MyAdhan Blog

Link: Bangladesh cellphone users reach 40.34 million in April

Bangladesh’s six mobile phone operators added 1.41 million new subscribers in April, lifting the user base to 40.34 million, the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission data showed on Thursday. The number of mobile users rose nearly 58 percent in 2007 to 34.4 million, the telecoms regulator said, helped by competitive tariffs and cheap handsets. The government introduced on Thursday mobile phone networks in the three south-eastern hill districts, which had been barred for security concerns. Several market surveys have forecast the number of mobile phone users will be around 70 million at the end of 2011. Top mobile phone company Grameenphone, majority owned by Norway’s Telenor, has raised its subscriber base to 18.60 million in April from 17.81 million a month ago. Second player Egyptian Orascom Telecom’s Banglalink saw its customer base grow by 330,000 to 8.64 million in April. Aktel, majority owned by Telekom Malaysia International, added 120,000 users in April, taking its user base to 7.57 million. Warid Telecom International of the United Arab Emirates, which launched Bangladesh operations in May 2007, ended April with 2.93 million from 2.79 million in March. CityCell, a joint venture between Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited and Singapore Telecommunication, grew to 1.60 million users in April from 1.56 million in March.

Link: How the Internet is challenging Egypt’s government

Although the general strikes of April 6 and May 4 drew limited public participation, they have revealed an important new political phenomenon in Egypt: political mobilization by young, second-generation internet users via blogs, YouTube, and Facebook. After two years of intensive government efforts to outmaneuver the opposition, this mobilization caught the regime flat-footed. It highlighted the possible role of interactive non-traditional media in bringing about political change in Egypt, just as the government’s heavy-handed response to the strikes revealed its failure to find new forms of political control aside from the usual repression by the security apparatus. The growing role of non-traditional media has pushed the state to try to curb them through various mechanisms. Several bloggers have been arrested, including Moneim Mahmoud (editor of the Ana Ikhwan or “I am Brotherhood” blog). Isra Abdel Fattah, who started a Facebook group calling for Egyptians to join the April 6 strike (over 74,000 joined), was also arrested and held for 16 days. The blogger Wael Abbas (editor of the Al-Wai al-Misri, or “Egyptian Awareness” blog) has been vilified in the government media due to his success in documenting Egyptian police brutality inside detention centers in video clips he posted on YouTube. And in February 2007, blogger Karim Amer was sentenced to four years in prison in 2007 for criticizing President Hosni Mubarak and religious institutions. In the past few years, bloggers and other internet users have played several different roles in Egyptian politics. First, internet users have voiced direct criticism of Mubarak’s regime. For example, bloggers went beyond criticizing the amended Article 76 of the Constitution, which regulates the process for presidential elections, and mobilized to record the flagrant abuses that tarnished the popular referendum on the amendment in May 2005, notably the sexual harassment of female journalists. The bloggers also stood in solidarity with the reformist judges who were subject to systematic attacks by circles close to the regime. Bloggers have played a crucial role in uncovering abuses by institutions loyal to the regime. The spread of mobile-phone video technology enabled bloggers to reveal incidents of torture in a number of detention centers, incidents that later became legal cases before the courts. Such efforts built bridges between bloggers and domestic human rights groups; some blogs now systematically map detention facilities in which officers commonly physically abuse detainees. The political opposition has used bloggers’ documentation to attack the regime for its use of torture not only as a means of suppressing political opposition but also in controlling political and social mobility.
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Link: Du admits 20% of subscribers inactive

