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Etisalat launches Ramadan promotion
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has launched its '24 Millionaires' promotion for its customers in the holy month of Ramadan. Two customers, recharging their Wasel accounts during the promotion, will be selected every week to win Dhs2m, through an electronic raffle draw, Etisalat has said. Additionally, customers will also benefit from additional free credit on each Wasel recharge that can be used for all local & international calls and SMS. The offer will start on Saturday August 22 and will continue until November 14, 2009.
UAE most connected Middle East country
The UAE is the most connected country in the Middle East, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in terms of the mass adoption of telco services. According to the results of the Arab Advisors Group's annual Total Country Connectivity Measure, mobile services led the way, although broadband adoption also registered positive growth. Only four of the 19 countries covered in the study had a total country connectivity measure of above 200%, with Qatar joining the top three.
Reliance in Zain Africa talks
India's second largest mobile operator, Reliance Communications has started talks to buy Zain's African operations, Reuters has reported citing two banking sources. The assets could fetch a price of about $10bn, according to The Times of India newspaper. Reliance may also face competition from firms such as Etisalat which has expressed interest in taking a majority stake in Zain, according to the head of its international unit. Zain plans to use the money to lower its debt and roll out 3G networks in the Gulf region.
Beecell signs Disney deal
Jordan-based Beecell, a regional mobile value added services solution provider, has announced the signing of an agreement with Disney Interactive Studios, to distribute content to customers' mobile handsets in the Mena region in cooperation with GSM operators in the region. The new agreement will allow Beecell to distribute a variety of Disney mobile content, including ring tones, ring back tones, wallpapers, animations, themes, Java-based games, and video clips.
JTG wins Jordan 3G licence
Jordan's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has granted a licence to the Jordan Telecom Group (JTG) to introduce Third Generation (3G) services in the kingdom as its offer had met the commission's criteria, after rejecting an offer by Zain which had asked for more incentives and exemptions, the Jordan Times has reported. The service is expected to be introduced in six months as the JTG already has the required infrastructure. Other mobile operators will be allowed to introduce the service after one year of exclusivity to the JTG, provided that they meet the same conditions set in the tender at hand, TRC has said. JTG obtained the licence for a 10MHz spectrum in return for JD50m.
Zain calls for stake size vote
Zain has said that it would ask shareholders to vote on cancelling an article of company regulations that prevents any investor from subscribing for more than 1,000 shares, or holding more than 2% of the firm's capital, Reuters has reported. The proposed change, subject to a vote on August 31, would also allow local shareholder firms to own stakes higher than 5%. Last week, al-Rai newspaper, citing unidentified sources, had said that Zain's largest shareholders were in talks with a major Asian telecoms group to sell more than 40% of the firm.
Qtel Q2 profits up
Qatar Telecom, which provides phone services from North Africa to Asia, has reported a 58.5% surge in Q2 profits as revenue jumped, Bloomberg has reported. Net income increased to QR1.04bn ($286.8m) from QR658.5m in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 30% to QR5.93bn.
Nawras brings in self-service machines
Oman's communications provider Nawras, a Qtel Group company, has introduced new self service machines in additional locations for its 1.6 million customers across the Sultanate. A total of 50 machines providing quick bill payment for Nawras Ajel customers, as well as a fast way for Nawras Mousbak customers to recharge, will be available by the end of August, the company has said.
Wataniya posts increased profits
Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications Co. (Wataniya) has said that its second-quarter profit more than doubled to KD63.5m ($221m) from KD26.5m in the year-earlier period, Bloomberg has reported. The company has also posted an 85% rise in profit in the first half of the year to KD78.8m.
Qtel announces Ramadan MMS rates
Qatar Telecommunication (Qtel) has announced a special rate its MMS service for the Holy Month of Ramadan. The company's customers are now able to send greetings and wishes to over 700 mobile operators globally and locally in Qatar for only QR 0.90. The Ramadan offer is set to run from August 16 through to October10.
Telecom Egypt names new CEO
Telecom Egypt's Board of Directors has appointed Tarek Tantawy as the new Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Tantawy has held the role of Vice President & Chief Financial Officer since 2007 and was appointed to the Board of Directors effective 12 August 2009. He has been with Telecom Egypt since 2002. Eng. Akil Beshir will step down as CEO, but retain a Board position as the company's Non-Executive Chairman.
Microsoft and Nokia sign Office deal
Microsoft and Nokia have signed a deal that will see the software developer's Office products on Nokia smartphones. It covers Office Mobile and Microsoft business communications, collaboration and device management software, for use on rival mobile operating system Symbian, which runs on Nokia devices. Initially, it will run on Nokia E Series phones. It means Microsoft's products will be available to a wider market than handsets running its Windows Mobile operating system. Next year, Nokia plans to ship Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, with more Office applications following later.
Egypt mobile users numbers up
Egypt's Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre has said that the number of mobile subscribers in Egypt rose by more than 1.5 million to 48.311 million at the end of June compared with 46.659 million at the end of May, Reuters has reported. The country had 41.272 million subscribers at the start of the year, the centre has said.
Qtel buys Liberty stake
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has said it has acquired 32% of Philippines-based Liberty Telecommunications for $29m, Reuters has reported. The acquisition was made in partnership with Philippine diversifying food and beverage giant San Miguel. The deal is in line with the partnership agreement signed between San Miguel and Qtel in December 2008, which aims to look into opportunities in the wireless broadband and mobile businesses in the Philippines. Ramon Ang, chairman of Liberty and president of San Miguel, had said that Qatar Telecom was the buyer of two blocks of Liberty shares worth $29m in the stock market on August 10.
Zain KSA holds Murabaha closing
Zain Saudi Arabia, has said that it has held the closing for a $2.5bn Murabaha financing facility, which will be used to repay its existing Murabaha, facilitating the mobile telecom operation's ongoing network expansion and future growth. The term of the facility is two years with options of extending for a further twelve months.
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