MyAdhan Blog

Link: UAE: du Invests in $700m Europe India Gateway Undersea Cable System

du, the integrated telecom operator in the UAE announced that it has signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to build the first direct, high-bandwidth optical-fiber submarine cable system from the United Kingdom to India. The Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system, which will cost more than US$700 million, will significantly enhance capacity and diversity between the countries of these regions. It brings in considerable diversity and bandwidth into the Middle East while providing global access to operators in the region. The agreement forms a key part of du’s international strategy to position itself as a hub for regional telecommunication services. EIG also gives du the ability to provide its triple play customers with added diversity and resilience for voice, data and video services. Explaining the need for such a strategic investment, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: “The project will bring resilience and diversity to du’s network and position the UAE as a regional business destination with broadband capacity feeding into the country through diverse entry and exit points. The cable will be accessed through a new landing station in Fujairah and will offer an additional cable landing station into the UAE adding diversity to the existing facilities from telecoms operators in the country.” Commenting on the benefits of the international partnership, Andrew Grenville, EVP International & wholesale, said: “This next generation fiber-optic cable agreement underscores our commitment to becoming the telecom partner of choice. There is a world-wide growing demand for international capacity and EIG will meet the high bandwidth requirement and provide diversity for our traffic to Europe and the Indian subcontinent which are key destinations for our voice and data traffic.” The EIG cable system, targeted to be operational in second quarter of 2010, is a 15,000 kilometer (9,000 mile) system that will connect 13 countries and three continents. Landings are planned in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, United Arab Emirates and India. In addition to serving these regions, the EIG cable system will also provide seamless interconnection with other major cable systems connecting Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The system will utilize state-of-art next-generation technology that is designed to provide up to 3.84 terabits per second (Tbps) using dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) to provide upgradeable transmission facilities that support Internet, e-commerce, video, data and voice services.

Link: Warid Telecom plans US$250 million new investment in Bangladesh

Warid Telecom says it plans to invest US$250 million (€162 million) over the next year to expand its mobile telephone network in Bangladesh. Warid CEO Muneer Farooqui said Saturday it is making the investment after signing up 3 million subscribers since starting operations in the country last year. Warid is a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi Group and is Bangladesh’s fourth largest mobile phone operator. Market operators say the number of mobile phone users is expected to exceed 50 million in the country by 2009. Bangladesh has 150 million people.

Link: Pakistan: PTCL employees threaten to close system from 13th May 2008

Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) employees have threatened they will close the telecommunication system across country on May 13 if their demands are not met, Geo News reported on Friday. PTCL employees had been on a strike for the last four days, in protest at the sacking of colleagues. The employees were demanding PTCL restore sacked employees under their previous terms, but the administration refused to do so, the channel said.

Link: Pakistan: Mobile TV can bring change to FATA

Mobile TV could support democracy and serve as a window to the world in FATA, says a Peshawar University report on communication strategies to counter militancy in Tribal Areas. The report highlights TV’s role in “strengthening … dialogue on social and political issues,” and contends problems related to conventional transmission make broadcasting on mobile phones a viable solution in FATA. TV plays a positive role in increasing consumerism and “initiating dreams for better lifestyles through importing images from other developed parts of the world”, says the report, adding that it can develop political consciousness in communities fairly quickly. Two service providers offer mobile TV in Pakistan, but not in FATA. The US is interested in FATA’s media-development and has committed $750 million for the purpose.

Link: Egypt postpones bid deadline for fixed-line licence

Egypt’s telecoms regulator said on Wednesday it had postponed the bid deadline for Egypt’s second fixed-line licence to July 29 as local connectivity agreements negotiations were still ongoing. “We are now negotiating with the three mobile providers in light of their new promotional offers, so the issuance of a connectivity draft agreement will be delayed to June 8,” Amr Badawy, chairman of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), said in a statement. “So the deadline for bids will be postponed to July 29,” he added. The deadline for bidding for the licence, which will end state-run Telecom Egypt’s fixed-line monopoly, had previously been set for June 19. Badawy added that the number of companies showing interest in the licence had risen to 12 but did not give any names. Egyptian daily Al Alam Al Youm reported in April that telecom equipment maker Ericsson and two Gulf Arab telecom firms had bought the conditions booklet.

