UAE operators Etisalat  and Du have both tied up with Jump TV, one of the world’s largest Internet television carriers, and Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) to offer converged ‘anytime,
anywhere’ TV services across multiple devices.

A new converged mobile and Internet TV solution will enable UAE subscribers  to view DMI channels on their 3G-enabled phones or personal computer

Subscribers will be able to access DMI channels from 3G enabled handsets, as well as computers and handheld devices through Internet streaming of video on demand content.

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Chinese vendors Datang Telecom, ZTE and Huawei were awarded the lion’s share of a massive contract to supply 12,000 base stations to support China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G services.

Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola could soon be launching TD-SCDMA handsets in China

Datang Telecom won around 40 per cent of the deal, followed by ZTE on 30 per cent, while Huawei received 20 per cent of the contract.

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Nigeria’s telecoms sector has experienced exponential growth over the past seven years, sprouting from less than one per cent teledensity in 2001 to 40 per cent by August this year. The country’s 55 million subscribers are served by five GSM operators and a fixed line incumbent, as well as several other service providers offering an array of fixed and wireless propositions. With Etisalat having launched commercial services in the country on October 24, Africa’s largest telecoms market is fast developing into one of its most competitive

Etisalat has set a target of garnering a 30 per cent share of Nigeria’s mobile market by 2011, which is ambitious given that it entered the market as a fifth mobile player behind MTN Nigeria, Zain Nigeria, Glo Mobile and M-Tel.

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Booz&Co’s Ghassan Hasbani reviews the repercussions of the global economic crisis on telecoms operators in the Middle East.

The recent global markets crisis inevitably is set to impact the telecommunications sector in the region in one way or another. The extent of this impact is not likely to be drastic but nevertheless, it is worth trying to rationalise the situation rather than speculate.

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The Middle East’s leading mobile operators have grown increasingly confident of their positions on a world stage, and have not been shy of detailing their goals in the short-term. With the third quarter earnings reporting period concluded, Comm. analyses how far the Middle East’s market leaders are away from achieving their stated ambitions.

Smiling all the way to the bank- Etisalat’s chairman, Mohammed Omran knows the company has deep enough pockets to fuel its growth projections

As the fortunes of communications providers in the Middle East and Africa have risen in the past four years, so too has the articulation of their ambitions going forward. Zain, Etisalat and Qtel have been amongst the most vocal of players with respect to articulating what they are aiming to achieve in the coming years, and below Comm. considers whether they are on the right path to achieving them.

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