Bids for an India-wide broadband wireless access (BWA) licence touched INR 41.83 billion (US$902 million) on the third day of India’s BWA auction, already 139 per cent above the base price of INR 17.5 billion. In comparison to the just-concluded 3G auction, it took 14 days for pan-India 3G bids to record a 139 per cent increase.

The government is offering two slots of radio bandwidth in each of the 22 telecommunication service areas, with 11 parties approved to participate: Aircel, Augere (Mauritius), Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Infotel Broadband Services, Qualcomm, Reliance WiMAX, Spice Internet Service Provider, Tata Communications Internet Services, Tikona Digital Networks and Vodafone Essar.

It has been suggested that the BWA auction could also prove highly competitive and last more than a month.

The 3G spectrum sale attracted INR 677.2 billion (US$14.6 billion) in licence fees, following 34 days and 183 rounds of bidding.

A 72.8 per cent rise in data revenue, including from the hugely successful M-Pesa mobile money service, has helped Kenya’s Safaricom post net profits of KES 15.15 billion (US$190 million) for the 12 months ending March. This is a 44 per cent surge in profits from KES 10.5 billion a year earlier, while annual sales jumped 19 per cent to KES 83.96 billion.

Data revenue now accounts for 18.7 per cent of revenue for Kenya’s leading mobile operator, up from 12.9 per cent a year ago. M-Pesa customers rose from 6.48 million to 9.48 million.

Meanwhile the total active subscriber base increased by 18.2 per cent to 15.79 million during the year.

The data growth was supported by the landing of two undersea fibre optic cables TEAMS and SEACOM, as well as further expansion of 3G. Safaricom owns a 22.5 per cent shareholding in TEAMS and leases capacity on SEACOM. These cables provide significant increased capacity, greater speeds and lower cost than the previous satellite connectivity.

Following the launch of the 3G network in the prior period, continued investment in the rollout extended the 3G network to all major towns in the country, bringing the total number of 3G-enabled base stations to 607.

During the period the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in PacketStream Data Network Limited, a WiMAX service provider, added significant capacity to the existing WiMAX business enabling Safaricom to provide fixed data services to corporates, medium-sized enterprises and individual customers. The WiMAX network now comprises 140 sites offering an extensive nationwide network, thereby complementing the operator’s 3G mobile Internet access.

Second operator in Saudi Arabia, Mobily, has pledged to invest at least US$1 billion over the next five years in its effort to become the top operator in the kingdom ahead of STC and Zain. The operator’s CEO Khalid Al-Kaf stated this as the firm celebrated five years of operation since launching in May 2005.

Mobily’s five-year strategy plans to prioritise the enrichment of customer’s lives through the provision of “cutting-edge applications and state-of-the-art data and broadband services”, as well as by providing the best working environment for employees in the region. In addition, it is aiming for a 370 per cent increase in its broadband subscribers.

A press release stated “The multi-facet strategy’s main aim is to keep Mobily the leading telecommunications operator not only in Saudi Arabia, but in the entire Middle East and North Africa region”.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has awarded only one of the four applicants for a mobile TV licence with the right to broadcast the service, after three parties were disqualified for failing to meet tender requirements. The sole broadcaster licensed to provide mobile TV in the country will be e.tv, at least in the near future.

According to ICASA’s Jubie Matlou, “MultiChoice was disqualified on the basis of late submission, Super 5 Media for failing to submit the required number of copies and Mobile TV Consortium was disqualified on the basis that they did not have a broadcasting service license”.

The process for awarding mobile TV licences has been criticised with the tender opening on April 16 giving broadcasters only a three week time frame to prepare their business plans, technical specifications and pay the ZAR 70,000 (US$9,017) application fee.

US telecoms equipment vendor Motorola has launched two cash tender offers to purchase up to US$400 million of its outstanding debt securities, in an effort to lower interest costs.

In the first tender, the Schaumburg-based firm is offering to purchase any and all of its outstanding 5.22 per cent debentures due 2097.

In the second, a Dutch auction offer, the firm is offering to buy some of its US$1.11 billion worth of 6.5 per cent debentures due in 2025 and 2028, and its 6.625 per cent senior notes due in 2037.

J.P. Morgan Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities and HSBC Securities (USA) are operating as lead dealer managers.