2006
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UAE to lift VoIP ban
The UAE will lift its controversial ban on Voice over Internet Telephony from December, Gulf News reports, citing Reuters Arabic and Al-bayan. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority officials were quoted as saying in the reports that a ban would be lifted to allow licenced operators Du and Etisalat to use the technology, and that the TRA would publish call rates during this year's Gitex expo in November.
Nokia, Rotana music deal
Users of select Nokia phones will have access to a vast library of Arabic music, following a deal between the mobile phone maker and Rotana, Emirates Today reports. The Rotana application will be embedded in new Nokia N3250 and N91 phones. The software can also be downloaded from the Rotana website. The service will be expanded to other models in the future.
Qtel prepares for monopoly end
Qtel is looking to expand its operations abroad ahead of the imminent loss of its home monopoly, which could come in 2007, The Peninsula reported. The telco says it will either acquire stakes in existing state-run operators or new licences in Muslim countries. A senior official said deals had been done and will soon be approved. Details were not disclosed.
ADDMA, Injazat deal
The Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Agriculture has signed a ten-year contract with Injazat Data System to manage its integrated IT services, WAM reports. Injazat will provide services and applications, and manage new projects and infrastructure. ADDMA and IDS earlier signed an MoU for a strategic partnership.
Siemens sets up Omani company
Siemens has set up a new regional company which will operate out of Oman. Siemens LLC was formed as a joint venture with local firm Waleed and Associates. Siemens has been active in Oman for over 30 years, and says the local market is poised for a major expansion drive. The company built the country's first GSM network in 1996.
Etisalat moves on NGN
Etisalat says 50% of its network will be 'next generation' by the end of 2007, and 90% by the end of 2009, WAM reported. The system will accommodate voice, data and entertainment features through a single source.
Bahrain blocks leading sites
Bahrain's Ministry of Information has blocked Middle East news portal Albawaba.com, as well as Bahrain's leading English-language blog, Mahmood.tv. They were among several sites listed for blocking, including two Arab Christian websites and a Kurdish independence site. Bahrain came 111th out of 168 countries in Reporters Sans Frontieres' latest press freedom ranking.
du invests nearly $90m
du has reported a net pre-operating cost of $53.5m for Q3, bringing the total net pre-operating investment to $89.5m since December 28 last year. du is currently completing its mobile telecommunications infrastructure and will offer mobile services across the UAE towards the end of the year.
Efonica VoIP for Jordan
Fusion has revealed that its Efonica VoIP products and services will soon be available in Jordan, following the creation of Fusion Jordan. Fusion has signed an agreement to secure the use of a licence to offer a full suite of Efonica VoIP services throughout the kingdom. Fusion is keen to expand in Jordan where Internet use has increased by 400% over the past five years.
Batelco, pre-paid promotion
Batelco is launching a pre-paid mobile promotion starting November 1 and running until December 30. The promotion will include eight weekly raffles entitling 25 winners every week to win a BD25 credit voucher plus one year subscription; all new pre-paid mobile customers will be entered into the raffles. Meanwhile, all mobile customers are automatically entered each month into a draw in which they could win an Audi car.
Sony aims for $300m in UAE
Sony's revenue in the UAE this year is likely to reach around $300m according to Masura Tamagawa, the MD of Sony Gulf and cited in Emirates Today. He added that the company will sell around 100,000 LCD TVs in the region this year and the figure could double in 2007. Sony's Middle East business is now worth around $1bn.
Sage sets up in Saudi
Sage Software has established a base in Riyadh as part of its new Saudi Arabian operation. Marc Van der Ven, the Managing Director of Sage Software Middle East said the move will allow the firm to be closer to its business partners and provide them with marketing, technical support and training. Sage has business partners in all major cities in the kingdom and has aggressive expansion plans.
Batelco outage, November 4
Batelco has warned its customers to expect a service outage on November 4 for up to eight hours between 10am and 6pm while a faulty cable between Mumbai and Suez is repaired, reported TradeArabia. Batelco had previously announced that the disruption would last six days from November 1. The outage will affect those using pre-paid cards and making international calls via fixed lines; Internet services will also be hit.
Jordan, Egypt telco tie-up
The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Jordan and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt are to sign an agreement. The purpose of the tie-up is to develop co-operation, exchange experiences, knowledge and information in ICT. It will be valid for an initial period of one year and is renewable.
New routing system for STC
Cisco Systems has completed building a new data routing system for the Saudi Telecommunications Company, with the aim of upgrading its main public data network to provide an increased range of services. STC has completed deploying nine units of the new Cisco Routing System-1 platform at all core points of presence across the kingdom, interconnected by wide area network links. The units were introduced to satisfy increasing demand on DSL lines.
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