Nokia and Etisalat announced that through their ongoing collaboration, consumers across the Middle East will soon be able to purchase content from the Ovi store with billing directly to their mobile phone account. Etisalat subscribers will now have the choice to pay for any applications via their Etisalat account and the costs will be automatically accrued. The service will either be charged as part of the customer’s monthly bill for post paid accounts, or deducted from their prepaid airtime credit.

The Ovi store is a one stop shop where consumers can download mobile games, applications, videos, images and personalised content to their Nokia devices and Nokia smartphones. Over 35,000 items are now available for download by consumers, with over four million downloads a day globally with steady growth also in the Middle East region. The content is a combination of free and paid for.

In addition to operator billing through Etisalat, consumers will continue to have the existing payment option via credit card. The operator billing will be available in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt during 2011 and the cooperation will be extended to other Etisalat operations in the Middle East and Africa region going forward.

Zain Group completed its annual general meeting in Kuwait today, and given the twists and turns the cellco has faced in recent months with respect to its future, much is likely to have been discussed. At the beginning of March the board of directors recommended a cash dividend of 200 fils (US$0.68) per share, in part due to the cash windfall received by Zain from the sale of its assets in Africa to Airtel.

The failure of the deal for Etisalat to acquire Zain is likely to impact the internal dynamics of the Kuwait-based cellco, with a number of further changes expected within its leadership team.

Last week the company issued a statement confirming it had signed a non-binding term sheet with the consortium of Kingdom Holding Company and Batelco relating to the possible disposal of Zain’s 25 per cent equity stake in Zain Saudi Arabia. The company said all terms and conditions of the term sheet are in line with the offer made to Zain by the consortium on March 13, 2011.

Orange Business Services has expanded Telepresence Community, its B2B Telepresence solution, through an interoperability agreement with Tata Communications’ Global Meeting Exchange to allow customers to conduct Telepresence meetings seamlessly on each respective network. The collaboration will provide customers of each organisation with open access to connect across a much broader business ecosystem.

Launched in July 2010, Telepresence Community enables Orange customers that have invested in immersive video technology to not only hold Telepresence meetings within their own enterprise, but also with customers, suppliers and partners that are either connected to the global MPLS platform of Orange Business Services or that of a partner carrier.

This agreement enables meetings to take place between Telepresence Community customers and any private or public room on the Tata Communications Global Meeting Exchange, and vice versa. Tata Communications currently has the largest global network of public Telepresence rooms and is present in 31 major cities across five continents, with its 33 rooms spanning 17 countries.

With Orange Business Services, customers benefit from a Telepresence network accessible in 140 countries and Telepresence Community in 45 countries with additional coverage planned in 2011.

Inwi, the mobile operator in Morocco that was launched in February 2010 as the country’s third player, has closed its first year of operation with five million customers, representing a 13.5 per cent market share.

The Wana subsidiary also announced that it has strengthened its leading position in fixed line services with a 66.72 per cent market share, and in 3G Internet provision with a market share of 40.68 per cent.

Frédéric Bebord, director general, commented: “Our strategy of offering innovative customer packages, such as a 24/7 flat rate tariff for all customers, free on-net calls for post-paid customers, and prepaid per second billing, has made mobile telecommunications services affordable for all. We have debunked the myth that mobile services are too expensive.”

Inwi also announced that in the 2010 fiscal year turnover rose 38 per cent to US$$468.7 million and EBITDA ended the year with a positive balance of US$56.3 million, 12 per cent of turnover, versus a negative EBITDA of US$40.8 million the previous year. To date Inwi has invested US$1.37 billion and has capital assets of US$822.8 million.

Bebord said: “Our goal of making mobile services available and affordable for all is paying dividends. Moroccans have embraced the Inwi brand because of our transparent and competitive pricing.

“We clearly communicate our tariffs. There are no ‘hidden extras’ or usage caps in our packages, and we have provided an innovative range of solutions for pre- and post-paid customers and businesses.”

South Africa’s MTN could enter the India mobile market, with reports suggesting that the majority shareholder in Indian mobile network, Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Group, is in talks with MTN over a possible sale of a stake in the company.

Citing three people with knowledge of the matter, BusinessWeek said that the talks are at an early stage, and might not lead to a deal. Birla Group is also talking with telecom companies in the US and Europe about a deal for the stake in Idea, said two of the people.

The Birla Group owns 47 per cent of Idea Cellular, with 19 per cent held by Malaysia’s Axiata Group and the remainder free floated.

Any deal with MTN would likely involve a mix of cash and shares, said one of the people.

Speculation about the tie-up in India is the first potential deal on incoming CEO Sifiso Dabengwa’s watch, following his assumption of the top job at MTN Group as of April 1.

Former president and CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko tried and failed to merge the South African cellco with Indian operators Reliance and Bharti Airtel in the last couple of years of his tenure.