More than 20 percent of Du’s mobile subscribers are not active. According to the company, the total number of mobile customers as of March 31, 2008 is around 1.7 m, out of which 354,000 subscribers have not made a call, sent an SMS or MMS during the three months’ period since they got the subscription. According to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, any mobile customer who has made a call or sent an SMS or MMS, or received a call within the last 90 days is considered an ‘active subscriber’. Du is hoping this act of transparency will help win favour for the brand and prove there are people who really use their Du subscriptions (it means 1.35m subscribers are active). Thanks to giveaway promotions many UAE phone users have signed up for Du account, but continue to use their Etisalat number, keeping the Du number for visitors. Du released the active subscribers’ numbers along with its first quarter results. The company, which is still in red, has reported revenues for the quarter ending March this year of around $20m, an increase of 18 per cent over the previous quarter and 313 percent growth compared with the 2007. The overall results of the company for the quarter was a loss of around $16m compared with a loss of $40m incurred in the fourth quarter last year. Du, which invested around $133m last year, recently signed an agreement to build a direct, high-bandwidth submarine cable system from the United Kingdom to India. The Europe India Gateway cable system, which will cost more than $700m, is targeted to be operational in second quarter of 2010 and will connect 13 countries including Portugal, France, Oman and UAE. Etisalat, Du’s only competitor, claims to have 63m subscribers around the world out of which 6.4m are in the UAE, and announced this year that the number of its active subscribers has grown by 103 percent compared to 2006. Being the largest and oldest telecom operator in the region, the company perhaps, is not pressurised to be as transparent with its details as Du.

Link: Kuwait: Zain, Melody, and Hezbollah

About two or three decades ago states were the only main players in this region, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, etc, provided almost all the common goods to the Arab population, states built schools, hospitals, power plants, phone lines, telecommunication networks, and operated TV stations. A complex and interfering role that no state should continue to play in this era of globalization and open transnational interactions, in this era states are not expected to provide us with mobile service or musical video clips. And thus we have been witnessing a proliferation of non-state regional actors to fill the vacuum of serving people’s needs, tastes, and feelings. Now you have Zain a multi-national telecommunication corporation providing mobile service in twenty-two countries in the Middle East and Africa, and you have Melody, which is, sadly, defining the musical taste of Arab teenagers. This is just fine and even healthy developments in our region, the problem though that states are also losing their exclusive rights of providing security for their people against external threats and giving them a sense of confidence and pride in the face of their enemies and supposed enemies, just like Zain and Melody have come to fill the telecommunication and musical vacuum, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah are attempting to fill the security-against-external threats vacuum and give people of the region that sense of confidence and pride in the face of their enemies, and supposed enemies. The legitimacy of the state among Arabs is far from divine, if states do not provide them with what they want, Arabs are ready to listen to anyone, a religious leader, a tribal Sheikh, an army officer, or a leader of a militant group. Now, Nasrallah promises Muslims all over the world pride through humiliating Israel, something he did before and something that no Arab state or collection of Arab states can do, on the other hand you have Al-Hariri with gel on his hair and nice suit talking about the legitimacy of the state and its institutions…
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Link: Mid East ‘virtual’ mobile business worth $5 billion

The Middle East could witness a virtual revolution worth $5 billion, which due to increased competition, could bring down the cost of making mobile phone calls throughout the region, according to industry experts. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) – which provide mobile services to their consumers over the existing infrastructure of licensed operators - have already dramatically changed the telecom landscape in Europe, the US and parts of Asia. “Now the first MVNOs are being established in the Middle East, putting pressure on regional telecom regulators to open up the market to competition,” said David Hirst, Director of MECOM 2008, the Middle East Communications Exhibition and Conference, taking place from May 26-28 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. MVNOs don’t own the infrastructure but buy bulk time at a discounted rate from licensed mobile network operators and resell to their customers with additional services. One of the best known is Virgin Mobile which operates in six countries, including the UK, the US and South Africa. For the licensed operator, selling minutes wholesale to a consumer brand with its own marketing budget means it gets new subscribers at no cost and without losing control of the infrastructure. There are now more than 300 MVNOs across the world and, in some countries their numbers vastly exceed licensed network operators. For example in the US there are 60 MVNOs but only 13 licensed operators. In the UK there are 25 with only five network operators. India is expected to give the green light to virtual networks soon with Tata Teleservices in a franchise deal with Virgin Mobile. “The first country in the region to establish a legal framework for MVNOs was Jordan with Saudi Arabia’s i2 announcing operations recently,” said Hirst. “Many in the industry are now waiting to see which of the Arabian Gulf countries – with their high mobile penetration rates - will take a lead and introduce this trend-setting business model.” The total value of the virtual mobile business opportunity in the Middle East region alone could be close to $5 billion, a figure that is attracting a lot of interest from investors, according to Dubai-based advisory firm Delta Partners in a report - MVNOs in the Middle East: Threat or Opportunity? - and a participant in MECOM 2008.
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Link: Orascom Telecom posts strong results in Asia

