Etisalat has partnered with Smartphone company EMS to develop a new mobile application store for BlackBerry customers. Launching initially in Tanzania where Etisalat operates as Zantel, the Zantel BlackBerry app store will give customers access to a wide range of content including entertainment, games, instant messaging, social networking, news, weather and working tools such as word/ calendar.

To access the service customers need to click on the link: www.zantel.com/zantelapps directly from their Blackberry device. The Zantel Blackberry application store will then automatically install on the smartphone.

Indian mobile network, Etisalat DB – which is 45 per cent owned by Etisalat – has reportedly been served with a US$1.6 billion fine from India’s Enforcement Directorate, for violations relating to the 2008 licence scandal.

The fine was reportedly for “suspected contravention” of foreign exchange rules inside and outside the country by the company. To fine a company for “suspected” rule breaking would be a worrying precedent, regardless of the underlying reasons though.

In a statement, Etisalat said: “Neither Etisalat nor Etisalat DB have received any official communication and is therefore unable to comment at this time.”

Etisalat DB has been given 30 days to explain why it should not pay the fine, a Press Trust of India report stated.

Etisalat paid US$900 million for its stake in the Indian start up mobile network, Swan Telecom (renamed as Etisalat DB) in March 2009. The company has licences covering 13 of the country’s 22 operating circles and has received radio spectrum in 10 of the circles.

The company is facing investigations over its licence awards as part of the ongoing telecom scandal that has engulfed the country’s government.

Telecom Egypt is reported to be looking to launch an MVNO service by the end of this year. Talks to buy out Vodafone’s 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt broke down last year.

It had been reported last year that Telecom Egypt would have to pay around GBP3 billion (US$4.79 billion) to buy out the Vodafone holding in the company.

Telecom Egypt chairman Akil Beshir said the company is in talks with the telecom regulator to secure an MVNO licence.

“Many people do not expect this government to take a major decision like introducing an MVNO, but we keep working on it,” Beshir told Reuters, adding a decision to grant the licence could come towards the end of the year.

South Africa’s MTN has said that it will support plans by the Rwandan government to float its 10 per cent stake in MTN Rwanda onto the local stock market, ending speculation that MTN might try to buy the interest instead.

The government previously said that it wanted to sell the stake, and that it is also seeking to boost its newly opened stock exchange by floating state-owned companies on it.

“We have not made a final decision on how to structure our shares. But we would wish the public to own what they have done in Rwanda,” Shauket Fakie, MTN Group executive in charge of business risk management told Business Times.

The government would have needed approval from MTN, as the (55 per cent) majority shareholder, to float its stake on the stock market.

The country currently has three mobile operators: MTN – with an estimated 53 per cent share; Rwandatel – with 33 per cent share and Tigo – 14 per cent.

Huawei is aiming to ship up to 20 million smartphones this year, an increase on earlier sales targets of 12-15 million units in 2011. Last year, it shipped 3.3 million smartphones.

“Our original target this year was at 12-15 million units globally,” Victor Xu, chief strategy and marketing officer of Huawei Device, told Reuters on the sidelines of a company event.

“Currently, based on the sales in the first half of this year, sales in the domestic market might have already exceeded this figure. Therefore, we think probably that could be around 20 million units globally.”

The company is looking for total mobile phone sales of 60 million this year.

Huawei has previously said that it will launch 8-10 new smartphone models in 2011, with 80% being of entry- to mid-levels, and aims to be among the world’s five largest handset vendors in 2013.

Sales under the Huawei brand will start later this year in the UK and China, supported by an advertising campaign that will spread to the USA, Japan, India and Indonesian markets in 2012.