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AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, telecommunications briefs [AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates]
(AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 26--QTEL TO BE FINED OVER VIRGIN LAUNCH: Qatar's telecoms regulator, ictQATAR has said that Qtel faces an unspecified fine and possible further legal action over violations during its launch of Virgin Mobile services into the country, Reuters has reported. "Qtel should be compelled to pay an appropriate fine for its unlawful actions during the period from 13 to 18 May 2010 and has referred this matter to the Office of the Attorney General for assessment of an appropriate penalty," the regulator said in a public ruling. The ruling asked for changes in Virgin Mobile's launch by Qtel, but said that Virgin would not be a third operator.
UAE REGULATOR LOOKS INTO BLACKBERRY JURISDICTION: The UAE's telecoms regulator has said that the Blackberry, made by Canada's Research In Motion, operates beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation, and poses a risk to the country's national security, Wam has reported. "It is the only device operating in the country that immediately exports its data off-shore and is managed by a foreign, commercial organisation," the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) said. The country is working to find a solution that protects consumers and operates within the boundaries of UAE law, TRA said.
UAE'S MOBILE PHONE GROWTH MAY PEAK NEXT YEAR: A new report by Business Monitor International has found that growth of mobile handsets sales in the UAE could stall in 2011 when market saturation matures, Gulf News has reported. "The UAE's mobile sector is close to saturation with the official penetration rate one of the highest in the world," BMI's latest UAE Q2 2010 Telecoms Report said. With a stabilised penetration rate, the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country next year should be about 11.9 million compared to 7.2 million subscribers in 2007, the market research firm said. "People will not keep buying mobile devices. We think that in 2011 we will see a significant cooling in SIM growth," Rosalind Craven, BMI Senior Telecoms Analyst, told the daily. "New growth will come in value-added services. Anything that isn't a basic core service or SMS."
BATELCO EXPECTS 2010 PROFIT BELOW BD100M: Batelco expects its full-year net profit to be lower than BD100m ($265.3m), due to increased competition in Bahrain, Reuters has reported. "Below BD100m is the best I can offer now," chief executive, Peter Kaliaropoulos told a news conference in Manama. The telco's mobile market share in Bahrain is expected to further fall to about 47 percent at year-end, from the current 49 percent, he said. The company plans to make an acquisition worth about $1.5bn-$2bn in North Africa or Asia, he added, noting that there was little progress so far.
QTEL LAUNCHES RENUMBERING APPLICATION: Qtel has announced that it will make a renumbering application for mobile phones available free for all customers, in support of the national renumbering plan. The move is in line with ictQATAR's plan to ensure there is sufficient capacity, Qtel said. The application will automatically analyze and update all numbers stored in a mobile phone handset to support Qatar's new numbering plan. Local numbers will have an extra digit automatically added, while international numbers will remain unchanged. The number change is applicable from July 28.
SAUDI TELECOM PROFIT FALLS 31 percent: Saudi Telecom (STC) has posted a 31 percent drop in second-quarter net profit to SR2.06bn in the three months to end-June, down from SR2.99bn a year earlier, Reuters has reported. STC did not explain the annual drop in quarterly earnings, but said a 30 percent fall in net profit during the first half stemmed from higher costs linked to the usage of external networks, lower tariffs for international calls, and higher spending to deploy optic fibre.
VODAFONE QATAR LOSSES NARROW : Vodafone Qatar has said its net loss for the first quarter of 2010 narrowed to QR148.7m ($40.8m), down 5 percent from QR155.7min the previous quarter, Reuters has reported. The company posted quarterly revenue of QR175.8m, up 22 percent from the previous quarter. "We are right on the edge of profit now ... We see getting to EBITDA quite quickly, faster than we would normally experience because of the ability to draw on Vodafone Plc's global footprint," CEO Graham Maher said.
ETISALAT SET TO BUY RELIANCE STAKE: Etisalat is in talks to buy a 26 percent stake in India's second-largest mobile operator, Reliance Communications, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations. The alliance between the two groups could be completed as soon as mid-August, a source said, while another person said it could take up to the end of the year. The two firms are considering merging Reliance with Swan Telecom, the Indian company in which the Etisalat holds a 45 percent stake to overcome regulatory hurdles.
UAE CONSUMERS CONCERNED OVER MOBILE EMAIL DATA SAFETY: Two thirds of mobile users in the UAE have expressed their concern over the safety of their email data if stored by an independent organisation location outside the country, Wam has reported. A national survey that queried Blackberry subscribers in the country found that 58 percent of respondents would be worried if the mobile applications they used were out ofreach of the UAE court system.
