The gloves are off in Qatar, with incumbent Qtel offering customers free landline connections and three months free rental. This development comes as Vodafone Qatar prepares to launch mobile services in Q109 and fixed-line services later in the year.

Qtel is ramping up the defense of its landline market before the launch of Vodafone, with savings of QAR299 (US$82) available for new landline customers.

Qtel’s promotion follows a string of heavily discounted mobile and fixed offers, and network improvements in the past few months. These include Qtel doubling mobile broadband speeds, offering a free WiFi router for all ADSL connections, upgrading its HSDPA network, and providing the cheapest broadband prices found in the Gulf.

Qtel customers have until the end of February to take advantage of the current promotion, with savings of QAR299 (US$82) on offer. A free connection will save customers QAR200, while three free months of line rental is worth QAR99. This is in addition to free local landline calls.

There are approximately 250,000 landlines in Qatar at present, representing a penetration rate of 30 per cent.

In early November, CEOs and senior executives of regional telecoms operators assembled on the shores of the Dead Sea for the SAMENA Telecommunications Council’s Convergence to Jordan conference. What followed was two days of frank discussion about the impact of the global financial crisis on their respective businesses, the appetite for inorganic growth, and the challenges in maintaining market share in a competitive environment. Michelle Mills was there to capture their perspectives

“I think at this point with the economic crisis, it would be the best time for each giant and medium-sized operator to rethink about merging with others. To survive within the region, I imagine that in the coming few years the number of giant operators will decrease. I would really expect something to happen within the coming year or so with a big announcement,” stated Ahmed Bin Ali, Etisalat’s vice president of corporate communications, at the SAMENA Telecommunications Council’s Convergence to Jordan conference.

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Parties interested in participating in India’s long-anticipated 3G auction have two weeks until entries close on January 5, 2009, with the auction scheduled to commence on January 16.

The reserve price for 3G licences in metro and category A circles will be set at INR 1.6 billion (US$34 million)

The country’s auction for WiMAX will also take place two days following the sale of the 3G licences. Continue reading →

With more than 140 million people, broadband penetration of less than 10 per cent, and Internet and data revenues expected to grow 35 per cent annually, Russia’s broadband scene presents a sizeable opportunity for would-be investors. As the Russian Investment Roadshow stopped off in Dubai last month, Michelle Mills considers the elements involved in investing in Russia’s telecoms sector.

Russia is the world’s ninth most populous country, with a mobile penetration rate in excess of 120 per cent; making it one of the most dynamic mobile markets in Europe. However, 3G and mobile broadband services were only introduced in the country earlier this year by market leader MTS and third mobile operator MegaFon, and uptake has been strong with seven million subscribers having already been added during the course of the year. Internet penetration of households remains relatively low at just 36 per cent, with broadband penetration accounting for less than 10 per cent of the Internet market.

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Ben Verwaayen’s first significant move as CEO of telecoms vendor Alcatel-Lucent, is to slash 1,000 management positions and 5,000 contractor jobs, as part of a drastic cost-reduction strategy and realignment of the company’s operations.

CEO Ben Verwaayen’s turnaround strategy for Alcatel-Lucent includes eliminating 6,000 jobs and focusing research on optical, IP, broadband and applications enablement, in an effort to save €750 million in 2009

On December 12, Verwaayen announced the restructuring initiatives that are hoped will achieve total savings of €750 million (US$1 billion) on a run rate basis by the fourth quarter of 2009. One third of savings is expected to come from the cost of goods sold, and two-thirds to come from R&D and SG&A (selling, general and administrative) expenses.

Research and development will be focused on four key segments – optical, IP, broadband, and applications enablement, while the company will focus on three markets – service providers, enterprises and selected verticals.

However, industry commentators are not convinced this strategy will be enough to turnaround the company, which experienced its seventh successive quarterly loss in Q308 with a net deficit of €38 million (US$50.9 million), and which has lost 70 per cent of its share value in 2008.

While analysts have speculated that the Paris-headquartered company would spin-off its ever-diminishing CDMA business, the CEO confirmed earlier this month that the vendor would retain its mobile business.

“It is not true we are going out of mobile. It is not true that we are a beleaguered company,” Verwaayen stated.

Alcatel-Lucent also plans to combine the “trusted capabilities of the network environment with the creative communications services of the web” to gain more value out of the Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 ecosystem.

It will also partner, co-source and consolidate, in an effort to reduce spending on WiMAX, consumer premises equipment, non-IMS based fixed NGN portfolios and some legacy applications.