Saudi telcos to merge towers and (probably) sell to IHS
Saudi Arabian operators Mobily and Zain have received the green light from the country’s telecom regulator for a plan to merge their towers assets and seek external investment.
Saudi Arabian operators Mobily and Zain have received the green light from the country’s telecom regulator for a plan to merge their towers assets and seek external investment.
Saudi Arabian operator Zain is going big on fixed wireless access for its broadband customers and is using Nokia kit to get the job done.
Kit vendor Nokia has announced Zain KSA is all-in with Nokia’s 5G portfolio, while China Mobile is using its new massive MIMO gear.
Zain Kuwait is conducting a major digital transformation project for the utilities sector and has asked Ericsson to join the party.
Nokia has concluded a productive trip to the Middle East with a couple of freshly-signed memoranda of understanding, inevitably covering 5G and IoT.
A panel discussion featuring EE, Vodafone and Zain discussed the future of LTE networks, including monetising the network and NFV, at LTE World Summit in Amsterdam.
Mobile operator groups serving the Middle East and Africa have agreed to cooperate on network infrastructure sharing initiatives in an effort to provide mobile broadband access to unserved rural communities in the region. The operators also intend to drive down the cost of mobile services for consumers across the regions.
Middle East operator group Zain has called on kit vendor Ericsson to manage, plan and optimise its network in Bahrain. The four year managed services deal will result in improved network stability and quality for the operator, said Ericsson.
In a move to capitalise on the mounting opportunity in the Middle East operator groups Zain and Vodafone have announced a partnership to enhance each other’s footprint in the region.
Kuwait-based operator Zain on Tuesday reported a seven per cent year on year increase in net income for the first nine months of 2011, to reach $762.5m, supported by a 2.2 per cent increase in revenues to reach $3.6bn.
An increasingly bitter war between Kenyan operators Safaricom and Airtel has spilled into the country’s mobile number portability (MNP) space. Barely two weeks after the country introduced MNP, a war of words has broken out between the two telcos, with each accusing the other of sabotage and the use of nefarious tactics to prevent subscribers from switching providers.
UAE operator Etisalat has officially called an end to its talks with Zain, despite the fact that the latter may have found a buyer for its Saudi unit.
The on again off again sale of Zain’s Saudi Arabian operation looked a bit more solid on Tuesday, when the Kuwait-headquartered carrier accepted an offer, from a joint venture made up of Bahrain’s Batelco and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company (KHC).
India-based Bharti Airtel, the new owner of Zain’s African assets has begun the re-branding process across the 16 operations in the region.
UAE operator Etisalat’s offer for a 46 per cent stake in Zain is a move that makes a lot of sense in terms of advancing Etisalat’s own expansion plans, according to analysts at Informa Telecoms & Media.
UAE operator Etisalat is reportedly negotiating for a 46 per cent stake in Kuwaiti operator Zain, in a deal that would be worth $10.5bn.
Egyptian carrier Orascom, run by billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris, said this week that it has called off discussions with regional powerhouse MTN.
US vendor Motorola said this week that it has scored a contract with Zain Kuwait, to operate and manage the carrier’s 3G network.
Distribution is one of the most important and yet overlooked factors determining success or failure in the African mobile market.
It is inevitable that the African market will go through a period of consolidation. Governments have distributed new mobile licenses liberally and profited as a result. So too have the consumers in most markets. Competition has led to a greater choice of provider and lower pricing, although not necessarily high quality.
The Telecom and Communications Services Provider Data Imperative https://t.co/airwdxSWly #Aerospike #CSPs
16 April 2021 @ 14:51:02 UTC
Global smartphone revenues forecast for fastest growth in six years https://t.co/ljgxknnxZK #5G #Components
16 April 2021 @ 11:24:04 UTC
US escalates its anti-Big Tech crusade https://t.co/jUXpYX5tZ9 #DigitalEconomy #Law
16 April 2021 @ 11:24:03 UTC