Zain Kuwait has deployed Nokia Siemens Networks’ (NSN) Customer Experience Management (CEM), ensuring a superior service experience for its mobile broadband customers.

NSN developed and deployed a new Geo Information System (GIS) for Zain Kuwait, displaying network performance related key performance indicators (KPIs) for its customer base located across Kuwait – with the possibility to drill down to district level, block level and even cell ID level. The company also integrated important commercial KPIs into this GIS, which gives Zain Kuwait the unique capability to display and compare network performance KPIs with commercial KPIs within the same CEM solution. As a result, GIS has become a primary input tool for Zain Kuwait’s strategic decisions.

Batelco reported a 17 per cent fall in its first quarter profits as the company was hurt by increased competition in its home market.

Revenues also fell, by nine per cent to BD71.0 million (US$188.3 million). Net profits came in at BD13.4 million (US$35.5 million).

There has however been a further diversification of Group revenues with 42 per cent of revenues and 39 per cent of EBITDA now sourced from markets outside Bahrain, and this trend is continuing with the recent acquisition of Cable & Wireless Communications’ (CWC) Monaco & Islands businesses.

For the period, Batelco grew its subscribers to 7.9 million across its six existing markets, a rise of 15 per cent year-on-year and one per cent quarter-on-quarter. This reflected continued growth in mobile and broadband across key overseas markets. Mobile subscriber numbers grew 13 per cent year-on- year and this increase was largely attributed to customer growth in Jordan and Yemen.

It also reflects the success of on-going efforts in Bahrain to maintain customer loyalty and numbers. Similarly, positive results were also achieved in broadband where customer numbers for the quarter increased by 76 per cent year-on-year.

In the middle of March, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) announced that Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) had agreed to invest US$50 million in the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO); effectively marking VMMEA’s fourth round of funding since establishment in 2007. Comm. spoke to VMMEA founder and CEO Mikkel Vinter and GIC’s Mohamed Eissa about what use the funds would be put to, and what opportunities lie ahead for this business type in the region

Photo from the signing ceremony at the Virgin Group headquarter in London, sitting down form left-to-right:  Peter Langkilde (chairman, VMMEA), Mikkel Vinter (CEO and Founder, VMMEA), Shafic Ali (director Principal Investment, GIC) and Peter Stephens (partner and global head for Telecom and Media Investments, Virgin Group). Standing up form left-to-right: Fahad Al-Nusef (vice-president for Technology and Telecom Investments, GIC) and Mohamed Eissa (head of Technology and Telecom Investments, GIC)

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Saudi Arabia’s CITC has confirmed that the deadline for the submission of applications for one of the kingdom’s three proposed mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licences closed yesterday at 3pm local time. Earlier in March the CITC announced that due to requests from some interested parties to postpone the deadline for submitting applications, the regulator had extended it by a week to May 11.

Interested parties are forecast to include Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa, Renna Mobile, Mobily, and Effortel, amongst others.

Zain Group has reported a 27 per cent decline in its first-quarter net profit, blaming steep devaluation in the Sudanese pound and loss-making unit Zain Saudi Arabia for the drop.

The operator recorded net profit of KWD52 million (US$182.6 million) in the three months to March 31, down from KWD70.9 million a year ago.

Sudan accounted for nearly a third of Zain’s customer base and a fifth of group revenue last year, but the country has been mired in economic turmoil following South Sudan’s succession in 2011.

Zain claimed the depreciation of the Sudanese pound against the dollar, by 53 per cent in the 12 months to end-March, reduced revenue by US$179 million, EBITDA by US$76 million, and net profit by US$44 million.

Group revenue was down eight per cent year-on-year to KWD299 million, while the operator added 1.386 million subscribers in Q113, up from just 37,000 in Q112.