The US$23 billion bet

Following years of false starts, the award of 3G spectrum finally took place in India earlier this year, with bidder appetite for broadband spectrum raising billions of dollars for the treasury. Comm. looks at the winners of both the 3G and broadband wireless access licences and assesses what direction the bidders’ strategic plans are set to take

BetIndia is one of the fastest growing mobile markets, and with particularly low broadband penetration, stands to be a tremendous growth opportunity to operators and vendors alike

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Open Days 2010

Much of the success of individual vendors shall depend on the technology choices they are currently making. Given the pace of change and the pressure of competition, it is an arena with an extremely narrow margin for error. Alcatel-Lucent opens the doors to its Bell Labs research facility in Villarceux to showcase the innovations it is backingA Mechaly - Official

André Méchaly says Alcatel-Lucent’s emphasis on innovation is helping carve niches out for the vendor in a competitive market

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The perfect storm

Five years after having introduced mobile services in Oman in March 2005 as the country’s second provider, Nawras has grown to become one of the most successful new entrant launches in the Middle East. Counting a subscriber base virtually on par with the incumbent and having innovated in a number of key areas, the introduction of fixed-line services and preparation for an IPO before the end of the year is likely to round off a spectacular fifth year of operation for the companyNawras - Ross Cormack IMG_3882 web

Ross Cormack has presided over the growth, development and success of Nawras over its five years of existence

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China makes TD-LTE count

As the world’s largest mobile telecom market, China has the muscle to single-handedly create and sustain a market for products and technologies that the rest of the world may not necessarily be as enthusiastic to adopt. However, in the case of TD-LTE, China Mobile’s early investment in the technology, and its desire to see it adopted as a global standard, has created a momentum with global implications and opportunities. Comm. reports from Shanghai Motorola - Bruce_Brda web

Brda says Motorola needs to drive the 70 per cent re-use between WiMAX and LTE even higher in 2010

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Knowing where you stand

Navteq is a leading global provider of digital maps, traffic and location data and in recent years has been ramping up its presence across the MENA region. The company’s regional GM, Ghassan Freij explains what is driving demand for location-based services and how Navteq is building local capacity in order to support the growth Freij, Ghassan (2) - Resized

Ghassan Freij is Navteq’s MENA GM

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News

Warid Telecom forced to become public company

Bangladesh operator Warid Telecom has been issued a notice from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordering it to convert into a listed company. Under Bangladesh law, any private company with a minimum paid-in capital of BDT 400 million (US$5.73 million) is required to convert into a public limited company.
“The SEC will issue show-cause [...]

Nawras to commence IPO proceedings September 15

Nawras today announced its plans to proceed with a listing of its shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), and subject to CMA approval, the offering will represent up to 40 per cent of the company’s total share capital. The process is expected to be launched after the Eid holidays on September 15.
Retail and institutional [...]

Indian authorities meet ahead of BlackBerry service suspension

The Associated Press (AP) reports that Indian authorities are scheduled to meet this evening to decide whether to ban some BlackBerry services in India, one day ahead of a government-imposed deadline for the device’s maker Research In Motion (RIM) to give security agencies access to encrypted data.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai is set to meet officials [...]

NSN given the nod for Tata 3G network

India’s Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has contracted Nokia Siemens Networks to support the operator’s launch of 3G. The network, based on WCDMA and including HSPA+, will allow TTSL to offer high-quality mobile broadband providing fast Internet browsing and better quality voice calls.
NSN will provide network implementation and managed services to ensure a smooth rollout, improved network [...]

Fourth MVNO enters Omani market

Samatel, Oman’s latest mobile reseller announced the launch of its services for residential and business customers on August 23. It becomes the fourth of five licensed resellers in the sultanate to introduce services.
“Samatel is a brand new concept in the sultanate, during our planning phase we went to the drawing board and decided that we [...]

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