The Nigerian president, Umaru Yar’Adua, is reported to have instructed the new board of ailing incumbent telco Nigerian Telecommunications (Nitel) to privatise the firm within the next 60 days.

“The major challenge of the new advisory board is to resuscitate Nitel/Mtel and prepare the two companies for privatisation,” vice president Goodluck Jonathan is quoted as saying. In July Nigeria’s federal government invited bids for a 75 per cent stake in Nitel, after a previous attempt to sell the ailing fixed line operator failed. The sale includes Nitel’s mobile arm Mtel and its submarine fibre-optic cable division SAT-3, which links Africa with Europe and the rest of the world. Interested parties have been invited to submit bids before an October 2 deadline.

The federal government sold a 51 per cent stake in Nitel to local conglomerate Transcorp in 2006, retaining a 49 per cent interest. Since then the telco’s initial 500,000 fixed lines in service have dropped to about 45,000, and has racked up a significant amount of debt.

In February Transcorp was made to start divesting its shareholding in the telco and in March the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) announced it was offering a 51 per cent stake in the fixed line operator and 100 per cent of its mobile unit. In May Nigeria’s anti-corruption police charged the head of Transcorp, Tom Iseghohi and two other employees with fraud for allegedly embezzling around US$110 million belonging to Nitel, revoking the sale of Nitel to Transcorp altogether.

Bangladesh’s Grameenphone, which has been seeking a stock market listing for over a year, now aims to raise around US$68 million from a floatation process to take place before the end of the year.

The cellco is 62 per cent owned by Norway’s Telenor with the remainder held by Grameen Telecom. Following the floatation, Telenor will hold 55.8 per cent of the company, Grameen Telecom 34.2 per cent, and the public will hold a 10 per cent stake.

A dispute between the two shareholders over claims that Telenor should cede management control has been simmering for some time; in addition, Grameen Telecom has warned that it has possible liabilities on unpaid taxes that are subject to legal disputes.

In the prospectus document, the company noted that in 2008, it moved from a single vendor framework to a dual vendor framework as it entered into a long-term purchase and maintenance agreement for network and radio access equipment with Huawei, and plans to renew the framework agreement for the purchase and maintenance of GSM equipment with Ericsson.

Grameenphone also confirmed that when the regulator eventually decides to award a 3G licence, then it will be bidding. Its existing GSM licence expires in 2011 and will need renewing on an annual basis.

Bangladesh currently has six operators – and counted 46.3 million mobile subscribers at the end of Q109, representing a penetration level of 29.7 per cent. Grameenphone is the market leader with 21 million subscribers, followed by Banglalink (10.8 million), Aktel (9.3 million) and Warid Telecom (2.3 million). The two remaining long term incumbents, Citycell and Teletalk count 2.8 million customers between them.

Three years ago Mikkel Vinter and his team at Friendi Mobile began their journey to introduce mobile virtual telecoms operations into the Middle East and North Africa. Faced with scepticism, indifference and in some cases even hostility, the company has gone on to commercialise one venture and is at advanced stages in negotiating others. It has also penned a number of industry-modifying partnership agreements and in so doing is forcing the industry to reconsider the value that MVNOs can bring to a competitive market

Mikkel Vinter says that the three years in which his company has been in existence has helped modify attitudes towards MVNOs in the region

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Wataniya Palestine has threatened to seek a return of its licence fee and other financial compensation if radio frequencies required for it to launch service are not released by September 15.

Last September, Palestine’s telecoms regulator, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) advised Wataniya Palestine that spectrum would be allocated, allowing the licensee to launch commercial operations after repeated delays since March 2007.

At the time, the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and IT (MTIT) confirmed an agreement had been reached with the PNA, which would provide the staged release of radio frequencies over several months.

The latest deadline set by Wataniya expires a month before the operator’s proposed launch date.

Wataniya Palestine said it had been provided with frequencies that fall below the minimum needed to launch the network. “In the event that minimum radio spectrum is not allocated to meet the launch schedule, Wataniya Mobile must pursue remedies that may include demands for refund of its licence fee payment and other damages,” a statement from the company read.

Palestinian minister of communications, Mashhour Abu Daqqa, told news wires the Palestinian Authority would ask international powers to press Israel to cover financial costs that would result from a possible Wataniya withdrawal from the deal.

“The Israeli side, as usual, is stalling in fulfilling its commitments. The Israeli side should pay for the financial costs, and we will demand that they do so,” Daqqa said.

He said the Palestinian Authority asked Israel to release some 4.8 MHz in frequencies but it only agreed to the release of 3.8 MHz.

Wataniya is said to have so far invested some US$270 million in infrastructure, as well as an additional US$140 million in licensing fees to the Palestinian Authority.

Wataniya signed a licence agreement with the Palestinian Authority in 2007 after bidding JD 251 million (US$354.3 million) to build and operate a new mobile network.

India’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel (Bharti) and Africa’s largest mobile operator by subscriber numbers, MTN Group (MTN) have extended for the second time exclusive merger talks, agreeing on a new deadline of September 30.

Merger talks between the two entities resumed in May and the companies had earlier extended the exclusive talks till August 31 from July 31. A year earlier previous talks broke down between MTN and Bharti over who would control a merged entity.

MTN Group CEO Phuthuma Nhleko is a firm supporter of the deal with Bharti, believing it would offer both companies strong exposure to emerging markets

As per the latest deal on the table, Bharti could acquire 49 per cent of MTN while the South African firm and its shareholders would pick up a combined 36 per cent stake in the Indian counterpart. The deal involves both paper and cash, and under the proposed arrangement, which is valued at around US$23 billion, MTN would pay US$2.9 billion and shares equivalent to 25 per cent of its share capital to Bharti in return for a 36 per cent stake in the Indian firm.

Bharti in turn would acquire a 36 per cent stake in MTN, controlled by the Mikati family and a trust representing senior management and employees. The Mikati family gained a 10 per cent stake in MTN through the acquisition of their telecom company Investcom by MTN for US$5.5 billion in 2006. Bharti’s offer represents R86 (US$10.44) and 0.5 Bharti share for each MTN share acquired through a global depository receipt (GDR) listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Together with the earlier 25 per cent crossholding in MTN, Bharti Airtel would end up owning 49 per cent of MTN’s enlarged capital.

While MTN would be the primary vehicle for both Bharti and MTN to pursue further expansion across Africa and the Middle East, Bharti would be the primary vehicle for both companies to pursue further expansion in India and Asia.

Bharti expects the tie-up to give it substantial participatory and governance rights in MTN, enabling it to fully consolidate the accounts of MTN while MTN would also have representation on the Bharti board. However the structure and terms of the potential transaction may be adjusted.