Chinese Company Recognized for its Contribution to African Telecom

Huawei (News - Alert) Technologies recently shared its vision to "bridge the digital divide and enrich the lives of Africans" at a forum held in conjunction with the 2007 Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank Group (ADBG) in Shanghai, China.

Huawei has contributed in the development of the telecommunications industry in Africa, which has helped the economic progress of the continent. The significant contributions of Huawei were highlighted in speeches by

• Hon. Amos Kimunya, Minister for Finance Republic of Kenya,
• Wen Ku, Director of Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China
• Gilbert Mbesherubusa, Director of African Development Bank at the Forum.

The Rest @

Real-time navigation over the aerial photos on Standard Phones

DigitalGlobe Satellite Imagery on Mobile Phones via amAze LONDON, May 25, 2007 - Satnews Daily - LocatioNet Systems, Ltd., a provider of mobile mapping and location applications, and DigitalGlobe, a provider of imagery and geospatial information products, have entered into a partnership that adds DigitalGlobe's global satellite imagery to the amAze mobile service.

DigitalGlobe has joined the amAze collaborative initiative, led by LocatioNet. LocatioNet's GIS technology enables fast enough streaming of aerial photos from the huge backend databases to client mobile phones over wireless networks, to allow real-time navigation over the aerial photo.

This collaboration means that for the first time, worldwide voice-guided GPS navigation is enabled over high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial photos with regular mass-market phones.

amAze is a navigation, mapping and local search service supported by several industry leading vendors. It offers services free to mobile users and generates revenue from the emerging mobile advertisement model. The application provides any regular, Java-enabled mobile phone with navigation and local search information over maps and DigitalGlobe satellite imagery in Europe and North America. A full voice-guided navigation feature is available for users with any Bluetooth GPS device.

The Rest @ SatNews

SA SAT-3 monopoly may end November 2007

A recent Government Gazette publication outlining the Communications Minister’s policy decisions and directives suggested that the end of Telkom’s SAT-3 monopoly is in sight.

In the Government Gazette No. 29923, the following clear guideline is given by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri: “I have taken a policy decision, in terms of section 43(11) of the ECA to consult with relevant governments of the SAT-3 consortium members indicating the 1st November 2007 as the date from when the exclusivity provisions contained in the SAT-3 agreement or arrangements entered into shall be declared null and void in South Africa.”

In her budget speech last week Matsepe-Casaburri mentioned that fair access to international submarine cables was important.

“It is Government policy that the cost of access to international connectivity is affordable and that all arrangements regarding access or use of international cables and/or facilities do not unfairly exclude others from use of or access to the cables,” the minister said.

Matsepe-Casaburri further said that she directed ICASA to prioritise and urgently prescribe a list of essential facilities, ensuring that the electronic communications facilities connected to the SAT-3 submarine cable can be accessed soon.

While everything looks on track to break Telkom’s monopoly on SAT-3, the process seems to be subject to negotiations with other governments which may complicate the process.

Neotel, which is an indirect shareholder in the SAT-3 cable through VSNL, said previously that equal access to SAT-3 is the best short term solution for driving down international bandwidth rates and creating competition in this space.

Neotel further pointed to the EASSy cable (aka the NEPAD ICT Broadband Network) as a longer term solution, but said that they are also exploring other options.

According to the minister the NEPAD ICT Broadband Network is planned to be operational by mid 2009.

My ADSL Africa

Telkom SA Cuts Prices by 30%

Fixed-line operator Telkom has cut its retail price of international bandwidth to all destinations by 30 percent, with effect (retrospectively) from May 1.

This is according to Moneyweb which was speaking to Telkom's Steven Hayward, managing executive for retail marketing. According to Hayward, the new rates, especially on the lower speed connections, now "compare favourably" with pricing of bandwidth globally...

...The decrease is the fifth significant reduction in international bandwidth prices (international private leased circuits) during the last three years.

Telkom's Hayward said the price of a 2Mbit link to Europe will now cost R62 000 per month. Three years ago, the same connection would have been priced at R186 000. .

The Rest @ Mobil Africa News

Neotel Builds Network to Skip Telkom Legacy System

Network Speaking at the recent Futurex – Computer Society of South Africa Conference in Sandton, Dr. Angus Hay, strategist at Neotel, jokingly said that the difference between Telkom’s network and that of Neotel is that Neotel’s is simpler, better, faster.

Neotel is building its network on New Generation Network (NGN) technologies and principles, and has the advantage of not having to accommodate legacy systems like Telkom.

The Rest @ My Broadband.com

China Mobil Communications Buys out Pakistani Paktel

China Mobile Ltd, the Peoples Republic’s largest wireless operator by subscribers, said yesterday that its parent, state-owned China Mobile Communications Corp, had upped its stake in Pakistani cellco Paktel to 100%. Paktel will be renamed CMPak. In February 2007 Millicom International Cellular (MIC) sold its 88.86% stake in Paktel to China Mobile Communications Corp for USD284 million in cash. The remainder had been owned by the Arfeen Group (10%) and a few individuals.

