Samsung Electronics, the global digital media and digital convergence technologies company, announced strong global financial earnings for its telecommunications segment in Q211 registering a solid quarterly operating profit of US$1.59 billion on revenue of US$11.57 billion.

Samsung’s telecommunications businesses – Mobile Communications and Telecommunications Systems – achieved an operating profit margin of 13.7 per cent for the quarter. The segment also recorded a rise in sales with 43 per cent year-on-year due to strong demand for Samsung’s GALAXY S II smartphone and other mobile devices.

Regionally, Samsung recorded an average of 20 per cent market share in the Gulf countries of UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. The Galaxy S II smartphone, which was recently launched in the region, is expected to increase Samsung’s market share in the Gulf by 10 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2011.

“In the Gulf market we recorded a seven per cent increase year-on-year in mobile communication devices sales for the second quarter of 2011,” said Ashraf Fawakherji, GM of Samsung Gulf Electronics Telecommunication Group.

“In the third quarter, we expect the telecommunication segment to grow steadily by 20 per cent with the continued strong demand of the mobile handsets and the launch of the new portfolio of tablets in the region. We will aim to increase our mobile shipments in the region by 30 per cent in the second half of the year,” he added.

Globally, Samsung’s Mobile Communications business saw revenues rise 45 per cent year-on-year to US$11.11 billion. Shipments of mobile handsets increased in the high-single-digit range quarter-on-quarter driven by brisk sales of smartphones. The average selling price of handsets increased by more than 10 per cent.

Samsung expects market demand for mobile handsets to increase by more than 15 per cent in the second half, driven by consumers upgrading to smartphones.

Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for US$40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about US$12.5 billion, a premium of 63 per cent to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to boost the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

Motorola Mobility senior management at the company’s listing on the NYSE on January 4, 2011

Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Earlier this year Motorola Mobility announced first-quarter revenues rose by 22 per cent to US$3 billion, and net loss shrank to US$81 million from US$212 million a year ago.

In the quarter, the company generated US$107 million in operating cash flow, its seventh consecutive quarter of positive cash generation.

Mobile Devices net revenues in the first quarter were US$2.1 billion, up 30 per cent compared with the year-ago quarter. The GAAP operating loss was US$89 million compared to an operating loss of US$192 million in the year-ago quarter.

Motorola Mobility shipped a total of 9.3 million mobile devices, including 4.1 million smartphones and more than 250,000 Motorola XOOM tablets in the quarter to end-March. In comparison, Motorola Mobility shipped 8.5 million mobile devices, including 2.3 million smartphones in Q110.

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) announced that group revenue increased by 16.6 per cent to QAR 15.4 billion (US$4.2 billion) in H111 to end-June, driven by superior operational progress across the telco.

Qtel’s consolidated customer base grew by 16.2 per cent over the period to stand at 77.5 million, while the group EBITDA increased 15 per cent to QAR 7.2 billion. EBITDA margin remained robust throughout the period at 47 per cent, same as for the corresponding period the year earlier.

Net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders increased by 16.7 per cent when normalised for a one-off favourable decision on the royalty regime in Qatar in 2010 of QAR 554 million related to the period of 2007-2009. H111 net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders stood at QAR 1.4 billion, down 22 per cent year-on-year.

The Iraqi parliament has voted to order the country’s three mobile network operators to pay up their entire licence fee within a month, instead of being staggered over a five-year term as originally intended.

However, there is some confusion as to whether this is a binding order on the regulator, or just a recommendation by parliament to the government to then decide if it agrees.

If implemented, the country’s three operators will need to find US$2.85 billion in licence fees and outstanding regulatory fines within 30 days.

“The parliament voted … that the companies should pay their financial requirements valued at US$2.85 billion to the federal budget within 30 days from the date of the vote,” the parliament said in a statement, reported Reuters.

However, the nominally independent regulator said the vote was not binding on it, while an affiliate of the Ministry of Communications said that it would be.

Zain, Qatar Telecom’s Asiacell, and Korek Telecom are the country’s three mobile players, with a fourth licence understood to be in the offing imminently.

Egyptian telco, Telecom Egypt and Alcatel-Lucent have announced that the TE-North Cable System, provisioned with 40 Gigabit per second (40G) wavelengths across the Mediterranean, is in service. TE-North is the first Mediterranean cable network to provide commercial service using this newest 40G technology.

The 3600km system connects Abu Talat, Egypt, to Marseille, France, with a branch to Pentaskhinos, Cyprus and also includes other branching units for further expansions in the Mediterranean basin. The introduction of this advanced technology essentially doubles the original design capacity of the system from 10 Terabits per second to over 20 Terabits per second, equivalent to the transfer of over 32,000 HD movies in 60 seconds.

TE-North’s expanded design capacity enables Telecom Egypt to meet the growing demand of its customers and the region on this important international telecommunications route. By boosting connectivity across the Mediterranean basin, the 40G technology enhances Telecom Egypt’s ability to serve global operators whose international services transit Egypt and rely on Egypt to hub the services in the Middle East, Asia and Africa region.