July 1st, 2008 — Issue 2 July/August 2008
Japan’s largest mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, is reportedly in talks with Middle East carriers Qtel, Etisalat and Saudi Telecom regarding possible overseas expansion.
Gaining a stake in these companies would give DoCoMo access to markets where mobile phone demand is growing faster than in highly-penetrated, tech-savvy Japan. Toshinari Kunieda, senior VP of global business confirmed DoCoMo’s interest in the region.
July 1st, 2008 — Issue 2 July/August 2008
Nokia users in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait will now be able to receive voiceguided navigation and maps direct from their handsets in more than 30 languages.
Part of the new services offered by Nokia’s Ovi mobile Internet services for the Middle East and north Africa region, Maps 2.0 is an updated version of the Finnish manufacturer’s mapping software that provides access to maps for almost anywhere in the world, as well as car navigation, pedestrian navigation and satellite images. Tommi Mustonen, vice president of services and software said Ovi aims to empower and enable Nokia device owners to realise the full potential of the Internet.
“We are now delivering navigation, gaming and music services for Nokia users in MENA and we will continue to roll out new user interface elements, service suites and web communities and bring them together in a single offering,” Mustonen said.
July 1st, 2008 — Issue 2 July/August 2008
Dubai-based technology, media and telecoms advisory firm, Delta Partners, has announced a major investment in its portfolio company Karoui & Karoui World by media groups Mediaset and La Quinta Communications.
July 1st, 2008 — Issue 2 July/August 2008
Qtel has completed the purchase of a 40.8 per cent stake in PT Indosat from Asia Mobile Holdings (AMH) for US$1.8 billion and has said it is examining a full takeover.
July 1st, 2008 — Issue 2 July/August 2008
Bangladeshi operators, Warid Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (Citycell) have signed an agreement to share the passive elements of around 350 of their respective base stations – covering towers, poles, transmitter equipment, transmission bandwidth and power supplies.
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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