Vodafone Qatar has appointed Kyle Whitehill as CEO, effective June 2013. Whitehill is currently CEO of Vodafone’s Ghanaian unit.

Earlier in April, rumours mounted in local press that Whitehill, along with several other senior colleagues, was close to leaving the company. Chief marketing officer, Uche Ofodile was also said to be departing Vodafone Ghana. A replacement for Whitehill has not yet been announced.

At Vodafone Qatar, Whitehill will replace Richard Daly, who is leaving the company to return to the UK for family reasons, having been at the helm since October 2011.

According to local media reports, Qatar’s Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar) plans to introduce new service providers in the telecom market at either the infrastructure or service level.

An ictQatar source is reported to have said the move will inspire healthy competition in the market and mare extend to the introduction of MVNOs. Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar are the incumbent cellcos in the market.

Ooredoo (formerly Qtel) has announced the official launch of its 4G LTE network. Ooredoo is launching the service on a phased basis, with 4G speeds initially available in Doha and the Sealine district, and plans are in place to add to the total number of towers every month.

With Ooredoo 4G, customers can experience connection speeds that are three-to-six times faster than the existing 3G network. This enables seamless connections when browsing multimedia-rich websites, updating social media, or streaming music and HD video with 4G USB modems and Mi-Fi devices. For example, customers can download a 600MB album or HD movie in only a few minutes.

Since last year, hundreds of customers have been testing the 4G LTE network, and Ooredoo has used their feedback to optimise the user experience. The move is another major step towards making Qatar one of the best-connected countries in the world, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Customers will need to use mobile devices that are compatible with 800MHz and 2,600MHz frequencies to enjoy the benefits of 4G, which include less latency and faster speeds.

Ooredoo also announced the launch of a new 4G Mi-Fi device and a new 4G-enabled dongle, which provide customers access to 4G.

By the end of 2014, Ooredoo intends to have all inhabited areas of Qatar covered by its 4G LTE network.

South Korean operator KT Corp has withdrawn its approach for Moroccan number-one operator Maroc Telecom, reports Reuters, leaving Etisalat and Ooredoo as the remaining runners.

In an email sent to its financial advisors, KT said it had decided not to bid for the 53 per cent stake held by French media group Vivendi due to concern about “the discrepancy between KT’s own valuation and that of the market and sell-side”.

Reuters also said that KT had noted that issues such as servicing the debt related to a potential bid and a lack of resolution on a tax dispute and “unforeseen tax issues in the future” were also factors.

However, the South Korean operator said it may still consider “various forms of business partnership and even investment” with Maroc Telecom depending on future circumstances.

Vivendi is aiming to offload its 53 per cent stake in the Moroccan number-one operator as it looks to reduce its debt. The Maroc Telecom stake is valued at around US$6 billion, with the winning bidder also expected to make an offer to buy out minority shareholders.

People involved with the auction said Etisalat and Ooredoo (formerly Qtel) have been leading the way with KT a relative longshot, as the Middle East-based groups have the financial firepower to back their bids.

Final offers to Vivendi are due at the end of April, although any sale would need the approval of the Kingdom of Morocco, which owns a 30 per cent stake in the operator.

Afghanistan’s Roshan has launched its 3G network, with coverage initially available in in Kabul, and then rolled out nationwide.

Last month Roshan secured a loan from the International Finance Corporation, totalling US$147 million, to support the acquisition of the company’s 3G spectrum licence and continued development of network infrastructure.

"It has always been Roshan’s vision to leverage technology and innovation to bridge critical needs gaps and improve the lives of those in the community. 3G Jahaan is the next step in that vision, and a leap forward for the people of Afghanistan," Karim Khoja, Roshan CEO, said.