Telecel Zimbabwe has denied reports that it has failed to make a payment to renew its mobile operating licence, blaming the reports on confusion on how the concession is to be renewed.

The company confirmed that it is obliged to make a payment of US$137.5 million to renew its licence for another 20 years. However, it also negotiated a deal to spread the payments over a number of years.

The company has made a down payment of US$14 million, and says that it has bank records to show that the funds were received at the regulator.

The next payment is due December 2014.

Telecel has over 2.5 million subscribers.

The Jordanian government expects to announce the winner of the country’s sole 4G licence by the end of the month, an official has told local media.

Two companies submitted bids for the 4G licence, and these have been studied by the regulator. The names of the bidders are not currently known, but the country’s three mobile networks all opposed the issuance of the licence as premature.

"We are in the final stages of studying two bids we received from two companies. The committee in charge of deciding on the best bid has been meeting for the past three months to choose the best offer," ICT minister Azzam Sleit told the Jordan Times.

The tender for the 4G licences was announced last June, with bids due by last October.

There are also concerns about the viability of a fourth mobile network in the country. Mobile phone penetration was expected to reach 140 per cent last year, and pass 200 per cent in the next few years, according to the Arab Advisers Group.

BlackBerry today announced that Ron Louks will join the company as president, Devices and Emerging Solutions reporting to BlackBerry’s executive chair and CEO, John Chen.

Louks has previously been the chief strategy officer of HTC America and the chief technology officer at Sony Ericsson. More recently, he was at The OpenNMS Group, where he served as the CEO.

"Louks will focus on BlackBerry’s long-term product roadmap, including hardware, software and design, as well as the company’s joint development efforts. A good deal of Louks’ time will be spent with customers, carriers and partners," said Chen.

Viva Bahrain has launched its LTE network, and says that it surpasses Batelco for coverage.

The cellco is offering a quality of service guarantee for the 4G service, and CEO Ulaiyan Al Wetaid said: "The foundation of today’s 4G announcement is our best-in-class network. With the 4G launch, we will enhance our customers’ broadband experience with access to our fast network and any-time connectivity."

Batelco launched its LTE service in February 2013.

BlackBerry has released an update to its recently launched BBM software for Android smartphones that includes the promised support for BBM Channels and voice calls.

BBM Channels is a social networking feature within BBM that extends the sharing experience beyond a user’s friendship circle –allowing channel creators to amass an unlimited number of followers.

The update is however just a beta release and currently only available to Android users who have signed up to that service.

In addition to Channels and voice calls, the updated mobile app includes what the company says is easier sharing of photos, more emoticons and increased BBM group sizes.

There is currently no mention of an iPhone app, although the company has previously said that it will roll out the upgrades to both platforms.