Outspoken Du CEO, Osman Sultan is of the opinion that network operators themselves should consider becoming over-the-top providers in their own right, in order to head off the threat of players from outside the telco industry entering it and reaping benefits on infrastructure investments they have not made.

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Mobily is taking longer to complete a previously announced deal to buy the local landline operator, Etihad Atheeb.

The company announced in August that it was to buy a majority stake in the landline network, and had set a deadline of the end of this month to secure the regulatory approvals and complete due diligence on Etihad Atheeb.

It has now extended the talks until the end of January 2014, with the discussions no longer being exclusive, allowing a rival bidder to emerge. Bahrain’s Batelco owns a 15 per cent stake in the company, but has shied away from buying the entire company in the past.

Etihad Atheeb had itself previously expressed an interest in buying a stake in a mobile network operator, but has posted years of losses and was now considered a likely target for a buyout by one of the country’s mobile networks instead.

The landline operator is a joint venture of Atheeb Trading Company, Al-Nahla Trading Company, Batelco and Traco Company. Just under half its shares are listed on the stock exchange, where they have been suspended several times over the years due to its on-going losses.

Etisalat has secured a court order winding up its failed Indian joint-venture with DB Group.

Etisalat DB was one of a number of joint-ventures set up in the wake of the 2008 GSM licence allocation, and was effectively closed down by the Supreme Court decision to cancel the concessions.

The directors of the DB Group are facing criminal charges concerning how they secured the licences prior to the investment in the venture by Etisalat.

Citing the deadlock between the two companies, the Bombay High Court accepted a petition from Etisalat to wind up the company.

"There is complete lack of faith and probity resulting in irretrievable breakdown between the major shareholders of the company. The liabilities of the company have far exceeded its assets," Justice Kathawalla said.

Etisalat paid US$900 million for a 44.7 per cent stake in an Indian start up mobile network, Swan Telecom (renamed Etisalat DB) in March 2009. The company had licences covering 13 of the country’s 22 operating circles and had received radio spectrum in 10 of the circles.

Etisalat later wrote off the investment.

In September Vodafone announced it had finally confirmed the deal to sell its 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon for a total consideration of US$130 billion. While much of the proceeds from the sale are set to be distributed to Vodafone shareholders, the sheer size of the transaction and its implications for Vodafone’s global strategic positioning have analysts and commentators speculating on the knock-on effects of the deal

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao says the pending US$130 billion US transaction will reward shareholders for their long-term support and will provide Vodafone with a strong balance sheet, and strategic flexibility to make further investments in the business (Image by: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

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Intigral, the digital media solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Ben Kinealy as the company’s CEO. Kinealy will assume responsibilities with immediate effect, and will succeed acting CEO, Ismaeel Makdisi.

Kinealy’s key role will be to develop a strong vision and strategy to expand Intigral into new markets and business areas. He will oversee all aspects of the business including, building partnerships and will also be responsible for reinforcing the Intigral brand, whilst strengthening the company’s position across the MENA region.

Kinealy was previously the VP IPTV & OTT at Intigral. With 22 years of experience in digital and media, he had previously held a number of senior positions in leading mobile, IPTV and new media organisations including with Telstra in Australia