Qtel has upgraded its HSPA network to offer mobile download speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps, and is already working on another round of upgrades which should see speeds as high as 21 Mbps available by August and 42 Mbps later in the year.

More than 50,000 people in Qatar currently use mobile broadband solutions, logging into the Qtel network using smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The new speed enhancements will benefit all customers at no extra cost.

"We have a clear road-map in place that will see Qatar emerge as one of the best-connected nations not just in the region, but in the world. The enhancement of our mobile Broadband network sits alongside our plans for fibre-to-the-home and network upgrades that will ensure everybody can have the best Internet experience wherever they are in Qatar," stated Khalil Ibrahim Al-Emadi, executive director of networks at Qtel.

Alongside the network upgrade, Qtel is also offering its new 21 Mbps modem which follows the successful launch in April of its innovative My-Fi personal mobile hot spot, a pioneering device that enables people to create their own Internet access points from anywhere in Qatar. Up to five people can access mobile broadband over the My-Fi solution.

Earlier this week Saudi Arabia’s Mobily announced it had completed trials of its HSPA+ network with speeds of up to 42 Mbps, in preparation for rollout to major cities across the kingdom. This was the first major speed upgrade for Mobily since the launch of the region’s first HSPA network in the second half of 2009 with speeds of 21 Mbps.

The UAE’s Etisalat is in talks with Reliance Communications (RCom) over the potential purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the Indian firm and has already appointed investment bankers to advise on the proposed deal, according to reports. This would give RCom a much welcomed cash injection which it needs to finance its 3G aspirations, while giving Etisalat access to India’s second largest player with a subscriber base of more than 100 million.

RCom won 3G licences for 13 circles in the recently-completed nationwide 3G spectrum auction and will need to dish out INR 85 billion to cover the licence fees. The operator has said it plans to acquire loans from banks to pay for the licence fees, however it will also need additional finances in order offer value added services to its subscribers.

"A high debt level is not the best of situations for the company in current times when the liquidity is likely to become scarce and the interest rates are also likely to go up in the next six to nine months. This will impact the profitability of the company and also its margins,” commented Siddharth Maheshwari, Datamonitor’s R&A director of company and market intelligence.

"Bringing in Etisalat as a strategic financial investor makes a lot of economic sense for Reliance Communications Limited. If Etisalat buys the reported 25 per cent stake in the company for around INR 18,000 crores (INR 180 billion) it would immediately reduce the debt-equity level of the company to a very attractive level and will give the company the much needed financial capital to rapidly launch the 3G and other value added services," Maheshwari added.

Etisalat already has an investment in India through a joint venture with the Dynamix Balwas Group, where the UAE operator has a 45 per cent shareholding in Etisalat DB. However, it has not made much progress to date with rolling out of services. If Etisalat DB were to be part of a larger established Indian telecoms provider, it would make much more business sense.

“However, according to existing regulations the company will not be able to hold more than 10 per cent in more than two entities at the same time. Untangling this complex partnership will require some time and deft manoeuvring. The strategic financial deal, if it fructifies, will be a positive for both the companies and both of them will gain from the partnership in the long term,” commented a statement from Datamonitor.

Orascom Telecom’s chairman, Naguib Sawiris, has confirmed that South Africa’s MTN has offered US$7.8 billion to purchase the group’s most profitable unit – Djezzy in Algeria. The confirmation comes after the announcement that Orascom was about to enter talks with Algeria’s government over the sale of the operation.

Algeria’s government had previously threatened to block any deal between MTN and Orascom, saying it had the first right to bid in any proposed transaction of a company in Algeria, before foreign parties. If the deal with MTN were to go ahead, there remains regulations which stipulate that any foreign company wishing to invest in the country must cede a 51 per cent shareholding to locals.

It was previously suggested that MTN could buy the whole of Orascom including all its subsidiaries, which had been valued by analysts to have an enterprise value of between US$11-12.6 million.

The lucrative Algerian unit contributed almost 37 per cent to Orascom’s group revenues in 2009. The other operations are based in Egypt, Tunisia, North Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Telenor’s venture in India, Uninor, has launched its mobile services in a further five telecommunications circles, increasing its coverage to 13 service areas with a population footprint of 900 million people. The new service areas to have access to Uninor’s network are Mumbai, Mahastra and Goa, Gujarat, Kolkata and West Bengal. Mumbai and Kolkata are two of the largest metro areas in the country.

Within these five circles, customers will be able to access Uninor services from more than 85,000 points of sale, through close to 440 distributors and more than 80 exclusive shops. Across India, the operator has more than 300,000 points of sale, increasing its national retail presence by 40 per cent.

"I am satisfied that Uninor continues its roll out across India, managing to keep the momentum from the initial launch in December last year. Covering 13 telecom circles Uninor is about to establish itself as a real pan-Indian mobile operator," stated Sigve Brekke, executive vice president of Telenor Group, and head of Telenor’s Asian operations.

"The valuable learning Uninor has made from the circles where it has already launched combined with the positive energy and optimism in the organisation will be important in establishing Uninor as a preferred provider of mobile services in India," Brekke added.

UAE retailers CompuMe and i2 Mobile have been acquired in a management buyout led by chief executive Dikran Tchablakian.

Tchablakian had owned 40 per cent of digital and IT products and services provider CompuMe, with the rest of the company owned by Saudi based mobile retailer i2.

Tchablakian has now acquired the other 60 per cent of CompuMe, as well as 100 per cent of i2’s operation in the UAE, making an undisclosed investment in the venture.

i2 group’s operations are spread across 21 countries, and are being sold to local partners. The retail deal is restricted to i2’s operations in the UAE only.

Tchablakian (second from the left) details the management buyout of i2 and CompuMe

“The buyout will allow us to focus on the growth of the company and its expansion. We will now use the synergies of both firms to create more powerful brands,” Tchablakian said.

The deal was brokered by the Arab Emirates Investment Bank.

The combined CompuMe and i2 retail entity has 17 outlets, the majority of which are located in Virgin Megastores. At the same event at which the companies detailed the management buyout, CompuMe and i2 also detailed plans to extend their partnership with Virgin Megastores across the Middle East, offering IT, digital and mobile phones sales support.

Tchablakian founded CompuMe in 1998, starting franchise operations covering UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. In December 2006 Tchablakian and i2 began negotiations on a share-swap deal for CompuMe to be acquired by i2 Group, with the deal finalised in January 2007. Tchablakian acquired 40 per cent of the UAE group.

Later in 2007 i2 when on to acquire CompuMe, taking control of CompuMe’s UAE business as well as the franchise stakes CompuMe owned in Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi.