The Bahrain Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued strict guidelines on SIM card registration in bid to safeguard consumers from fraud and identity theft related crimes, it has announced.
On December 31, 2015 the TRA issued a regulation introducing a ceiling for the number of prepaid SIM cards consumers may acquire, which has been set at 10 per mobile network operator, meaning an individual may only have a total of 30 prepaid SIM cards registered in his/her name.

The TRA will also prevent the sale of SIM cards in retail shops, permitting them to be sold only through operators’ outlets and authorised resellers who obtain a formal approval from the TRA to conduct the registration and verification processes on behalf of mobile operators.

The new regulation will take effect within seven months from the date of issuance.

Alcatel-Lucent today shared the news that Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent have started operating as a combined company.

The company commented that the new Nokia Group is now uniquely positioned to meet evolving needs, both today and in the future, of a convergent, IP connected world. An end-to-end portfolio scope and scale player, the combined company is looking to have unparalleled R&D and innovation capabilities, which it will use to lead the creation of next-generation network technology and services, whilst maintaining its relentless focus on customer service and support.

DarkMatter, a cyber security firm based in the UAE, announces the appointment of Harshul Joshi as its senior vice president, Cyber Governance, Risk and Compliance. The executive joins DarkMatter from San Francisco-headquartered cloud computing company, Salesforce.com, where he was GM of the company’s Government Cloud platform, and its global head of cyber security regulations and standards.

Joshi comes with over 17 years of experience in the fields of cloud-based technologies, regulatory compliance, governance, risk, and internal audit; which are all critical areas with respect to DarkMatter’s ongoing advisory services to government and commercial entities.

Prior to joining Salesforce.com, Joshi led the Security practice for PwC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP) in the technology sector. He has also held various leadership roles with Sony Corporation of America, GTE Internetworking (currently Verizon) and KPMG LLP. He is a member of several boards of advisors to companies in Silicon Valley, is the Global Editor for ISO 27007, and is a regular contributor to various ISO and country-level cyber security standards.

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) has appointed Fouad Halawi as CEO of its operation in Saudi Arabia.

Halawi brings with him over 15 years of executive management experience in the telecommunications industry in Europe, Australia and the USA, where he launched several new MVNO brands.

He joins from Lycamobile Australia where he was group managing director.

VMMEA recently announced serving over one million subscribers in Saudi Arabia, which was achieved within a year of commercial launch of the operations in October 2014.

Halawi replaces former CEO Karim Benkirane, who assumed the position 2013.

DarkMatter, a cyber security firm with global aspirations, announces the appointment of the former head of Security and Privacy Engineering at Google Nest and VP of Security R&D for Samsung Electronics, Michael Pak, to its senior management team. The executive is a 20-year security technology expert and assumes the position of senior VP– Secure Communications Engineering at DarkMatter.

Pak holds 18 security patents and has international security experience spanning the US, South Korea, Japan and other regions of the world. His most recent position was as Head of Security and Privacy Engineering, Google Nest Labs in the US. He has also held leadership positions with leading technology innovators including Samsung Mobile Communications in South Korea; Wind River (an Intel company) in the US; and was co-founder of McAfee Mobile Security Group, also based in the US.

DarkMatter, which is led by UAE businessman and founder of Axiom Telecom, Faisal Al Bannai is staffed by tier one international cyber experts who develop, manage and deploy the most innovative technologies.

Already a strategic partner of the UAE government, DarkMatter is leveraging this experience in the wider market as it looks to serve regional and international clients.