Ericsson today announced that it has reached an agreement with Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Telcordia, a global leader in the development of mobile, broadband and enterprise communications software and services, for US$1.15 billion. Closing is anticipated in Q411 with full effect Q112.

“The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced,” commented Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson. “In this context, Telcordia brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi vendor product portfolio.”

The OSS/BSS is a growing market driven by the demand for business efficiency, innovation and high quality user experience. In 2010, the market for software and systems integration is valued at about US$35 billion and is expected to show a compound annual growth rate between 6-8 per cent between 2010 and 2013. In addition, there is an attractive market for outsourced and hosted managed services, growing in the same range.

Telcordia, which is headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, generated revenues of US$739 million during the last fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 and employs more than 2,600 people.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be accretive to Ericsson earnings per share within 12 months after closing.

Omantel has become the first Arab network operator to join the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI). The prime objective behind the formation of GTI is to harmonise LTE technologies.

The GTI was founded by China Mobile, Vodafone, Clearwire, Bharti Airtel, Softbank Mobile, Aero2 and E-Plus and was announced at the GSMA conference in Barcelona in February.

“Omantel conducted the first trial of TD-LTE technology during Salalah Tourism Festival 2010 and the second trial during the latest ICT exhibition (Comex 2011). The results were very encouraging with speeds reaching more than 100 Mbps,” commented Lars Gustafsson, VP of business development at Omantel.

Two private equity groups are reported to have dropped out of the bidding to buy a stake in Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) after disagreements about the price and degree of control the investors would receive over the vendor.

Citing several people close to the situation, the Financial Times reported that there is now just one bidder left that might take a stake in the infrastructure vendor.

According to earlier reports, the parent companies – Nokia and Siemens – are not actively seeking a buyer.

Given that private equity groups, KKR and TPG have dropped out of bidding that leaves just Gores Group and Platinum Equity as a possible investor.

A spokesman said that both Nokia and Siemens are committed to the joint venture until 2013 – which is when the current agreement between the two companies expires.

Failure to sell a stake in the company before 2013 would put the future of the group in jeopardy.

Last July, it was reported that Silver Lake Partners, TPG, Blackstone, Bain Capital and KKR were in talks about taking a one-third stake in the company, which had at the time just agreed to the US$1.2 billion deal to buy Motorola’s networking assets.

Etisalat has stated that it may reconsider bidding for Syria’s third mobile licence, but only if the terms of the tender are amended. The company withdrew from bidding for the concession earlier this year.

“If the terms of the Syrian mobile licence are changed, Etisalat will analyse the new terms,” Etisalat said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse.

Last month, the Syrian government delayed planned auction of the country’s third mobile operator licence due to the ongoing political turmoil in the country.

Only Qtel and STC were left in the bidding round before it was postponed.

Qtel Group announced a number of senior management changes following a board meeting held June 9.

Nasser Marafih, who was CEO of Qtel Qatar, was appointed CEO of the Qtel Group, with responsibility for driving efficiencies and growth across all the group companies.

Marafih began his career at Qtel in 1992 as expert advisor from the University of Qatar, and was seconded to the organisation as strategic planning and development manager in 1994.

Since becoming CEO in 2002, Marafih has led Qtel through its transformation programme and the restructuring of the company in Qatar and across the region. During Qtel’s robust international expansion, he has held the dual roles of Qtel Qatar CEO and Qtel Group CEO – today’s announcement will enable him to focus on the key group responsibilities that will drive long-term growth for the whole business.

Taking on the role of CEO of Qtel Qatar will be Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, who was previously executive director of HR and general services. Al Thani joined Qtel in 1990, and, over the course of 21 years at the company, has gained a wide range of experience and knowledge across the business. In his new role, he will direct operations throughout Qatar.

Al Thani also sits on the Board of Nawras in Oman, which is part of the Qtel Group, in addition to playing a key role on a number of management and audit committees within Qtel Qatar.

Waleed Al Sayed, formerly executive director of customer services, was named as the new chief operating officer of Qtel Qatar. Having joined the company in 1987, Al Sayed has held senior roles across sales, marketing, project management, business solutions, communication and customer services within Qtel.

Nick Dent, formerly COO of Qtel Qatar, will work with Al Sayed on the transfer process, before moving to a new role within the Qtel Group.