On May 14 Alcatel-Lucent announced it was selected by Telenor’s Indian subsidiary, Unitech Wireless, to deploy the operator’s initial GSM and EDGE mobile networks in the Kerala and Orissa telecoms circles. The price of the contract was not disclosed.

Unitech Wireless holds licences for all of India’s 22 telecoms circles and intends to launch commercially in the third quarter of this year. Telenor purchased 60 per cent of Unitech Wireless for US$1.07 billion in October 2008, and said in February it plans to raise its stake to 74 per cent.

Alcatel-Lucent will design, deploy and maintain its multi-standard GSM/EDGE radio access solution including its base station controller platform and TWIN transceivers, along with a next generation network mobile core network.

Telenor signed an infrastructure sharing agreement with Wireless-TT Info Service tower subsidiary and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure as part of its strategy to quickly rollout its network and reduce CAPEX. The tower sharing agreement allows Unitech Wireless to mount its mobile network antennas onto existing towers owned by Tata and Quippo, as well as any new towers that are built.

Telenor’s agreement covers approximately 40,000 sites, of which approximately 22,000 were to be in place by April. The remaining towers will be built throughout 2009 and 2010 in accordance with Unitech Wireless’ needs. The tower sharing and transmission agreements both have 20-year terms with options to extend the contracts for a subsequent five-year period.

On May 10, Batelco completed its purchase of Indian GSM start up S Tel for US$225 million, following an agreement signed in January for the Bahrain-based operator to acquire a 49 per cent shareholding.

S Tel is yet to launch operations, but holds licences in six Indian states – Bihar, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North East and Assam, which together have a combined population of 230 million and mobile penetration of less than 20 per cent.

“Conditions have been satisfied and Batelco has completed the first phase of its investment in S Tel. Batelco now holds a 36.9 per cent share of S Tel and in the coming months the shareholding will increase to 49 per cent,” stated Batelco Group CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos.

Batelco’s immediate responsibility is to assist the Chennai-based licensee in advancing the rollout of its network infrastructure in preparation for a launch in the fourth quarter of this year, with a focus on the north east and north west of the country.

The conclusion of the deal closely follows reports on May 8 that Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar acquired 11.7 per cent of S Tel for an estimated US$55 million. Prior to Sahara’s purchase, it is believed that private equity firms Skycity Foundations and Telecom Investments (Mauritius) held the remaining 51 per cent of S Tel.

In a development that echoes the 2005 ousting of Turkcell as winner of Iran’s second mobile licence in favour of second-placed bidder MTN of South Africa, a consortium led by Zain, which was runner-up for the Persian country’s third mobile concession, is reported to have been handed Iran’s third mobile licence, following Etisalat’s alleged failure to comply with obligations.

Etisalat’s planned entry into Iran lies in ruins, should reports regarding its ousting from the third licence award prove to be true  

Mohammad Reza Farnaqi, a spokesman for Iran’s Communications Regulatory Authority is quoted as saying the consortium led by Etisalat had had its participation in the process cancelled, and that second-placed bidder Zain was now in a position to negotiate in order to be awarded the licence.

“With the elimination of Etisalat’s … consortium from the third operator project, the Zain Iran consortium, which was runner-up in the bidding, takes over the project,” Farnaqi, was quoted as telling media in Iran.

In January, Etisalat confirmed that together with Iran’s Tamin Telecom it had become the successful bidder for the country’s third mobile licence, at an upfront licence fee of around US$400 million. At the time, it had been suggested that Etisalat agreed to pay an amount of no less than 80 per cent of US$5.6 billion to the Iranian government during the course of its 15-year licence, which amounts to US$4.48 billion.

It was understood that in comparison, second-placed bidder Zain pledged to pay up to 80 per cent of US$3.8 billion (US$3.04 billion) over the life of the licence. Thus Etisalat’s pledge amounted to an annual payment of US$299 million in revenue share to the government, while Zain’s bid would have resulted in an annual payment of US$203 million a year for every year of the licence’s validity. At this time, it remains unclear whether Zain will have to raise its revenue share offer in order to secure the licence.

“There is nothing to confirm at the moment,” commented a source close to Zain. “I believe Zain is only likely to make an official comment later in the week, as negotiations are still ongoing.”

Failure to win in Iran will be a significant blow to Etisalat, which has aspirations of becoming one of the top 10 operators in the world by 2010.

Majan Telecom today announced the launch of its mobile reseller operation branded Renna, eight days after rival Friendi Mobile launched services on April 28.

Nielsen says the company is looking to offer transparent services and rates

Renna’s packages comprise two price plans with no monthly or hidden fees:

Renna 6-6 is a classic peak/off-peak price plan that provides customers with a tariff of 38 Bz (US$0.10) from 6pm

Renna 24/7 is a “flat rate” price plan that offers the same price day and night, and is designed to suit customers who make most calls during the day

Renna has also focused on those who make frequent international calls by offering the choice of calling three international telephone numbers of choice at a low rate as part of the price plans.

“To us, simplicity and transparency are instrumental. Mobile prices are often complicated or contain ‘fine print’ that make for unpleasant surprises unavoidable. We want to make it easy for our customers to understand the specific prices in the plans they have selected, and to be comfortable that they get what they pay for,” commented Niklas Nielsen, CEO of Renna.

Renna has also introduced a range of added services that include Call Me Back, Credit Warning, Credit Transfer, and Credit In Advance. With ‘Credit in Advance’, Renna customers who run out of credit can receive a small amount of credit in advance from Renna in order to make important calls and can simply pay the balance the next time they recharge.

Starting today, Renna SIM cards are available at over 250 outlets across Oman. SIM cards can be bought for RO 2 with RO 2 credit included. In addition, customers receive 20 free SMS. Recharge cards can be bought at thousands of points of sale, and Renna has also opened two of its own fully branded shops located at its head quarters in Al Athaiba and in the Dhofar building in Ruwi High Street.

Friendi Mobile launched with the release of starter packs also costing RO 2, which included the SIM along with an introductory promotion of 100 free minutes and 100 free SMS for those who were among the first to purchase a starter pack.

Friendi Mobile’s call rate for ‘on-network’ Friendi Mobile calls is a flat rate of 39 Bz per minute anytime, with no peak or off-peak timing, while Friendi Mobile users can call other local networks for 39 Bz per minute off- peak.

Zain Group recorded consolidated revenues of KWD 567.2 million (US$1.96 billion) in Q109, an increase of 25 per cent year-on-year, with the operator’s consolidated EBIDTA increasing by 40 per cent for the same period to reach KWD 245.4 million. Net profit for the three months to the end of March amounted to KWD 75.7, an increase of three per cent year-on-year. 

Al Barrak says Zain has performed well despite the increased cost of financing and volatility in currency rates

Customer growth across the Middle East and Africa amounted to 41 per cent with the Zain Group serving 64.7 million managed active customers as of March 31, 2009.

“Despite the challenges imposed by the global economic crisis and the competitive markets in which we operate, these impressive first quarter results are testament to the sound management practices of the group and a reflection of our unwavering commitment to reach our 2011 target of being a top-ten global mobile operator,” commented Saad Al Barrak, Zain Group CEO.

Al Barrak confirmed that Zain is working on several fronts to overcome the changes in global markets such as the increasing cost of financing and the sharp volatility of currency rates, pointing out that Zain was able to achieve realistic results despite the fact that volatility of currency rates cost the company KWD 18.4 million.