Sources close to Hits Telecom Uganda have told Comm. that the licensee would launch service in a matter of weeks, in line with licensing conditions, and thereby circumvent threats from the regulator that the concession may be withdrawn.

Edwin Rowell (left), CEO of Hits Telecom Uganda, receiving the universal licence in February 2007

  At the end of July, Uganda’s telecoms regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), warned that Hits Telecom Uganda risked losing its operating licence if it did not commercially launch its network by September. The licensee was granted a mobile concession in March 2007 and was given 18 months from that date to start offering services.

Hits Telecom Uganda is reported to have built part of its network, which is supplied by Alcatel-Lucent, and carried out test calls. However planned launch dates have so far been missed.

Hits Telecom Uganda – not to be confused with Hits Africa – is currently backed by Middle East and African Investment Company (MEAIC), which is a private equity company registered in the UAE, and owned by a number of high profile individuals and institutions of significant means, predominantly from within the Gulf region.

The universal service licence Hits Telecom Uganda possesses allows it to operate a range of access technologies including CDMA, GSM, WCDMA and WiMAX, and also permits the licensee to deploy an international gateway.

The source claimed that Hits Telecom Uganda would soft launch services in the coming weeks with the current shareholder structure, though after the launch the operator is likely to be subject to a significant shift in shareholding, with a European telecoms operator becoming the majority owner.

Hits Telecom Uganda is required to launch services with the same shareholders that were granted in the licence agreement, and it is only after coming to market that it is permissible for changes in shareholding to be made.

Hits Telecom Uganda is said to also be in possession of other operating licences in Africa, which following the change in shareholding, the operator would like to pursue and bring to market.

Zain today launched commercial services in Saudi Arabia, joining the’ One Network’, Zain’s borderless mobile service offering over 45 million Zain customers in 16 countries favourable rates, free of roaming charges for cross-border communications.

On launch, the operation will have 160 official Zain outlets and over 3,000 authorised distribution points of sales

Zain’s planned coverage area extends to 95 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population, though the operators own mobile network will initially cover 53 per cent of the population in 36 major cities and 14 highways spanning over 4,000 kilometres. The remaining coverage area will be attained initially through a countrywide roaming service.

Zain will introduce high-speed 3.5G broadband technology to approximately half of the Saudi population offering the latest 3.5G services that include television, video-calling, rich multimedia content and fast Internet access. Zain’s network will be further expanded in stages to eventually cover the entire kingdom.

“We are delighted to have launched services in the economic powerhouse of Saudi Arabia and we intend to fulfil our promise to offer the community world-class telecoms services,” commented Zain Group CEO Saad Al Barrak.

“From day one onwards, our focus is to provide the Saudi community the best services and value for money that mobile technology has to offer,” said Marwan Alahmadi, CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia.

Zain Saudi Arabia has committed investments of over US$1.5 billion in the development of the network. From July 26, Zain offered people the opportunity to reserve a number, with tens of thousands registering their request. On launch date, the operation will have 160 official Zain outlets, over 3,000 authorised distribution points of sales and estimates that over 40,000 independent businesses will act as resellers of recharge cards. The operation currently has a 2,100 strong workforce.

Zain Saudi Arabia is a publicly listed company on the Saudi Stock Exchange ‘Tadawul’, first trading on March 22, 2008.

Kuwait’s third mobile network licensee, Kuwait Telecommunications Co. is reported to be seeking to raise as much as KWD25 million (US$93 million) in an initial public offering on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, commencing August 24. The company, in which Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will hold a 26 per cent stake, is selling 50 per cent of its capital in the IPO, which closes September 18. Only Kuwaiti nationals will be permitted to participate in the IPO.

50 per cent of the shares in the new operator will be offered to the Kuwaiti public between August 24 and September 18

Fuad Al-Hajeri, a member of the Kuwait Telecommunications Co’s founding committee is reported as saying he expects up to 700,000 Kuwaitis to buy shares in the company. ”We’re selling 250 million shares at 100 fils each, with 5 fils for service fees.”

STC won its stake in the licensee in November 2007, and Kuwait’s cabinet ratified the award in June this year. The new entrant is expected to launch operations before year-end.

The IPO is likely to be an early litmus test for the perceived viability of the new entrant, which faces an uphill struggle to carve out a business in a mobile market that comprises two accomplished performers – Zain and Wataniya. Numerous market commentators have questioned the prospects for a third entrant in a market with a population of fewer than 3.5 million.

Mobile satellite services company Inmarsat yesterday confirmed the successful launch and acquisition of the third Inmarsat-4 satellite.

The Proton Breeze M is one of the few launch vehicles capable of lifting the I-4 satellite – the size of a London double-decker bus and weighing six tonnes – into geostationary transfer orbit.

The satellite was launched on a Proton Breeze M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on August 18.

The satellite is the third in the I-4 constellation, concluding a decade of development and a US$1.5 billion investment. The current constellation of two Inmarsat-4 satellites delivers mobile broadband services to 85 per cent of the world’s landmass, covering 98 per cent of the world’s population. The third I-4 will complete the global coverage for Inmarsat’s broadband services.

“The Inmarsat-4s are the world’s most sophisticated commercial network for mobile voice and data services, and the successful launch of the third I-4 allows us to complete the global coverage for our broadband services,” stated Andrew Sukawaty, CEO and chairman of Inmarsat. “Once the third I-4 is operational, Inmarsat will have the only fully-funded next-generation network for mobile satellite services.”

Earlier this week Qatar Telecom (“Qtel”) issued a clarification regarding recent media reports linking the telco with a bid for a 25 per cent stake in Omantel.

Omantel is set to face competition domestically as a call for interest for a second fixed licence is set to close on August 25

The Qatar incumbent stated that it has not expressed an interest in bidding for this stake, going on to clarify that as the majority shareholder in Nawras, the second mobile operator in Oman, Qtel is mindful of the Omani rules and regulations.

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