Millicom International Cellular says that it has settled its mobile licence dispute with the government of Senegal. This settlement is subject to the signing of final documentation between the mobile operator and the Senegalese government as well as the publication of an amended licence.

Under this agreement, the validity of Millicom’s Senegal subsidiary’s licence will be recognised by both parties.

In addition, Millicom will be granted a 3G licence, an alignment of its licence terms with those of the other operators (meaning that Millicom will receive licences to offer fixed line, WiMAX and cable TV services for instance), some additional spectrum and a 10-year extension of the term of its current licence until 2028.

Millicom has agreed to pay US$103 million for these additional licence rights and spectrum. The US$103 million will be paid in several instalments between closing of the agreement and December 2013.

In conjunction with the announcement, both parties are asking for a three-month suspension of the on-going arbitration proceedings, initiated in 2008 before the ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes), in order to finalise the documentation needed for the transaction to close.

Efforts by Telenor to bid in the upcoming Indian spectrum auctions as a separate entity have been dealt a blow by a court ordering that it is only allowed to participate with its estranged local partner, Unitech.

According to India’s Economic Times newspaper, the District Court of Gurgaon backed a petition by Unitech blocking Telenor from bidding in the auctions independently of the pair’s existing JV, Unitech Wireless (Uninor).

The court has barred Telenor from "participating, negotiating, engaging in or financially being interested in the auction processes conducted by the government/government agencies for fresh allotment of licences/spectrum, other than through Unitech Wireless."

Telenor has escalated the matter to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an attempt to overturn the Gurgaon court order. “We will continue to argue our case in court," said a spokesperson.

Uninor’s licences were among the 122 revoked by the Indian Supreme Court in February; Telenor now wants to wind down the venture in time to bid as a new entity in the forthcoming re-auction of the cancelled spectrum. Telenor owns 67.25 per cent of Uninor, while Unitech holds the remainder.

Earlier this month, Telenor had invited bidders to express interest in its Uninor arm, effectively allowing the Norwegian firm to bid again for the assets and drop Unitech as a partner – but the move was blocked by India’s Company Law Board following a successful challenge by Unitech.

Telenor is now hoping that the situation is resolved in time for it to bid in the upcoming auctions. According to the latest Department of Trade schedule, potential bidders must submit their application by October 19, while bidding starts on 12 November.

Despite a stock market share price that is languishing at more than 30 per cent below the level it listed on the Oman bourse in November 2010, Nawras continues to be an energetic operator that is looking to maximise the opportunities data usage represents. Through the leveraging of its various access technologies and the bundling of products and services, Nawras continues to expand its base of operations, believing such a focus will generate the necessary good results

Cormack freely admits that the competitive landscape in Oman has become more aggressive in the last few years, not least through the presence of value-focussed resellers together with the omnipresence of a well-entrenched incumbent

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Zimbabwe’s Econet Wireless says it has received large shipments of network equipment as part of the push by the cellco to expand its capacity to 10 million customers.

The new expansion drive by Econet is also expected to see its investment in Zimbabwe exceed US$1 billion, the largest ever in the country’s history.

It follows the approval by the Econet board to "mop up" the remaining demand for lines in the Zimbabwe market.

Econet said shipment of the equipment, which began in the last few days, was expected to continue well into next year. The equipment is being supplied by Ericsson and ZTE.

Econet has also stepped up its efforts to diversify its activities into new business areas that depend on its network. By far the largest investment effort is in EcoCash, its mobile banking platform.

Econet is developing EcoCash to address the acute shortage of cash in the economy by making it easier to buy and sell goods without the need for cash.

Another major new business area is the provision of solar powered lighting which depends on the cell phone network. A new service, called the HomePowerStation, has gone into full pre-commercial trials in Zimbabwe for the first time.

STC Group has announced the resignation of Ghassan Hasbani from his position as CEO International Operations as his contract period approached its end. He is reported to have expressed interest in exiting the company to pursue other opportunities.

STC International Operations will now report to the Group CFO Krishnan Ravi Kumar effective September 1, 2012, until a permanent structure is identified as STC remains committed to its international investments and growth strategy. Kumar joined the Group early last July and brings with him 25 years of experience gained at senior positions at a number of international companies.

Hasbani will continue to support the organisation during a handover period which is expected to end in October. Hasbani was appointed to his role at STC International Operations in January 2010.

STC embarked on an international growth strategy in 2008 and by 2011 International Operations contributed 32 per cent of total Group revenues, with a particularly notable double digit growth in subscriber base reaching over 130 million.