Orascom Telecom the parent company of Mobilink has posted impressive Q1- 08 results sustaining its business growth in the Asia region due to sustainable performance by Mobilink in a challenging business environment. The Egyptian telecom company, a leading player in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh regions, posted a strong set of Q1 results with its top line growing 22% reaching $1,295 million. At the EBITDA level, the Orascom growth was even more positive with margins reaching 45.1%. In the Asia region, Orascom Telecom sustained its business growth with strong positive results on net additions, with particular success interventions through Pakistan’s high-performing Mobilink. In a tough and competitive environment, the market leader continues to grow steadily despite recent market acquisitions, fierce competition and a testing time for the country’s pulsating economic climate.Zouhair A Khaliq, President & CEO, Mobilink while appreciating the commitment of Orascom Telecom to the Pakistan Telecommunication sector said, “Our uninterrupted growth, a strong business revenue model and market sustainability, coupled with ongoing investment in excess of $2.5 billion in technology and infrastructure has catapulted us to the 9th position in Asia-Pacific.” “Orascom Telecom is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing conglomerates in the world, the company has shown impressive results throughout the year; and the Q1- 08 result of a strong and impressive growth is attributable to the leadership and foresightedness of Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom Telecom. The group’s commitment to Pakistan, both in telecommunication as well as support for social endeavors is indicative of our long-term goals in this region and globally,” he added.

Link: Pakistan: Protesting PTCL employees getting all privileges

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has said that protesting employees are getting all legitimate perks and privileges as per provisions of their contracts. In addition to that, the company had given them a reasonable raise in salaries and was ready to facilitate them further. The PTCL spokesperson through a press release said that these handfuls of 35-40 protesting workers are spreading misleading information. He said that after the privatisation of PTCL the new management provided all the necessary technical training to these NCPG employees to bring them in mainstream. PTCL provided technical training through its internal technical training programme to all its employees and adjusted in different departments. AT the same time PTCL is planning to offer better job opportunities through internal recruitment to all NCPG employees. Major rehabilitation programme is going on and PTCL never wanted to layoff any of its employees. PTCL extended rise of 15% on gross, which is equivalent to 40 % of basic salary to NCPG employees. This raise is more than the agreement terms. In addition, PTCL management is providing all the necessary benefits. “We work together as one team to satisfy customer requirements in telecommunication services and technology in a friendly and efficient manner,” the PTCL spokesman said.

