Virgin Group is not commenting on reports that it is selling a stake in its South African MVNO, and that the CEO, Steve Bailey is resigning from his post.

Citing a well-placed source, TechCentral reported that Virgin will reduce its 55 per cent stake through a sale of an unspecified amount to the UAE based Friendi Group, which already operates a number of MVNOs in the Middle East.

The report suggested that Virgin Mobile South Africa’s other shareholder, Calico Investments which owns the remaining 45 per cent stake will retain its holding, but plans to work with Friendi Group to expand across Africa.

Bailey declined to comment on his reasons for leaving.

Virgin Mobile South Africa was launched in 2006 as a 50:50 joint venture between the Virgin Group and local mobile network, Cell C.

Last February, Cell C sold its stake, with Virgin Group picking up an additional five per cent and Calico Investments of The Bahamas taking the other 45 per cent. Financial terms of that transaction were not disclosed.

Mozambique’s third mobile network operator Movitel has commercially launched its services, although it has been offering its prepay cards from shops for the past three weeks.

Movitel is a consortium formed between Vietnam’s Viettel and SPI, a holding company of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party.

Movitel was granted its licence in November 2010 at a cost of US$29 million and has subsequently deployed 1,800 base stations across the country.

The company says that it has invested nearly US$120 million in its network.

Mozambique’s incumbent networks are Vodacom and M-Cel.

Mobily has signed an agreement with Ericsson for the supply of an Evolved Packet Core solution that supports 2G, 3G and 4G communications.

Evolved Packed Core is a flat, efficient, IP-based core network architecture supporting the next generation of mobile broadband. Combined with LTE access networks, Evolved Packet Core will provide a whole new experience for Saudi users, with true broadband access virtually anywhere and a rich variety of multimedia applications.

The Ericsson Evolved Packet Core is optimised to cope with the increased uptake of mobile broadband and to secure a smooth evolution to all-IP networks.

More than 300 operators in 150 countries rely on Ericsson’s Packet Core solutions to offer new, compelling and efficient multimedia services.

Etisalat Group today announced the appointment of Khalifa Al Shamsi as chief digital services officer for Etisalat Group for the newly established Etisalat Digital Services Unit.

The new division, which will focus on various industry verticals such as machine-to-machine (M2M), cloud services, commerce, digital advertisement, advanced communications, digital entertainment, and video services aims to boost the group position in the digital eco-system and drive innovation and advanced services to the group customers.

Al Shamsi joined Etisalat as a graduate trainee 19 years ago, and has since held various senior managerial positions within Etisalat UAE. Prior to his most recent appointment, Al Shamsi held the position of senior VP Technology Strategy for Etisalat Group, to which he was appointed in 2010, leading the Etisalat’s foray into the digital space.

Vodafone Group is reportedly mulling a re-organisation, following the departure of Michel Combes, its European CEO to join French integrated operator SFR.

According to Bloomberg, the restructure could set out the succession candidates for the top job at the group, although incumbent Vittorio Colao has not so far made any indication he plans to step down.

Among the options suggested was a split of the European region into two, integrating its more developed markets into one unit, with its emerging Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe businesses forming a second.

The report noted that Colao had identified an issue with the classification of Turkey, which while “clearly an engine for growth,” falls between the “sophisticated” western European businesses and its emerging markets operations.

Names mooted for promotion included Paolo Bertoluzzo, who runs Vodafone Italy, and Serpil Timuray, head of Vodafone Turkey.

Also in the frame is former Safaricom boss Michael Joseph, who is now director of global payments for the group.