Link: Egypt: Orascom Telecom says Q1 net income rises 25 pct

Arab regional mobile operator Orascom Telecom ORTE.CA said on Wednesday its net income rose 25 percent to $210 million in the first quarter of 2008, as the firm added nearly 4 million subscribers. Orascom Telecom, headed by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, said subscribers exceeded 74 million by the end of March, a 38 percent increase from a year earlier on a proforma basis excluding Iraqna, which it sold last year. The firm said its operations in Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan had each added more than a million subscribers in three months to end-March. Orascom is the fifth largest Arab mobile operator by market value. Revenues rose 22 percent to $1.295 billion in the quarter, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation hit $584 million, up 28 percent from the same quarter of 2007. Orascom has operations in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It won a mobile phone licence in North Korea in January and plans to invest $400 million in infrastructure and licence fees there over three years. Orascom has said it would bid for a second fixed-line licence in Egypt, expected to be auctioned in July. The company offered to buy back 10.3 percent of its own shares in April because it had a large cash surplus and could not find attractive alternative investments. Orascom shares, down about 12 percent this year, ended 0.3 percent lower at 80 Egyptian pounds ($14.93) on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Orascom to 82 pounds in March. ($1 = 5.36 Egyptian pounds).

Link: Is it just ‘plane’ annoying?

The introduction of in-flight mobile phone services by Emirates Airline has fuelled industry debate about the possible client response. Arabian Travel News investigates the potential impact of the service on your clients. Dubai is all about firsts, so when Emirates Airline recently became the first carrier in the world to introduce in-flight mobile phone services, it came as no surprise. People prefer to use their own phones rather than a set-back system. However, a recent survey of travel agents attending the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) ‘What’s new in Asia Pacific 2008′ seminar staged in Dubai revealed that 68% of participants believed the service should not be allowed. The results of this MENA-wide traveller survey showed that 47% of the region’s business travellers and 43% of leisure travellers would like complete freedom to use their mobile phones on board flights, with less than 20% against airlines introducing the service. This might suggest that agents are out of touch with the demands of their clients, but apparently not, according to Jane Wilson, the director of travel and tourism for YouGovSiraj. “The sample covered almost 4000 people, so it is very reliable. It is a cultural thing; the survey covered 20 countries in the MENA region, so the majority of respondents were Arab nationals. Westerners are far more against it,” she explained. “I think if you look around the local markets and notice the number of mobiles that people have and the constant use of them then it isn’t such a surprise.” A YouGov UK poll supports Wilson’s opinion, showing that 56% of British travellers were against in-flight mobile phone use compared to just 16% who wanted the service to be introduced. There are currently two service providers able to offer the technology for in-flight mobile use - OnAir and AeroMobile - and Emirates Airline has already equipped an Emirates Airbus A340-300 aircraft and a Boeing 777-300 aircraft with the Aeromobile system. The Dubai-based airline is fully behind the new service and is planning to invest US $27 million to fit out its fleet with the Aeromobile system. “Mobile phones have become such a part of people’s lives today that there is a growing expectation from people that they will be able to stay in touch [onboard] in a way they are comfortable with,” said Patrick Brannelly, vice president, passenger communications and visual services for Emirates Airline. “People prefer to use their own phones rather than a set-back system and Aeromobile also allows passengers to receive calls and texts, which is an important part of staying in touch and being contactable, even when you fly.” The Aeromobile system automatically switches on after take-off and when the aircraft reaches 20,000ft, an in-flight briefing video will play and Emirates cabin crew will announce that passengers’ mobile phones can be switched on.
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Link: Pakistan: 7m SIMs to be blocked by month-end

