2005
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Qatar cracks down on hackers
Qatar has established a cyber police force to tackle hackers and computer related crime, reported The Peninsula. The Q-Cert team will help the Internet community by building up cyber security expertise in the Gulf as a centre of excellence, said officials.
Mobile Arabic anti-virus
UAE-based Citi Telecommunications International and New Zealand-based SimWorks has developed the first bilingual English and Arabic version of a mobile phone antivirus software which does not need to run through a computer, reported Gulf News. The software costs $13.60 for a six month subscription.
20,000-km submarine cable opens
The laying of the SEA-ME-WE-4 high-capacity fibre-optic submarine cable spanning France to Singapore via the Middle East has been completed, according to statement by the consortium. The cable is the fourth in a series connecting three continents over a distance of almost 20,000 km with a capacity of 1.28 Terabits per second. Saudi Telecom, Telecom Egypt and Etisalat were three of the 16 partners involved in the project.
LG turns out new mobiles
LG Electronics has released two new mobile phones, the P7200 and S5200, both with full multimedia functions, 64 MB onboard memory and a 1000 entry phonebook. The P7200 comes with GPRS and EDGE technology for fast downloads of data, a 265 TFT LCD screen and MP3 player.
Symantec's protection solution
Symantec has released its Critical System Protection 5.0, a behaviour based intrusion prevention solution for multi-layered protection of servers running on Windows, UNIX and Linux platforms. The system helps prevent system downtime while protecting critical information assets.
UK MPs get i-mated
Dubai-based i-mate has been engaged to supply all members of the UK parliament with smart phones, according to CE Jim Morrison quoted in Emirates Today. All the devices are encrypted to prevent unauthorised access, and data is backed-up.
Celtel takes Madacom stake
MTC subsidiary Celtel International has acquired a majority stake in Madacom, a mobile telecom operator based in Madagascar. Madacom has a base of more than 200,000 users. MTC MD Dr Saad Hamad Al Barrak says MTC and Celtel's focus on emerging telecommunications markets in Africa is a key component of MTC Group's overall growth strategy.
E-mail kidnap hoax
An e-mail doing the rounds in Dubai warning parents about the threat of kidnapping at a major shopping mall has been branded a hoax by authorities, according to Gulf News. The message, which claimed a child was found disguised in a toilet stall at City Centre, was the same one which circulated about two years ago, and no such incident has ever occurred, said a Dubai Police official.
Iran to tender GSM services
The contract to operate GSM services in Iran is to be put to tender by the Iranian mobile operator IranCell, reported Tehran Times. The turnkey tender will include two phases: Base Transceiver Station systems; and Base Station Systems/Subsystems which includes the base station, base station controller and transcoders.
Jumbo offer for old laptops
The UAE's Jumbo Electronics is offering to pay up to Dhs2,500 for old laptops in part exchange for new ones in the week December 12-19. The old laptop must be Intel Pentium 3 or higher and one of these brands: HP, Compaq, Sony, Vaio, Acer, Fujitsu Siemens, Dell, IBM and Toshiba.
Omantel, $1.2bn cable deal
Omantel has inked a $1.2bn agreement with Pakistan's Trans World Associates to lay a submarine cable from Seeb to Karachi, reported The Times of Oman. The Seeb landing station will be upgraded to a multiple link hub and a main station for Falcon, FLAG and TWA.
DIFX signs Emirates Technologies
The Dubai International Financial Exchange has signed Emirates Technologies as its market data vendor. The firm wants to be the first to introduce trading for brokers on the DIFX market through mobile phones, and will also distribute DIFX market data via other channels.
e-hearing at Dubai courts
The Dubai Court's Department has started to implement a new electronic secretary programme that records proceedings into a computer, reported Gulf News. Officials said the system saved a lot of time because handwritten reports could often not be read clearly.
Inmarsat begins Bgan
Inmarsat has introduced its Broadband Global Area Network service in the Middle East after switching on the first phase of its long-awaited $1.5 billion satellite network. Bgan provides voice and broadband data services simultaneously at speeds of up to half a megabit per second.
Fastlink 2m subscribers
Jordan-based mobile operator Fastlink says it now has more than 2m subscribers, the result of a $100m investment and a two-year strategy. The Jordanian telecommunications market has become one of the most competitive in the region, with the rate of subscribers rising from 30% to 50% in 2005, according to CEO Mohammad Saqer.
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