October 6th, 2010 — Issue 21 October 2010
On September 15, 2010, Omani telco Nawras announced its intention to list on the Muscat Securities Market in a development that has been highly anticipated for much of the year. Representing the first initial public offering (IPO) on the Muscat bourse since the middle of 2008, Nawras’ public offer is generating significant interest not just from Oman but across the region 
The announcement of the launch of Nawras’ IPO on September 15 was met with significant enthusiasm in Oman
October 2nd, 2010 — Issue 21 October 2010
While social networking explodes and consumers transfer their daily web habits to the mobile phone mobile network infrastructures, previously thought capable of handling consistently heavy traffic, are now showing strain under the torrent of new data they carry every day. No one expects network congestion to abate, and what is being done about it is being met with mixed reaction. On the horizon is 4G; marketed as the “miracle cure for data congestion”, it is considered by some as a band-aid solution and by others a universal panacea. 
Patrick Lopez is chief marketing officer of Vantrix
September 5th, 2010 — Issue 20 July/August 2010
It is expected that Bharti Airtel shall unveil a new brand for its 15 Zain Africa assets by the end of October. If the process to introduce and market a new corporate and brand identity was not enough of a challenge in itself, Bharti Airtel is also faced with the added complexity of dismantling the Zain brand without losing any of the African optimism and dynamism it represented
Manoj Kohli and his management team face a number of challenges in growing the business in Africa, and would do well to listen and learn before leaping to any new strategic directions (Getty Images)
August 28th, 2010 — Issue 20 July/August 2010
In the five years that Peter Kaliaropoulos has been CEO of Batelco, he has transformed the incumbent telco from a single country operator with fewer than 400,000 mobile subscribers to a seven-country operation with 7.3 million users. The telco’s ambitions don’t end there: with a strategic aim to operate in 12-15 different territories counting 15-20 million subscribers within five years; Kaliaropoulos is growing the company in a fashion never experienced by a Gulf operator before
Peter Kaliaropoulos has been CEO of Batelco since March 2005. A native of Australia, he has around 25 years experience in the telecom sector, most of it spent in the Asia Pacific region
August 23rd, 2010 — Issue 20 July/August 2010
Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN Group’s president and CEO since 2002 is set to stand down as of March 31, 2011. He has been instrumental in driving the South Africa mobile operator to the apex of the industry on the continent, leaving whoever is selected to succeed him with a colossal legacy to continue
The replacement of outgoing MTN Group CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko is set to be confirmed in the coming month or two. Nhleko’s tenure ends March 2011
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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