MyAdhan Blog

Link: Ethiopians get texting in Amharic

A new range of mobile phones has just gone on sale in Ethiopia, with the onscreen menu in Amharic, and the ability to send SMS text messages in the Ge’ez script - used for Amharic and other languages in the region. This is something of a breakthrough in a country where until recently text messaging was not allowed in any language. As the clock approached midnight on the Ethiopian New Year’s Eve in September, just before the start of the year 2000 in the Ethiopian calendar, mobile phones across Addis Ababa started to bleep with the first text message their owners had received for two years. “I wish you Happy Ethiopian Millennium,” it read in English. “SMS service will be launched shortly.” And it was signed by the head of Ethiopian Telecom, the country’s one and only telephone operator.

Link: Qatar Telecom to bid for Lebanon telco stake

Another Link: Qatar Telecom says will bid for Lebanon telco stake

Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel) said on Wednesday it planned to bid for a stake in one of two Lebanese mobile phone firms as part of plans to expand in the Middle East and Asia. Lebanon expects to sell majority stakes in Alfa and MTC Touch in February and offer the rest to the public to raise as much as $7 billion, the country’s telecommunications minister said in October. “We will bid,” said Adel al-Mutawa, Qtel’s executive director for group communications. When asked which company Qtel would bid for, Mutawa said, “We are still evaluating.” “We’re looking at any opportunities for expansion in MENA and Asia and Lebanon is going to be the first potential market in the region,” he said, declining to give more details. Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) had said on Monday it was considering a bid to take over one of the firms. Lebanon wants to use the funds to pay off huge public debts. Any winning bid would have to get final approval from the country’s president, the telecommunications minister has said.

Link: Pakistan: Mobile phone subscribers expand to over 74 million

Mobile phones sector continued to exhibit robust growth this year as the total number of subscribers had reached 74.585 million by November 2007. In the month of November the mobile phones connection showed marvellous growth of 3.06m which seems the highest in a month so far. From July to November 2007, the cell phone operators have sold a total of 11.426 new connections. In June 2007, the total number of cell phone subscribers stood at 63.426 million that had expanded to 74.585 million by November this year. Keeping in view increase of 11.426 million in the number of mobile phone connections, it is believed that the cellular companies have paid more than 5.71 billion rupees to the government in the shape of activation tax which is Rs 500 per connection. Mobilink and Ufone continued to be the two market leaders with 29.784 million and 15.934 million subscribers, respectively by November 2007. Telenor has emerged as the third market leader with subscribers of 13.913 million. Warid customers stand at 12.845 million, the fourth major player out of total six players in the mobile phones market in the country.

Link: UAE: Mobile penetration will slow next year

Increase in the number of mobile phone subscribers in the UAE will slow to 10.2 per cent next year compared to the blazing growth of 29.5 per cent achieved in 2007, analysts said. This will be accomplished on the back of continuing population growth, investment bank EFG-Hermes said in the UAE Research Yearbook 2008 released last week. “With mobile and fixed-line penetration rates of 151 and 30 per cent, respectively, both the highest in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), we believe that population will be the main driver of telecommunications growth. We forecast the UAE’s population will grow at a 2007-2012 CAGR [compounded annual growth rate] of 7.3 per cent,” the bank’s analysts wrote in a report in the 2008 yearbook. The mobile penetration rate will continue to exceed the size of the addressable market over the next two years, then decline to a level equal to it. “We project that mobile phone subscriber additions will begin to slow, with the expanding population driving most of the growth. For 2008, we expect subscribers to grow by 10.2 per cent, up from the 6.7 per cent we had previously forecast. This is less than the 29.5 per cent growth that we expect for 2007.”

Link: Palestinians Get Cell Phone Network

Israel will allow the Palestinians to set up a new cell phone network, Israeli defense officials said, part of warming relations between the sides. Israel has four wireless networks, but the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have only one, which has operated since the 1990s with Israeli approval. Israel controls all frequencies for cell phones in the West Bank and Gaza. Since violence erupted between the sides in 2000, Israel’s defense ministry has turned down repeated Palestinian requests to establish a second network to meet growing demand, the Israeli officials said. Defense Minister Ehud Barak reversed that policy last week, the officials said Sunday, because Palestinians and Israelis are moving ahead with peace talks. Negotiations officially began last week in Jerusalem.

