initiating a ‘cashless society’ where one could make direct purchases with e-money instead of the actual exchange of cash from one source to another.
Mr. Emmanuel Kola, Head of Airtel Money, has reportedly said that the service was in partnership with Ecobank, Standard Chartered Bank and Zenith Bank and assured customers their money would be safe through that facility. He added that after successful registration, a customer could access the service with their pin numbers with which they could access their bank accounts. This service also allows users to transfer money from the phone to their bank account and vice versa.
Zain Saudi shares dip as sale of its stake fails (Saudi Arabia)
Kingdom Holding Co. and Bahrain based Batelco had planned to acquire a quarter of Zain Saudi for $950 million, but have now dropped the idea saying that terms of the deal were not met. Following the failure of this deal, Zain Saudi seeks to go ahead with a multibillion dollar capital restructuring.
The firm has accumulated losses of about $2.3 billion and has to cut its capital in order to comply with Saudi Arabia bourse rules. As per reports, Zain Saudi Chairman, Prince Hussam Bin Saud has said that they expect to achieve high growth levels and turn into profit as soon as the period for capital restructuring is completed, which is expect to speed up after the failure of the deal to sell Zain Kuwait’s share.
As per reports, industry analysts say Zain Saudi’s $6.1 billion license fee has left it short of cash and struggling to compete in Saudi’s Arabia’s saturated mobile market. The shares dropped by 4.8 percent reporting the largest intraday loss since August 6, and traded down 3.2 percent at $ 1.61 in Riyadh.
Zain expands Iraqi Network into Kurdistan (Iraq)
Zain’s Iraq subsidiary has announced that it is expanding its network to the governorates of the Kurdistan region in the north of the country. This expansion is the first phase of the company’s plan to cover all areas in the Northern provinces.
The second phase will see coverage extend to remote villages and roads in the north leading to complete coverage of the country. Furthermore, Zain will now include Kurdish alongside Arabic and English as its local languages.
According to Zain Iraq CEO, Emad Makiya, the coverage of Kurdistan will not only be welcomed by the local population, it will play key role in spurring business and accelerate the pace of construction and reconstruction. Only the oil industry has invested more in the region and this surely must demonstrate our commitment to playing a key role in the rehabilitation of this great nation. The company stated that that recently increased security and stability has meant that the company can now expand and improve its network.
In Kurdistan, Zain has established points of sale and has trained local employees to meet the high standards expected from its staff. It has also prepared a broad CSR program to support civil society institutions in the region and is looking forward to being a model corporate citizen in the community.
