The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has confirmed that Etisalat and Du are technically ready to open their fixed-line networks for competition. This means both operators will be able to provide fixed-line, telephone and Internet services, and in the near future television services, everywhere across the UAE, and that customers will be able to select which provider they use in each individual household and business, which was previously not possible.

Etisalat and Du have been negotiating an agreement under the supervision and guidance of the TRA to allow them to provide voice, Internet, data and TV services across each other’s copper and fibre networks.

Director general of the TRA Mohamad Al Ghanim said the parties have now concluded the negotiations on complex technical and operational details of the network sharing arrangements and are currently in the process of undertaking comprehensive testing. As a result, telecom subscribers across the nation should be able to access services from both operators once these are commercially launched in the coming months.

Nasser bin Obood, acting chief executive officer at Etisalat, said the company was looking forward to competing for new customers within the Dubai free zones and new residential areas, which were previously exclusively serviced by Du.

“Etisalat is in the process of completing its fibre-optic network which today covers most UAE households outside of ‘New Dubai’. It has invested more than AED 5 billion (US$1.36 billion) in this project which is the largest fibre-optic deployment in the world today,” bin Obood added.

Algeria’s government said yesterday it plans to offer a 4G licence next year, according to local press El Khabar.

Currently there are three mobile service providers in the North African nation – state-owned Algerie Telecom, Egypt’s Orascom and Wataniya Telecom, a subsidiary of Qatar’s Qtel.

Once the licence is awarded, the successful operator will be eligible to migrate to 4G services.

Earlier in June Orascom decided to terminate its discussions with South Africa’s MTN over the sale of some or all of its operations, including its most lucrative operation ‘Djezzy’ in Algeria, which MTN had offered US$7.8 billion for.

Etisalat and Korea Telecom have signed a strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop innovative telecommunications solutions and collaborative services for customers. Respective administrative offices will be established in both the UAE and South Korea, as well as other points of presence, as part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The key goals of the MoU are to share skill-sets, intellectual capital and industry expertise, in an effort towards developing cutting edge products and services. This collaboration will focus on global roaming on Wi-fi, machine to machine telecommunication (M2M), IPTV and managed services. The services will benefit both domestic as well as international business customers of both telecom conglomerates.

Chief marketing officer of Etisalat, Essa Al Haddad, said the two telecom providers will strategically align their infrastructural and intellectual capabilities, to provide cutting edge solutions to businesses in their respective countries.

“In addition to providing avant-garde services for our customers, this partnership will also consolidate Etisalat’s position as the region’s most forward-looking telecommunications and ICT service provider, as we continue to lead innovative developments in the ICT industry and seek to shape the technology and communications market of the future,” Al Haddad added.

Korea Telecom is listed at number 397 on the Fortune 500 List and is the leading provider in South Korea of local telephone and high-speed Internet services.

The UAE’s Du has raised AED 1 billion (US$272 million) through the completion of the company’s previously announced rights issue. The capital will be deployed to transform the operator from a high growth early stage venture to a more mature company with efficient management of future funding requirements.

A total of 571,428,571 new shares were offered to and taken up by qualifying shareholders on a pro rata basis. The founding shareholders took up their rights in full, while public shareholders oversubscribed for their portion of the rights issue. The number of Du shares in issue increases to 4,571,428,571, with trading of new shares expected to begin on June 27.

"We are very pleased with the take-up of the rights issue and the extent of the support we have received from our shareholders. This is a clear demonstration of their belief in our performance and growth strategy. Our focus remains on delivering on our plans to become the UAE‘s preferred integrated telecommunications provider," stated Osman Sultan, chief executive officer of Du.

India’s Tata Teleservices doubled its customers over the past 12 months from 35 million subscribers in May 2009 to more than 70 million in May 2010. The nations fifth largest operator recorded 2.33 million new subscriptions in the month of May.

"With the countdown on 3G services having begun, we will continue to walk the innovation path, providing our customers with differentiated products and services which will take telecom to the next level. We are working closely on the creation of such relevant products with our partners, particularly NTT DoCoMo, which is acknowledged as the world leader in telecom technology development; and look forward to the next wave in Indian telecoms," managing director of Tata Teleservices, Anil Sardana stated.

Japan’s DoCoMo holds a 26 per cent shareholding in the operator, with GSM services branded Tata DoCoMo.

According to India’s telecoms regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Tata Teleservices holds a market share of 11.29 per cent as of April 2010. The firm follows Bharti Airtel with 21.73 per cent, Reliance Communications with 17.49 per cent, Vodafone with 17.26 per cent and BSNL with 11.75 per cent.