Wataniya Telecom has announced the launch of its LTE based 4G network in Kuwait, although it is currently limiting access to modems and routers.

The company said that it has spent US$350 million modernising its network and preparing for the launch. By the end of the year, the 4G service will cover most of Kuwait.

Customers can access 4G Internet on fixed and pocket routers for a monthly subscription of KD 17 (US$60) with a total usage of 60 GB per month for 12 months.

No indication was given as to when the company will allow smartphones to access the LTE network.

Zimbabwe’s government has reportedly refused to renew the mobile network operator licence held by Telecel until it complies with foreign shareholder limits that require a majority of the company to be owned by local shareholders.

Currently the company is 60 per cent owned by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (now a subsidiary of VimpelCom), with the remainder held by a company with close links to President Mugabe.

Earlier in the week, management from Orascom Telecom held talks with government officials to try and untie the deadlock, but multiple reports in local media suggest those talks broke down without success.

Despite the failure to renew the operating licence, Telecel is still providing phone service to customers, although it is not clear for how long that will be allowed.

If the two sides can agree on a settlement, then Telecel will also be required to pay US$137 million for the 20-year extension to its licence. There have been suggestions that VimpelCom would prefer to sell the company rather than pump even more money into an operation that it would have lost management control over.

Telecel Zimbabwe, with 2.5 million customers is the country’s second biggest mobile phone operator after Econet Wireless.

Local media reports have suggested tentative discussions have been held between South Africa cellco Cell C and fixed incumbent Telkom regarding consolidating the mobile market.

Telkom used to own a stake in Vodacom, but sold it in 2008 when Vodafone raised its holding to 65 per cent. It later decided to re-enter the mobile market and now owns its own mobile network, Telkom Mobile – previously known as 8ta.

In an interview with a local radio Cell C CEO Alan Knott Craig said: “Whether it will happen or not, I don’t know. In my personal capacity, I think consolidation is one way to solve a lot of the problems.”

Cell C has recently had a fresh injection of funding from its majority shareholder, and also raised fresh debt to fund network expansion.

Nokia announced a 24 per cent fall in its second quarter revenues and reported another net loss for the quarter.

Net sales for the period amounted to €5.7 billion (US$7.5 billion), while it shrank its net loss to €227 million (US$298 million) compared to a loss of €1.4 billion for the same period last year. Excluding non-cash write-downs, the company would have posted a profit of €382 million.

Commenting on the second quarter results, Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, said: "We’re pleased to report an underlying operating profit for the fourth consecutive quarter on a group level. We benefited from another strong performance at Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), which continued to deliver well against its focused strategy."

Smartphones

In the second quarter 2013, Devices & Services total smartphone volumes fell to 11.7 million units.

The year-on-year decline in smart devices volumes in the second quarter 2013 continued to be driven by competing smartphone platforms and the transition from Symbian products to Lumia products.

Symbian volumes decreased from six million units in the second quarter 2012 to approximately zero in the second quarter 2013. Lumia volumes increased from four million in the second quarter 2012 to 7.4 million in the second quarter 2013.

On a year-on-year basis, net sales decreased in all regions primarily due to lower sales in the Mobile Phones business unit. The largest year-on-year decline in net sales was in Greater China followed by Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America.

Mobile Phones

During the second quarter 2013 Nokia shipped 53.7 million mobile phones, of which 4.3 million were Asha full-touch smartphones. That compares with shipments of 88.5 million handsets a year ago.

Nokia Siemens Networks

Revenues fell by 17 per cent to €2.78 billion, of which 52 per cent was for services. The decline in revenues was put mainly down to disposals of divisions, although excluding that, sales would have still fallen by 11 per cent due to reduced wireless infrastructure deployment activity.

Non-IFRS operating profit at NSN amounted to €328 million, up considerably from €28 million in Q212.

Iraqi cellco Korek Telecom has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to deploy its advanced radio, microwave transmission and packet core network elements. The operator has also renewed its care and managed services contract with the company.

Under the contract, NSN provides Korek Telecom with its Flexi Direct solution that simplifies network planning, lowers capital and operating costs for operators, and reduces data transmission delay, thus ensuring high-speed broadband for end users. At present, NSN is the only vendor providing fully flat architecture for HSPA in the global telecom market. As part of its radio network, NSN also provides its Single RAN (radio access network) platform, which is based on its compact and energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio base station, to support Korek Telecom’s 2G and 3G networks and ready it for the future with LTE capability.