Etisalat’s operation in Afghanistan has attracted almost three million customers across 27 provinces, equating to 24 per cent market share, stated CEO Saeed Al Hamili. Additionally, the company’s 2009 revenues are three times as much compared 2008.

“We have invested directly or indirectly US$300 million in Afghanistan and around 10,000 Afghans are supported by us and our distribution partners. We will continue to reach more areas of Afghanistan and introduce more voice and data services,” Al Hamili added.

Since launching in 2007, Etisalat’s network has reached approximately 90 per cent of Afghanistan, despite the security issues and geographical conditions.

In comparison, competitor Roshan says it is the leading service provider in the country with coverage in 230 major cities and towns, and more than 3.4 million active subscribers. Roshan entered the market in January 2003 and has since invested almost US$400 million in expanding and maintaining its network.

Orange Jordan has launched the first stage of its 3G+ network, the first network of its kind in the kingdom, with preliminary services available in select areas of Amman, Irbid and Zarqa. The network will gradually be expanded over the next six months to reach most populated areas in the country.

Company CEO Nayla Khawam said that as part of Orange’s commitment to utilise the full scope of content-driven 3G+ services, the integrated operator had signed a strategic agreement with Arab television network MBC. Several of the network’s popular programs and series will be streamed exclusively through Orange’s 3G+ network directly to subscriber’s handsets.

Commenting on service fees and prices, Khawam reassured subscribers that Orange does not intend to raise tariffs on essential voice calling and SMS services for subscribers migrating to the new 3G+ network. The new network will offer a variety of new services, such as video calling, mobile broadband, access to exclusive personalised and Live TV – all of which will be reasonably priced in accordance with regional standards.

"The services that will be delivered by Orange’s 3G+ network will greatly bolster internet penetration in the kingdom, which conforms to the national strategy that aims at increasing internet penetration by 50 per cent in the kingdom by 2011," Khawam added.

The company intends to roll out 3G+ services in April to reach the rest of the capital. During summer of 2010, network coverage will have reached most urban locations in Jordan, delivering services to approximately 70 per cent of populated areas, which equates to roughly around two million people.

Saudi Arabia’s STC yesterday launched operations in Bahrain under the Viva brand, accompanied by heavily reduced tariffs to entice new customers.

Saud Al-Duwaish, CEO of the STC Group announced Viva customers will be able to take advantage of broadband services for free, calls to other Viva or STC subscribers at no cost, as well as enjoying up to 90 per cent reduction on international calls. This promotion is open to all Viva customers for the first three months.

The company plans to distinguish itself through a modern communications network that is not only the most sophisticated in the region, but also at a global level. Viva’s network is based on the HSPA+ technology that will allow it to provide all of Bahrain with high-speed broadband, which the company says is the fastest in the region allowing up to 21.1 megabits per second.

Viva is the third operator in Bahrain after Batelco and Zain Bahrain. The Saudi operator won the country’s third licence in March 2009 with a bid of US$231 million.

STC Group, the largest regional operator by market value has more than 100 million subscribers in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, Turkey, South Africa, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Motorola’s debt ratings with a negative outlook. Fitch’s actions affect approximately US$5.4 billion of total debt, including the assumption of a fully drawn US$1.5 billion revolving credit facility.

The issuer default rating (IDR) has been rated ‘BBB-‘, the senior secured revolving credit facility at ‘BBB’, senior unsecured notes at ‘BBB-‘, and short-term IDR and commercial paper program rating at ‘F3’.

The ratings and negative outlook reflect Fitch’s expectations that revenue growth in 2010 will likely be reliant upon the timely introduction of the company’s mobile devices business (MDB) and market acceptance of a substantial number of new smartphone models. However, MDB should benefit from significant headcount reductions and platform operating efficiencies implemented in 2009. As such, Fitch expects the MDB unit to generally be around free cash flow breakeven for the year in comparison to significant cash usage over the prior two years.

Fitch believes revenue growth within Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS) and Home and Networks (H&N) segments will likely be flattish in 2010, pressured by weak consumer spending and housing starts in the US, as well as tepid enterprise spending.

Overall, Fitch expects Motorola to generate positive consolidated free cash flow in 2010 after taking into account severance payments and incremental expenses associated with the spin-off. Funding for the company’s pension shortfall could ramp up in 2011. Free cash flow expectations also take into account the company maintaining meaningfully lower than historical inventory levels, which could prove challenging given MDB’s plan to launch at least 20 new smartphone models in 2010. Fitch estimates that the company generated more than US$1.3 billion of its US$240 million of free cash flow in 2009 from inventory reductions.

The ratings and outlook also reflect Fitch’s belief that the consummation of the proposed separation of MDB and Home from EMS and Networks in the first quarter of 2011 will be contingent upon MDB achieving its objective of introducing as many as 20 new smartphone models and achieving market acceptance. Fitch believes that MDB’s failure to do so could undermine the company’s smartphone strategy and product roadmap, resulting in free cash flow usage for 2010 and potentially delaying the proposed separation.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange plans to probe heavy trading of Zain stock that occurred the day prior to the announcement of Bharti Airtel entering talks to purchase Zain’s African assets, reports local press. It is questioned whether leaked information influenced stock trading before the deal was officially announced and benefited certain parties.

Zain confirmed on February 14 that it had received an offer from Bharti Airtel for US$10.7 billion for the African operations, excluding Sudan and Morocco. The two companies are in exclusive talks until March 25.

Zain Africa, formerly branded Celtel, includes approximately 42 million subscribers and represents around 58 per cent of the operator’s customers as of end-September 2009. Bharti Airtel is India’s largest operator and has almost 125 million subscribers across India.