High IQ

Qualcomm held its annual innovation event last month, where much of the emphasis was placed on the growing connectivity of traditional and non-traditional communications devices, and the interfaces to interact with them. Demonstrations included wireless health applications, augmented reality and gesture-based technology, underlying Qualcomm’s growing portfolio of next generation mobile services. Comm. reports from Istanbul Paul_Jacobs_Pic 1

Jacobs says Qualcomm is spending a lot of time looking at how to get its chipsets into other devices and machines beyond [traditional] mobile devices

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Charging and tariffing strategies in a video world

In January 2009, when Cisco released its first Visual Networking Index, a forecast of data traffic in mobile networks, the first reaction from the market was incredulity.

Cisco was projecting that, based on traffic observed over the last five years, mobile data traffic was to double every year. Even more remarkable, video, then a mere 20 per cent of the overall traffic would rise and account up to 64 per cent of the traffic by 2013.

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Recapturing the magic

Nokia’s fortunes in the high-end, smart- and feature-phone market have plummeted since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007. Since then, other manufacturers including Samsung and Research In Motion have also done their best to further carve into Nokia’s market leadership position, leaving the Finnish manufacturer needing to adapt and reinvent itself or risk being left behind in the social media-driven communications world that existsPic 1 - Nokia - Tom Farrell 2

Tom Farrell was appointed GM of the Lower Gulf region for Nokia in April 2011

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Parting advice

In what turned out to be one of Abdul Al Jaber’s last presentations as CEO of Zain Jordan and COO of Zain Group, in early June in London he spoke about the changes required in the broadband and content game in order for service operators to finally enjoy the share of the incremental revenues they ought toAbdul Malek Al Jaber Web

Al Jaber believes operator brands are becoming less relevant with respect to end-users’ mobile purchase decisions

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Sailing too close to the wind

IctQatar’s order for Qtel to close down the Virgin Mobile brand by August was a drastic measure, and potentially a blow to innovation in Qatar. However, upon closer examination the case the regulator makes for taking the action appears largely justified as Qtel appears to have been pushing the limits of what could reasonably be considered a brand extension exerciseSailing

Qtel failed to bring Virgin Mobile into the guidelines laid out by the regulator despite a number of requests and ongoing monitoring of its activities

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News

Batelco provides nationwide 5G coverage in Bahrain

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 extends managed services deal with Ericsson

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.

MTN Group CEO opts to depart after expiry of fixed contract

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, Rajeev Suri to step down as vendor considers its options

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.

Batelco introduces 5G roaming with du in the UAE

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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