Link: Pakistan: Cellular firms yet to launch SIMs verification campaign

As the deadline set by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is approaching fast, mobile phone operators are yet to launch the campaign for verification of Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs). In a bid to control crimes through misuse of mobile phones, the PTA asked all mobile operators to verify the SIMs they had so far issued and not to issue new ones without proper documentation. According to a rough estimate, presently seven million SIMs have been issued without proper verification and most of the unregistered SIMs are being misused for illegal and criminal activities. Easy availability of SIMs has not only led to theft and snatching of mobile sets, but they are being used in crimes like robberies, murders, kidnapping, prostitution and other criminal activities. An easy availability of the used mobile sets at the unregistered mobile shops is also playing a role in increasing crimes. Teasing women and threatening innocent people through obnoxious calls has become a favourite pastime for disgruntled youths, thanks to cheap and easy availability of mobile connections. One can discard a SIM after using it for carrying out any immoral or illegal act as getting the same costs a paltry Rs100 and can be obtained from the open market. Police and the mobile companies admit the fact. The government and authorities concerned are also well aware of circulation of millions of unregistered and improperly issued SIMs. The warning to impose a heavy fine or cancel licences of the companies failing to verify their SIMs has so far fell on deaf ears. Only Ufone has taken the lead in initiating the confirmation drive by asking the subscribers to send on 824 their identity card number, but the drive may prove a futile exercise without calling in person the user to the centre for verification. A person using bogus SIM may send anybody’s identity card number if he/she is not required to personally appear for verification. The question is how it could be confirmed that the SIM is in use of real scriber when the company is not demanding name but just identity card number? A subscriber may send a wrong number as well if not required to personally visit the concerned company office, argued Nauman Khan, a cellular phone user. Nauman said the PTA should make it mandatory for the mobile operators to call in person the subscribers for verification if it wants to make the campaign against bogus SIMs a success. However, an official at the Ufone sales centre when contacted told “The News” that the identity card was verified from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and if the SIM user’s identity does not match theirs and that of Nadra record, the connection would be blocked.

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Link: Pakistan: Mobile termination rates cut by 30%

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reduced Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) by about 30 per cent with effect from June 1. The Authority announced cost-based interconnection (termination) charges for fixed-line as well as cellular mobile operators vide its recent determination. The Authority after considering the results of cost models, international benchmarks and other factors, issued a short determination whereby MTR has been reduced by 28 per cent ie from Re1.25 to Re0.90 over a period of two and a half years. This reduction is mainly due to the rapid growth of the mobile market of Pakistan. It is expected that the reduction in MTR would reduce fixed-to-mobile tariffs as well as off-net tariffs for cellular mobile operators resulting in more affordable telecom services for the general public. According to the PTA, hearings in this connection were conducted by the Authority on February 26 and April 30 comprising of Chairman PTA Major General (R) Shahzada Alam Malik, Member Finance Syed Nasrul Karim A Ghaznavi and Member Technical Dr Mohammad Yasin and were attended by Chief Executive Officers of the mobile, local loop and long distance international operators. For fixed-line telecom sector, the cost models showed higher interconnection charges for local termination, whereas for long-distance termination the results turned out to be lower than the existing applicable rates. However, the overall average termination rates are estimated to increase by about 8 per cent over a period of two years. The changes in the fixed-line termination rates are mainly attributable to higher costs in maintaining and rolling out fixed-line access networks and reduction in traffic owing to the shifting of traffic from traditional fixed-line networks to mobile networks. A PTA spokesman said that Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to have determined the interconnection charges based on Long Run Incremental Costs (LRIC). This step was taken in line with the deregulation policy of the Government of Pakistan whereby PTA was assigned the task to determine cost-based interconnection charges for mobile and fixed-line operators, he added. According to the spokesman, keeping in view the significance and complexity of the task, the Authority engaged UK-based consultant M/s Ovum plc to assist the Authority in determining interconnection charges using Fully Allocated Cost (FAC) under historical costing, bottom-up LRIC and international benchmarking. It may be noted that interconnection charges play an important role in promoting investment, competition and growth of the telecom sector in any country. The cost-based interconnection charges also help in improving economic and technical efficiency of telecom operators. Internationally, LRIC methodology is used in many developed countries such as USA, UK, Sweden, Malaysia etc and has been declared to be the most efficient costing methodology in determining interconnection charges. Likewise in other countries, the project took more than a year to complete due to thorough industry consultation and immense financial & technical data requirement from the operators. To make the process fully transparent, the cost models developed by the Authority were shared with the concerned operators. This decision will have a far reaching impact on the growth and investment in the telecom sector of Pakistan, as interconnection rates are critical input for proliferation of basic telecommunication services. At present, Pakistan has around 56.7 per cent of combined tele-density, which is expected to increase further, specially providing impetus to the fixed-line telecommunications market.