MTN ‘s mobile network in Uganda has announced that its subscriber base reached 9.5 million at the end of the first quarter with more than half using its mobile money service.

According to the results, MTN Uganda continued to show good growth and increased market share despite the high levels of competition in the market. Increased penetration into rural areas and improved network quality further supported this growth.

Local currency data revenue also increased by 67.7 per cent and now contributes to 23.5 per cent of MTN Uganda’s revenue.

MTN Mobile Money remains the fastest growing product in Uganda with more than five million registered users each transacting on average five times a month. The popularity and growth of MTN Mobile Money is supported by a large agent network exceeding 30,000 agents.

As of March 31, MTN Uganda total data subscribers exceeded 2.6 million.

Nawras today reported that revenues for Q114 grew by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to OMR52.7 million (US$137 million) driven by increases in both fixed and mobile data revenue as well as international voice revenue offset by a decrease in SMS revenue.

EBITDA amounted to OMR26.6 million, up 15.7 per cent, driven by the increase in revenue. Net profit for the quarter was OMR8.8 million, up 14.3 per cent year-on-year, with the total number of customers growing by 8.9 per cent in Q114 to 2.43 million.

The fixed service customer base grew by 27.5 per cent to 65,728 customers in Q114, with the mobile post-paid customer base growing by four per cent to 189,554 customers, and the mobile prepaid customer base increasing by 8.8 per cent to 2.18 million.

Samsung Electronics has reported a modest rise in its first quarter revenues but that masked a four per cent fall in its mobile phone division.

The company posted revenues of KRW53.7 trillion (US$52 billion), and a US$500 million increase in profits to KRW7.57 trillion (USD7.5 billion).

Capital expenditure in the first quarter amounted to KRW5.4 trillion, which includes KRW3.3 trillion for the memory business and KRW700 billion for display.

Although market demand for both smartphones and tablets decreased during Q1 quarter-on-quarter, operating profits for the division jumped 18 per cent compared with the previous quarter thanks to steady smartphone shipments and a positive impact from adjustments of one-off expenses.

Samsung said that it expects to see profits rally in the second quarter and beyond, on the back of improved sales of display panels and home appliances. Orders for display panels that are used for premium smartphones and TVs are expected to increase, as new mobile devices are rolled out into the market and as consumers look forward to the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

Nokia board of directors has appointed Rajeev Suri as president and CEO of Nokia Corporation, effective May 1, 2014. Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a wide range of leadership positions in the company. Since October of 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN, the former joint venture between Nokia and Siemens that is now fully owned by Nokia. During his tenure as CEO, that business went through a radical transformation.

Risto Siilasmaa, chairman of the Nokia board, and who has also been serving as an interim CEO, will return to focusing exclusively on his role as chairman as of May 1, 2014.

Long-term leadership targeted in three key areas

Nokia believes that over the next 10 years billions of connected devices will converge into intelligent and programmable systems that will have the potential to improve lives in a vast number of areas: time and availability, transportation and resource consumption, learning and work, health and wellness, and many more.

This new world of technology will require 1) connectivity capable of handling massive numbers of devices and exponential increases in data traffic; 2) location services that seamlessly bridge between the real and virtual worlds; and 3) innovation, including in sensing, radio and low power technologies. Nokia’s vision is to be a leader over the long term in these three areas.

Nokia strategy

"Nokia’s strategy is to develop its three businesses in order to realise its vision of being a technology leader in a connected world and, in turn, create long-term shareholder value. Nokia will target the creation of long-term shareholder value by focusing on the following three areas:

Through its Networks business (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks, or NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecom operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic, which is more than doubling every year. Future investment will focus on further building on the company’s strong position in mobile broadband and related services, and strengthening its leadership position in next-generation network technologies.

Through its HERE business, Nokia will invest to further develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screens. Given that location is an essential element of a connected world, Nokia will target its investment in three areas: 1) technology for smart, connected cars; 2) cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and 3) location-based analytics for better business decisions.

Through its Technologies business, Nokia will invest in the further development of its industry-leading innovation portfolio. This will include 1) expanding the successful intellectual property licensing program; 2) helping other companies and organisations benefit from Nokia’s breakthrough innovations through technology licensing; and 3) exploring new technologies for use in potential future products and services.

Ooredoo today announced that its Tunisian operations have fully adopted the global Ooredoo brand, as the company continues to make strong progress on launching the brand across the MENA region and South East Asia.

Ooredoo’s Tunisian operations join colleagues in Qatar, Algeria, the Maldives, and Myanmar in deploying the Ooredoo brand, following the global brand launch in February 2013. Tunisiana was Tunisia’s first privately-owned telecommunications company, launching in 2002, and successfully introduced the Ooredoo brand in Tunisia in July 2013.

Ooredoo is dedicated to driving technology innovation and enhancing the customer experience across Tunisia. As part of this strategy, Ooredoo is investing in high-speed networks, including the nationwide 3G mobile broadband network, and is rolling-out the next generation fibre network in central business districts.