Link: UAE: Population boosts telco sector

A report by Egyptian bank EFG-Hermes has said the UAE’s rapidly expanding population will drive the growth of the telecommunications sector into next year and beyond, according to Gulf News. The bank expects the mobile segment to grow at a rate of 10.2% next year, down from this year’s estimate of 29.5%, while fixed line penetration, currently at 30%, will increase gradually over the next five years.

Link: MENA Internet/Mobile Use Report 2007

The UAE tops the Arab world in the number of internet users per every thousand users, but places second behind Bahrain in the use of cellular phone. It is also second behind Lebanon in the use of standard telephones (landlines), according to a 2005 statistics. A 2007/2008 human development report issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that the UAE tops all Arab countries in the area of world wide web access, with 308 users per every 1000 persons, Kuwait places second with 276 per 1000 persons, followed by Qatar with 269, then Bahrain with 213. Lebanon places at fifth position with 196 users per every 1000 persons, Oman at eighth position with 111 users and Saudi Arabia at 11th position with 70 users per every 1000 persons. On the use of cellular phones, Bahrain tops the Arab world with 1030 subscribers per every 1000 persons, the UAE follows at second position with 1000 subscribers, Kuwait at third position with 939 subscribers, followed by Qatar with 882 subscribers, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and other Oman trail with 575, 566 and 519 respectively.

Link: Oman: Simple SMS balance checks from Nawras Bank

Nawras has built its reputation for listening to customers and giving fantastic value with easy-to-use services that help people enjoy a great mobile experience. Nawras has now made it even simpler to check its Ajel balance details, offering a choice of convenient ways to do this and thus providing a paperless, environment-friendly way to do it. “We are dedicated to making all our mobile services as user-friendly as possible,” explained Nashat Al Riyami, Nawras product manager. “Customers are invited to check their balance or see when the last payment was made, by either sending a free SMS or logging onto MyNawras. It couldn’t be simpler. We know that customers want to keep a track of their account and want to access this information at will. So we have two easy ways to help them. Using a mobile handset to send an SMS or by accessing the Nawras website from a computer, customers can see their account details as often as they like, free of charge without using any paper,” Nashat added. SMS Bill is a free service which gives a clear summary of the last payment amount and when it was made. It also shows the outstanding bill amount together with the date on which it is due to be paid, and any unbilled current usage. Customers simply send a free SMS with the keyword Bill to the number 90506 and the account information will be sent to them by return SMS. Details can be requested and supplied either in Arabic or English according to the customers’ wishes.

Link: Pakistan: Mobilink to invest another $500 million in 2008: CEO

“Mobilink has invested over $2.5 billion in infrastructure, network rollout and the largest franchise, retail and customer services network across the nation. We plan to inject an additional $500 million in 2008 to meet the growing demands of our services and the needs of our customers,” said Zouhair A Khaliq, President and CEO of Mobilink in an exclusive interview to Daily Times. He further said that Mobilink has progressed from voice to carrier-class nationwide services by completing its own 6,500 kilometre redundant fibre optic backbone network across Pakistan. It now plans to provide high-speed data connectivity in the urban and rural sector of Pakistan through WiMax services. Being a developing country, the expansion of broadband networks and services is of high importance to the Pakistani economy. Broadband connections in the country currently stand at around 0.1 million. With the population figure at over 165 million, this will clearly place Pakistan’s economic development into the next stages of progress.

Link: UAE’s Etisalat considers bid for Lebanese telco

Emirates Telecommunications Corp ETEL.AD (Etisalat) said on Monday it was considering a bid to take over one of two Lebanese mobile phone firms that the government has said it wants to sell for as much as $7 billion. Etisalat, the second-largest publicly traded Arab telecom firm, would decide on whether to compete for Alfa or MTC Touch by the end of next month, Jamal al-Jarwan, chief executive of Etisalat International Investments, said. “We will decide by the end of January whether to bid, after completing our study of the market and valuations of the companies,” Jarwan told Reuters. “Right now, we are studying the market, looking at what the business drivers are and what the growth prospects are,” he said. Lebanon expects to sell majority stakes in two state mobile phone firms in February and offer the rest to the public to raise as much as $7 billion, the country’s telecommunications minister said in October.