September 30th, 2012 — Issue 34 Summer 2012
In 2011 Ericsson counted 12 managed services contracts in the region and 70 million subscribers under management at the end of the year. The demand for such services underlies an increasing awareness by service providers to be first-to-market with products and services as well as the cost savings inherent in well-planned and implemented efficiency drives
Akesson says service providers are focussed on business innovation through the development of new vertical markets to address
September 23rd, 2012 — Issue 34 Summer 2012
The demand for broadband data across Africa continues unabated, and in Zimbabwe one of the first of a dozen licensed Internet access providers, Dandemutande Investments’ Umax, launched service in June promising a wholly differentiated offering to what consumers have so far been used to
Zimbabwe’s capital Harare has seen a dramatic rise in broadband investment and coverage, both wireless and wireline, in recent years
September 10th, 2012 — Issue 34 Summer 2012
Africa has been at the centre of a growing number of tower sale and lease-back announcements in recent years, with such arrangements typically involving the sale of the passive elements of network operators’ infrastructure. Initially it appeared to be an emerging business model that benefitted all parties, though the recent insolvency issues of some tower operators raises questions whether the model is as compelling in the long-term as it was initially made out to be
IHS’ Darwish suggests selling and leasing back towers offers significant cost savings, as the operator no longer has to incur the cost of running infrastructure
September 5th, 2012 — Issue 34 Summer 2012
Qatar National Broadband Network (Q.NBN) is a private company owned by the government of Qatar and charged with the responsibility to roll out passive fibre infrastructure across the country. Given the Qatar’s ambitious digital plans, which are summarised under the Qatar ICT Strategy 2015 and further articulated through the Qatar National Vision 2030, Q.NBN is playing a critical and pioneering role with respect to public-private partnership ICT infrastructure investments in the Gulf
Mohammed Al Mannai, CEO of Q.NBN has more than 13 years of experience in network planning, deployment and optimisation with Qtel, where he most recently served as senior director for Network Design and Rollout
August 29th, 2012 — Issue 34 Summer 2012
Despite a stock market share price that is languishing at more than 30 per cent below the level it listed on the Oman bourse in November 2010, Nawras continues to be an energetic operator that is looking to maximise the opportunities data usage represents. Through the leveraging of its various access technologies and the bundling of products and services, Nawras continues to expand its base of operations, believing such a focus will generate the necessary good results 
Cormack freely admits that the competitive landscape in Oman has become more aggressive in the last few years, not least through the presence of value-focussed resellers together with the omnipresence of a well-entrenched incumbent
Batelco has successfully activated 5G coverage across Bahrain, which is available in all four governorates, covering 95% of the nation’s population. The telco’s launch of the network makes Batelco the first operator to provide national 5G coverage in Bahrain.
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.
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