ETISALAT REVEALS SECOND QUARTER PROFIT DROP : Etisalat has announced its second-quarter profit dropped 21 percent to Dhs1.9bn ($517m) compared to Dhs2.4bn in the same period last year. Net profit for the first six months stood at Dhs3.9bn compared to Dhs4.6bn recorded during the same period in 2009. Etisalat has 7.8 million mobile subscribers in the UAE, 1.28 million fixed-line subscribers and 1.39 million internet subscribers.
DU ANNOUNCES NEW WINDOWS BUSINESS OFFERING: Du has announced the launch of a new business mobile plan which includes bundled Windows handsets with benefits including unlimited internet and email. Business customers under the 'Smart Business Plan' will get a Windows phone in addition to features such as e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, and access to the web, mobile applications. Calendar and contacts, and complete Windows synchronization with the latest 6.5 mobile operating system from Microsoft will also be available in the deal.
ZAIN SAUDI'S Q2 REVENUES DOUBLED: Zain Saudi Arabia posted its lowest quarterly loss since it started operations two years ago, Reuters has reported. The firm made a net loss of 632 million riyals in the second quarter, down from 857 million riyals a year earlier. "The reason of the decrease in the second-quarter's net loss is the wider customer base which rose noticeably during the second quarter, exceeding 7 million customers," Saad al-Barrak, Zain Saudi's chief executive said in a statement. "The gross profit margin rose to 42 percent against 19 percent for the same period in the previous year," he said.
SAMSUNG WAVE, FIRST BADA SMARTPHONE, ON SALE: Samsung Electronics has unveiled the new Samsung S8500 Wave. The Wave is the first to use the company's new, open mobile platform, Samsung bada. The Samsung Wave offers a Super Amoled 3.3" display, a Social Hub, and TouchWiz 3.0 for an intuitive and customizable user interface, Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11n, in addition to support for DivX Xvid, MP4 and WMV playback, and support for virtual 5.1 surround sound delivery.
EGYPT GRANTS TELCO LICENCES: Egypt's National Telecoms Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has granted its approval to two consortia to provide cable, telephone and internet services to residential compounds in Cairo's suburbs and elsewhere, Reuters has reported. One group was led by LinkDotNet and included affiliates of Orascom Telecom, and the other included Vodafone, which runs one of Egypt's three mobile operators, Amr Badawi, the head of NTRA said.
PUMA PHONE LAUNCHED IN THE UAE: A new mobile handset developed by Sagem and sport lifestyle company Puma has been launched in the UAE by Al Sayegh Brothers. The Puma Phone features a 2.8 inch TFT touch screen, GPS, HSPA and W-CDMA/EDGE/GPRS/GSM connectivity, spin and scratch music player and integrated radio, solar charging, video calling and Bluetooth photo sharing.
MOBILY REVEALS 33.5 percent RISE IN Q2 NET PROFIT : Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has posted a 33.5 percent rise in second-quarter net profit to SR901m ($240m), on higher broadband revenue and more post-paid voice customers, Reuters has reported. This was Mobily's highest quarterly net profit since it started as Saudi Arabia's second mobile phone operator five years ago. Revenue rose 10.9 percent to SR3.97bn.
DU UNVEILS MICRO DATA SIM FOR IPAD: Du has launched a new smaller version of Data SIM for users of the new Apple iPad. The Micro Data SIM can also be used with the iPhone 4, which is soon to be released in the Middle East by Apple. The new SIM is available for both its pay as you go and monthly plan mobile customers and comes in a variety of data bundle rates.
EGYPT MOBILE MARKET NUMBERS UP 25 MILLION: According to Dataxis Intelligence, the Egyptian mobile market has registered over 25 million new subscribers during the last two years, representing a 79 percent uptake, 38 percent on a yearly basis and 9.5 percent quarterly growth on average. In March 2010, the number of mobile phone users stood at 57.6 million, bringing the penetration rate to more than 74 percent of the population, compared to just over 43 percent two years earlier. Mobinil controls half of the total subscribers, followed by Vodafone Egypt with 44 percent and Etisalat with the remaining 6 percent as a later market entrant.
DU OFFERS SMS TWITTER SERVICE: UAE telecoms firm Du has introduced a new service that will allow mobile users to Tweet on-the-go via SMS in the country and abroad. Twitter users will receive notifications totally free of charge and will be charged for outgoing SMS at regular rates.
NETWORK INTERNATIONAL SIGNS TELEPIN SOFTWARE AGREEMENT : Network International (NI) and Telepin Software have signed an agreement that will see NI use Telepin's Cayman Transaction Platform to extend the reach of its current products into the mobile recharge market. The deal allows mobile users to promptly top-up their accounts with pre-defined amounts. The firm plans to introduce additional services that will expand the range of its current products in the telecommunications sector.
To see more of the AME Info, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.ameinfo.com.
Copyright (c) 2010, AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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