Orascom’s 3G network in North Korea – Koryolink – has surpassed one million users, according to press reports.

Japan’s Mainichi Daily News reports that the latest subscriber figure is more than double the 430,000 recorded in December 2010, just over a year ago. Egypt-based Orascom launched the network in the highly secretive and totalitarian state in December 2008 and is the country’s sole operator. Orascom owns 75 per cent of the cellco as part of a JV with the government.

According to the report, the network now covers 94 per cent of North Korea’s 24 million population, extending to 14 major cities and 86 other municipalities.
Orascom chairman Naguib Sawiris undertook a three-day visit to the country last week.

Despite the rising mobile subscriber base, usage is thought to be tightly controlled and monitored. Most ordinary users are banned from making international calls or accessing the Internet via their devices.

Batelco today issued a statement that in conjunction with STel management, other STel shareholders and legal advisers, the telco is carefully studying the detailed judgement handed down by the Supreme Court of India on February 3, 2012, which cancelled all 122 2G licences issued in 2008 and allocated spectrum granted to eight operators, including STel.

Batelco stated that whilst the immediate focus is on STel’s customers, employees and suppliers, STel shareholders will also review the sustainability of its business operations under the revised conditions imposed by the Indian Supreme Court’s recent judgement impacting the telecom industry.

Batelco was not involved in the STel licence application process nor had any knowledge of any of the events surrounding the granting of the 2G licences in January 2008.

The Bahrain telco has held a 42.7 per cent equity stake in STel since May 2009 and as at December 31, 2011; Batelco was carrying the value of its equity in STel at US$123.3 million.

Batelco’s investment in India has been a costly one, and has consistently dragged down the telco’s overall profitability. Last May it was rumoured that the Bahrain telco was reconsidering its Indian expansion strategy following the intensification of operating conditions in the mobile market and regulatory restrictions that were pushing up costs.

Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco’s CEO at the time was quoted as saying the market was proving to be far more challenging than expected and that the slashing of phone call tariffs had been worse than even the “worst case scenarios” the company modelled when analysing the initial investment.

MTN Group has confirmed it is facing a lawsuit in the United States initiated by Turkey’s Turkcell over its stake in an Iranian mobile network.

MTN, through one of its subsidiaries, owns a 49 per cent shareholding in Irancell, which holds the second GSM licence in Iran. The remaining 51 per cent of Irancell is owned by Iran Electronic Development Company (IEDC).

Turkcell, and its subsidiary East Asian Consortium (EAC), was originally awarded the licence in 2003, though the Turkish operator’s initial 70 per cent stake was reduced to 49 per cent by the Iranian government in 2005.

In June 2005, the Iranian government cancelled the licence awarded to Turkcell and commenced talks with MTN, which resulted in the licence being transferred.

Turkcell has been seeking legal redress since then, and has now launched a lawsuit against MTN.

According to a statement from MTN, it understands the claim would allege that, in approximately 2004 to 2005, in an effort to cause the Iranian government to issue the GSM licence to MTN rather than Turkcell, MTN made improper payments to an Iranian and a South African government official.

The claim also suggests that MTN encouraged the South African government to take a favourable position toward Iran`s civil nuclear power development programme at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in November 2005; and that MTN enlisted South African government support for the provision of military equipment to Iran.

Turkcell has intimated a range of putative claim amounts, the nominal value of which, if formally asserted, would be substantial.

The MTN Group board has established a special committee to consider the allegations in depth and to recommend appropriate action.

Qualcomm has reported record quarterly revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ended December 25, 2011. The company posted revenues of US$4.68 billion, a rise of 40 per cent on the previous year.

Net income was up by 20 per cent to US1.4 billion. Operating income was also up, by 24 per cent to US $1.55 billion.

Operating cash flow was US$1.78 billion, representing 38 per cent of revenues.

Mobile Station Mobile chipset shipments were 156 million units, up 32 per cent year-on-year and 23 per cent sequentially.

India’s Supreme Court has cancelled 122 telecommunications licences awarded to companies in 2008.

The licences were issued by former minister A Raja, who is accused of mis-selling bandwidth in what has been called India’s biggest corruption scandal. Raja denies wrongdoing.

Government auditors say the scandal cost the country about US$40 billion.

The judges also ordered a court to decide whether home minister P Chidambaram should be investigated. Opposition MPs accuse Chidambaram of failing to prevent the scandal when he was finance minister. He denies any wrongdoing.

Raja is currently on trial for fraud.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for mobile telephones with 893 million subscriptions.

Reports say today’s verdict is likely to affect about five per cent of connections used by mobile phone customers.  India’s telecom regulator says the affected subscribers can be transferred to other mobile operators.  Some of the companies affected by the court order include Loop, Videocon, Idea Cellular, Tata Telecom, Uninor and Swan.