March 22nd, 2020 — Miscellaneous
Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has announced the extension of the competition to license new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
The bid process was launched on January 14, with a submission deadline May 10, which has now been extended to August 10, 2020. The Kingdom currently has two operational MVNOs – Virgin Mobile Saudi and Jawraa Lebara were licensed in 2014, operating on STC’s and Mobily’s networks respectively.
February 19th, 2020 — Miscellaneous
Zain Kuwait has completed the sale and leaseback of the passive physical infrastructure of its 1,620 mobile tower portfolio for US$130 million (KD 40 million) to IHS Holding Limited (IHS). The transaction is the first sale and leaseback of telecom towers in the Middle East region by a licensed mobile operator.
January 29th, 2020 — Miscellaneous
Vodafone Group has agreed a deal to sell its 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt to Saudi operator STC for US$2.4 billion, as part of plans to reduce debt and refocus on core markets.
January 8th, 2020 — Miscellaneous
The cyber hacking saga at Travelex continues as media reports now suggest the international foreign currency dealer has fallen prey to a ransomware attack with a group called Sodinokibi claiming responsibility for the incident and demanding a US$6 million payment to restore systems.
January 3rd, 2020 — Miscellaneous
Travelex, the international foreign currency seller suffered a software virus attack on New Year’s Eve and has been forced to take down its website as a result of the incident. The company has resorted to carrying out transactions manually, providing foreign exchange services over the counter in its branches.
Omantel has renewed and expanded its managed services agreement with Ericsson for a further five years, with the renewed agreement being more outcome-based and customer-centric.
South Africa-headquartered MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter will step down from his role at the end of his fixed four-year contract in March 2021, having given no explanation why he would not seek to stay on beyond that date.
Nokia CEO and president, Rajeev Suri, is set to step down from his position later this year, to be replaced by Pekka Lundmark, currently CEO and president of energy company Fortum. The move comes as Nokia struggles to keep pace with the global shift to 5G.
Following Zain Group’s regional milestone announcement in November 2019 that its operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had successfully launched the first 5G roaming service across the MENA region, Bahrain telco Batelco has announced partnering with the UAE’s du to deliver 5G international roaming services in the UAE.
South Africa’s Vodacom Group has unveiled plans to launch 5G in its home market in 2020 despite issues acquiring spectrum from the country’s regulator.
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