Over seven million cellphone SIMs are likely to be blocked by the end of this month for lack of ownership verification. On the instruction of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), cellphone operators have already blocked 1.36 million SIMs which were issued either on fake or non-verifiable documents. After a directive from the Senate Standing Committee on Interior to block all ‘unverified’ mobile phone connections by May 22, the PTA had started maintaining record of ‘old connections’ issued on non-verifiable documents. “We cannot give the exact number of unverified SIMs at this stage but all ‘old unverified’ connections will be blocked after May 22,” a PTA official told Dawn on Tuesday. He said the authority was strictly adhering to instructions of the Senate committee. He said that all ‘new’ mobile phone connections issued on ‘fake documents’ would be blocked after June 30. The figure of over seven million unverified SIMs had been reported in the standing committee’s meeting. A source said the figure was ‘official’ and the PTA would have to block the connections. The committee was also informed that the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) had no record of 35 million SIMs. The total number of cellphone users has reached 82 million in the country. The PTA official said the authority had directed all cellphone operators to register all their sale points to ensure that no connection was issued without maintaining the record of the buyer. The PTA had recently sealed eight outlets of mobile phone operators across the country. The official said the authorised places to sell SIMs were mobile companies’ customer sale centres, franchises and registered retailers and all other points like shops, roadsides or hawkers were illegal. “The authority, with the help of police, will raid such places and get cases registered against them,” he said. According to an official of a cellphone company, the blocking of over seven million connections in ‘one go’ could create widespread resentment and economic consequences down the sales chain. “Cellular tele-density has reached 50.4 per cent in the country during the last couple of years. This has helped bring economic and social benefits to rural population. The industry today employs more than two million people directly and indirectly. In the last couple of years, the telecom sector has attracted $10 billion in investment,” he said.

Link: UAE: Etisalat takes BlackBerry beyond email

BlackBerry users in the UAE can now expect a world beyond email with Etisalat announcing its intention to expand the scope of its BlackBerry service by introducing a Middle East version of Garmin Navigation software for users in the UAE. This new subscription based service which will soon be launched will give users the convenience of finding their way around the UAE with turn-by-turn directions and coverage of the entire country. Garmin Mobile is the first off-board cellular phone navigation system that visually depicts and constantly updates a user’s position on a detailed moving map. Garmin BlackBerry navigation solution will make it very easy for users to get directions with their BlackBerry device. Users can take their device with them and navigate with ease and enjoy routing around busy traffic, viewing the local weather and even finding the nearest petrol station whenever they want. Users will also get the latest GPS coordinates with automatic updates on a regular basis throughout the year once they sign up. With Garmin Mobile, customers will receive voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions so they can easily navigate to a specific street address or points of interest like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. The text-to-speech functionality allows the unit to audibly announce the name of streets and lets drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways. If users stray off course, Garmin Mobile will automatically calculate the quickest way to get back on track. Garmin Mobile will be supported on Etisalat BlackBerry devices that are GPS enabled which are the 8310 and 8820 Models. Etisalat currently offers Four Models of BlackBerry Smartphones, 8700, 8100, 8310, and 8820. All Etisalat offered Qwerty BlackBerry Smartphones are Arabic enabled with English/Arabic keypad. Today, customers across industries are reaping the benefits of a reliable BlackBerry solution due to the network stability and high performance of Etisalat’s Mobile Data network. Etisalat also gives customers the advantage of using the service globally in 101 countries through a wide range of roaming agreements.

Link: Egyptian Government Blocks Anonymous Mobile Phone Accounts

Another Link: Egypt asks mobile firms to bar anonymous users

Officials with two of Egypt’s mobile phone companies said Monday they are complying with government requests to block service to anonymous subscribers. The request was made as a public security measure as the government attempts to suppress public frustration amid rising prices and low wages that have set off a series of strikes against the government. The strikes were planned and mobilized primarily through mobile phones and the Internet. The mobile phone block is expected to affect several hundred thousand customers who did not register their names and addresses when they obtained mobile phone service, phone lines. “Everyone who uses the telephone must be known,” Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said during a news conference, reiterating that the block was needed for “public security”. A spokesman for Vodafone Egypt, one of the country’s three mobile operators, said the company had disabled text messaging capabilities for anonymous subscribers, and had asked them to come forward with their details. Rival wireless operator Mobinil EMOB.CA associated the block to the Egyptian government’s plans for mobile number portability, which would allow subscribers to keep their original phone number if they change service providers. “We are contacting our subscribers to update their data in order to avoid future suspension or disconnection,” a Mobinil investor relations official told Reuters. Egypt’s third mobile operator, Etisalat, was not available for comment, but both Mobinil EMOB.CA and Vodafone Egypt said they were acting as a result of a government request. Elijah Zarwan, a Cairo-based political analyst, told Reuters there were “legitimate security reasons” for the move by telecoms regulators, but was skeptical of the timing. “The timing raises eyebrows because it coincided with the calls for a strike,” Zarwan said. “I think it is worrisome.” “In the last strike, the organizers took out new cell phones just for the occasion and were very, very careful of talking on their own phones with the assumption that their phones were already tapped,” he said, speaking of an April 6 action.

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