The UAE’s Etisalat announced the deployment of the first femtocell live project in the country, provided by Alcatel-Lucent. Etisalat’s customers will benefit from an enhanced quality of mobile broadband connectivity in remote areas of the UAE, and in high traffic locations that require higher mobile broadband bandwidth. Etisalat is targeting the commercial launch of the technology within the UAE following the initial testing.

When Jorma Ollila stepped down as Nokia CEO and chairman in 2006, his successor was always going to find it challenging to maintain the levels of success Ollila brought to the Finnish telecom manufacturer in his 13-year reign. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was that successor, a Nokia insider seen as a safe pair of hands. However, what has transpired over the past four years indicates that a safe pair of hands is no longer enough to survive and thrive in a brutally competitive global handset market

Kallasvuo made a dignified exit from Nokia after the board lost confidence in his ability to defend the company’s position from mounting competitive threats (Getty Images)

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Axiom Limited has announced its intention to undertake an initial public offering (IPO) of up to 35 per cent of its shares and a listing on NASDAQ Dubai.

Faisal Al Bannai, founder and CEO of Axiom Telecom

The global offering is expected to complete by the end of 2010, subject to prevailing market conditions and regulatory approval.

At the time of the IPO, Axiom Limited will be the holding company of Axiom Telecom LLC (Axiom Telecom). Axiom Limited was recently established in the Dubai International Financial Centre for the purposes of the IPO and the listing on NASDAQ Dubai. At the time of the IPO, Axiom Limited will be the holding company of Axiom Telecom, which will be its only asset. Axiom Limited is currently 53 per cent owned by Al Bannai Investment LLC, 40 per cent owned by a subsidiary of TECOM (a member of Dubai Holding) and seven per cent owned by Al Zarouni Enterprises LLC.

Axiom Telecom is one of the Middle East’s leading multi-brand, multi-channel distributor of mobile telecommunications handsets, accessories and services, with operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar , as well as strategic interests in companies operating in India and South Africa.

According to Axiom Telecom, in the first half of 2010, the company distributed approximately 67 per cent (by value) of all mobile handsets sold in the UAE and approximately 16 per cent (by value) of all mobile handsets sold in Saudi Arabia. Axiom Telecom sold approximately 4.1 million mobile handsets in the Middle East in 2009 and approximately 2.2 million mobile handsets in the Middle East in the first half of 2010.

To complement growth in its core markets, in 2007 and 2008 Axiom Telecom made investments in a joint venture in India with one of the largest retailers. In 2008, the company also took a 40 per cent stake in Allied International Investments Limited, a company engaged in the macro-distribution and after-sales repair and service of various brands of mobile handsets in South Africa.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, Axiom Telecom generated revenues of AED 5 billion (US$1.36 billion), while for the first half of 2010, the company generated revenues of AED 3 billion.

The Axiom group has more than 1,500 employees and operates more than 3,300 points of sale across the Middle East.

The IPO will comprise a primary offering of new shares by Axiom Limited and an offering of existing shares by Axiom Limited’s current shareholders.

It is expected that Axiom Limited will be the first company in the UAE to carry out an IPO for at least eighteen months.

Nawras announced that following the completion of the majority of the institutional investor meetings in Oman, the GCC and Europe, the Nawras IPO has received a positive response with indications of significant demand from both Omani as well as international investors.

Given this is the first time bookbuilding is used in Oman and to ensure all investors have sufficient time to complete and submit their applications, Nawras had consulted with the Capital Market Authority (CMA) for an extension to the offering period and the CMA has granted a one week extension. Therefore the new closing date of the offering will be October 21, 2010.

The subscription process remains the same for all investors, as stated in the Nawras prospectus.

Investors interested in subscribing for shares should apply at branches of Bank Muscat, National Bank of Oman, Oman Arab Bank or Ahli Bank, to ensure their application can be processed in time. The one week extension to the offering period will mean that the new pricing date is expected to be on October 31, 2010 and the new listing date is expected to be on November 3, 2010.

Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 7, its latest attempt to break into the smartphone market.

So far the company has failed to provide a credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research In Motion and Nokia.

Mobile phone operators predict smartphones will have a 70 per cent market share in just three years.

Microsoft says it has made Windows Phone 7 more user-friendly, rebuilding the operating system from bottom up.

The phone system’s experience is built around so-called hubs that aggregate content like contacts, pictures, documents, and music and video. The content on the phone is then synchronised both with storage services on the Internet and the owner’s computers at home.

At launch Microsoft’s new phone system will be available on nine phones, and with 60 operators in 30 countries.

In the UK the phone will launch on October 21, while the US launch will be in early November.

The new mobile phone software is different from Microsoft’s previous attempts. This is highlighted by the disappearance of the menu button; the company’s old “Windows Mobile” software was notorious for leading users into increasingly technical sub menus to execute even simple tasks.