According to Karim Sabbagh, global practice leader CMT of Booz & Co., the telecom industry is facing a number of inflection points that, depending on the strategic options taken, will result in the character of service providers in the future altering drastically

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Orascom Telecom Holding’s board of directors has rejected the offer from Russia’s Altimo to buy the remainder of the company that it does not already own.

Altimo owns just under 48 per cent of VimpelCom which in turn already owns 52 per cent of Orascom Telecom, and last month launched a bid to buy the outstanding shares in the company, through a Cyprus based holding company.

The deal values Orascom Telecom at around US$3.67 billion, a small premium on the then stock market valuation of US$3.4 billion.

A review of the takeover offer commissioned by OTH’s board of directors found that the offer price of US$0.70 per share was undervalued. The review suggested that Altimo would need to raise its bid by nearly 19 per cent to US$0.86 per share before the board could recommend it.

Members of the board affiliated with VimpelCom abstained from voting on the tender offer due to a conflict of interest arising from the shareholding relationship between Altimo and VimpelCom.

Orascom Telecom said in a statement that it was recommending that shareholders do not accept the takeover bid offer.

Mobily has selected Ericsson to provide EPC (Electronic Product Code) networks in the western region of Saudi Arabia, boosting the mobile data network router capacity four-fold.

As part of the agreement, Ericsson will upgrade the EPC network with the Evolved Packet Gateway based on the SSR 8000 family to support LTE and prepare the network for Voice over LTE (VoLTE).

As part of the agreement, Ericsson will also provide systems integration, design and managed services, extending the scope of the existing managed services partnership with Mobily, which began in 2005.

To date, Ericsson has been awarded 51 contracts for the SSR 8000 family of Smart Service Routers, which is one of the key components of its 4G IP network vision.

Five consortia have submitted applications to be awarded three mobile virtual network (MVNO) licences in Saudi Arabia. The deadline for the submission of applications closed on May 11 with Axiom Mobile, Virgin Mobile Saudi Consortium, Jawraa Consortium, FirstNet Consortium, and Safari Consortium all having submitted applications within the required time.

Comm. has learnt that Axiom Mobile has applied to be hosted by Zain Saudi Arabia, while Virgin Mobile Saudi Consortium has applied to be hosted by Saudi Telecom (STC), and the remaining three consortia have applied to be hosted by Mobily. Each network operator is permitted to host a single MVNO, so in the case of Mobily two of the three bidding consortia will definitely be unsuccessful.

The Saudi Telecom regulator, CITC, has said it will take up to 12 weeks to deliberate on the applications, with notice of the winners possible ahead of that time.

It is understood that the FirstNet Consortium is backed by the Atheeb Group, while the Safari Consortium is backed by Kingdom Holding.

BlackBerry has announced plans to make its own mobile social network, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), available on Apple and Android smartphones this summer, with support planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) at launch.

"For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community," said Andrew Bocking, executive VP, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.

Apple iOS and Android users would be able to add their contacts through PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan, regardless of platform. Android users would also be able to connect using a compatible NFC-capable device.

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day.

Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.

If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download.