2007
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Orascom eyes fixed line
Orascom Telecom is to bid for Egypt's second fixed line phone licence, which the government will put up for tender next year, reported Reuters citing the official Middle East News Agency. Orascom's Chairman Naguib Sawiris said his firm would 'compete strongly' for the licence which is also expected to attract a bid from Etisalat Egypt. The new licence will finally break Telecom Egypt's fixed line monopoly.
du opens new Dubai outlet
Telco firm du has opened a shop on the ground floor of Dubai's Mall of the Emirates not far from the Carrefour hypermarket. At present, there is a total of 13 du shops in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. A further outlet will open shortly on the ground floor of the Deira City Centre mall in Dubai.
Zain offers Bahrain WiMAX
Telco outfit Zain has launched what it claims is the world's first nationwide WiMAX network in Bahrain, called Zain@home. The wireless digital communications service offers customers 'double play', which comprises a fixed line voice service and high-speed Internet access, up to 2 Mbps, in one package. Zain@home is also nomadic, enabling customers to change address without changing phone numbers.
i2 seeks MVNO licence
Saudi Arabian mobile phone provider i2 is aiming to acquire a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licence in the Middle East region. MVNOs are mobile service providers that do not own a telecommunications infrastructure, such as towers and networks, but lease wireless capacity from operators that do. MVNOs act as fully-fledged mobile providers, offering customer support, value-added services and retail packages.
Qtel offers MobileCam
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has launched a new 3G MobileCam service, reported the Peninsula. The wireless camera can be accessed via 3G video calls from a subscriber's mobile phone and offers possible surveillance of a home or office. The MobileCam works with all post-paid and Hala pre-paid SIMs, although a special post-paid card, SimCam, is now available, costing QR100 as a connection fee and a monthly rental of QR30.
Warid chooses Motorola
Warid Telecom Uganda, part of Warid Telecom International which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Group, has chosen Motorola to design and deploy an 802.16e WiMAX network in Uganda. Initial deployment is due for completion by the end of 2007, thus enabling residential and enterprise voice and data connectivity services such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and virtual private network (VPN).
Acer teams up with Metra
Acer has signed a partnership agreement with Metra Computer, a Saudi Arabian IT distributor. Metra will distribute and provide technical support to Acer's commercial product line-up, including notebooks, desktop PCs, servers, projectors and selected monitor models. Metra will focus a lot of attention on the small and medium sized enterprise segment.
Turkcell bleak on Kuwait
Turkish telecommunications firm Turkcell has said it is not hopeful of winning the bid to secure a 26% stake in Kuwait's third mobile phone company, reported Reuters. Turkcell's CEO Sureyya Ciliv said his firm's chances were 'not very high' and described the Kuwaiti market as 'saturated'. Turkcell has been trying to expand its operations into the Middle East, eastern Europe and Asia but has been outbid on a number of occasions.
UAE investigates spam
Companies across the UAE are being investigated for allegedly spamming private mobile phone users with unwanted SMS text messages, reported Xpress weekly. A spokesman for the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said the probe is focusing on how private phone numbers were being accessed by banks, retailers, and other companies in the UAE.
Mena Telecom eyes mobile license
Mena Telecom, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House Bahrain, has revealed that it wants to apply for the third mobile license in Bahrain, reported Arab News. Abdulhakeem Al-Khayyat, chairman of Mena Telecom and general manager of KFHB, said obtaining the license is part of its strategy to enhance the business base of the company.
Omantel to acquire Worldcall
Omantel has announced that its company board has approved acquiring a majority share in Worldcall Limited, a Pakistan-based telecom company. No terms were released. Finalization of the deal is subject to the approval of Worldcall shareholders and the Pakistani regulatory authorities.
du targets labourers
du, the UAE's new telecom operator, is seeking to grow its subscriber base by targeting labourers, including making direct visits to worker camps, reported Gulf News. Ayman Eldessouky, du's executive director of consumer sales, said workers in labor camps are an 'overlooked and undervalued segment of the market.' He noted that while this group may not make many local calls, they do generate a lot of international calls.
Dubai Customs unveils e-clearance
Dubai Customs has created a new website that allows its registered portal users to gain online access to their 'Account Transaction Report.' The new service, available at www.dubaitrade.ae, will widen the electronic service base offered by Dubai Customs in order to provide a paperless working environment. Dubai Customs is expected to process 12 million electronic transactions by 2010.
Jafza adds Cisco as consultant
Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has appointed Cisco as its technology consultant to formulate the overall technology strategy for its $545m Convention Centre Complex. Using Cisco's Connected Real Estate framework, the complex will feature intelligent buildings and infrastructure components, offering value added services that are built on a converged IP network backbone.
Nokia opens Egypt office
Nokia, the global leader in mobile communications, has announced that it has opened its first office in Egypt to cover the North East Africa region. The office, which will be located in Cairo, will play a pivotal role in spreading mobility throughout the country, which has seen a 6 times increase in the number of mobile subscribers since 2001.
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