The Rest @ Telekom

US Supreme Court Upholds Telecoms Ability to Decide Whether, When, and How to Enter Markets

"The Supreme Court's decision embraces an important principle aboutprotecting the freedom of firms to make unilateral decisions on whatmarkets to enter or not enter. Today's decision is the fifth in a series ofSupreme Court decisions establishing that firms will not be challengedunder antitrust for making independent choices that benefit consumers. Thecourt's decision in Brooke Group affirmed the freedom to lower prices. Thecourt's decision in Discon (in which Verizon's predecessor NYNEX was thepetitioner) affirmed the freedom to choose suppliers. The court's decisionin Trinko (in which Verizon was the petitioner) affirmed the freedom toinvest. The court's decision in Weyerhauser affirmed the freedom to expandoutput. Today's decision affirms the freedom to decide when and how toenter new markets. "Consumers benefit when companies of every size have the right to lowerprices, choose suppliers, invest, expand output, and enter new marketsfreely."

The Rest @PR Newswire

Mobil Phone Applications for Core Business Activities

Competition is pushing businesses towards greater mobility, and companies plan to adopt mobile applications for core business activities - these were two key findings in a recent global survey on business mobility conducted by Nokia and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and in cooperation with the CIO Forum.

As business mobility continues making headway into organizations and more advanced applications and processes are mobilized, the reasons behind companies' mobility adoption can vary from hard core ROI benefits to softer values such as employee retention.

Companies are increasingly implementing mobility to offer greater collaboration, responsiveness to customers, and better work-life balance to staff, fundamentally changing the ways people are working.

Nokia and EIU polled more than 500 global executives across a range of industries to find out how their organizations were using business mobility. In the survey, three quarters of the respondents pointed to human factors such as attracting the best talent - including new entrants to the workforce--improving customer support, and building brand reputations as reasons for deploying business mobility.

The Rest @ Mobil Africa

WiMax will be the African Standard

WiMAX is defined as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access by the WiMAX Forum, formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the IEEE 802.16 standard, officially known as WirelessMAN.

WiMAX aims to provide wireless data over long distances, in a variety of different ways, from point to point links to full mobile cellular type access. In practical terms this enables you, for example, to browse the internet on a laptop computer without physically connecting the laptop to a socket in a wall. The Forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL."

Source: Wikipedia

As I read news about the installation of new networks, the WiMax standard will soon surpass any new land line installation in most countries in Africa. This is not news to many, but African monopolies phone companies seem unsure as to what to do when they build new infrastructure.

This means that:

• African governments and the telecoms monopolies that support them may begin to take legislative and incentive measures to keep their land lines relevant. This will slow technological economic development.
• New telecoms start-ups can (and need to) bring real innovation to network architecture when they enter a country to improve their chances of success.
• New GSM devices need to be created which can deal with power uncertainties in Africa.
• We need to watch marketing strategies that emerge from the coming "gold rush" in telecoms expansion-Who can tap into the African culture's high-touch communication culture.
• New small business management applications need to be developed for emerging GSM devices like cell phones, Multi-media devices, and the coming $100 laptops?

Etisalat buys Makes Major Move into Egypt

UAE telecoms service provider Etisalat has set its sights on taking almost a third of the Egyptian mobile market within three years of its launch, it said last week.The firm, which kicked off its Egyptian mobile operations at the start of this month, said it is targeting 10 million subscribers in Egypt by 2010, which it claimed would give it a 30% market share.

In a statement, Etisalat chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran said the company was counting on a combination of high economic growth and low mobile penetration to help it achieve this goal. Omran described Egypt as "a huge market", with a population of 70 million, but said mobile penetration was still below 20%.

The Rest @ Arabian Business

Orascom to Buy Out Tellas

Egyptian billionaire and Orascom Telecom chairman Naguib Sawiris said he will offer within the next two weeks to buy the rest of Greece's second-largest telecom company, Tellas.

Sawiris' Weather Investments Spa is in talks with Greek utility Public Power Corp. (PPC) about buying its stake in Tellas, Sawiris told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of an economic conference in Jordan.Weather owns 50% and one share of Tellas, as well as Greece's third-largest telecom company, TIM Hellas.

The Rest @ Arabian Business

Iraq Taking Bids for three new Telecoms Licensea

Iraq: Pre-qualification for national mobile telecommunications licences
The Iraqi National Communication and Media Commission (CMC) in Iraq has commenced the
process for the award of up to three 15-year national mobile telecommunications licences.

Under the auspices of the previous Coalition Provisional Authority, three two-year regional mobile telecommunications licences were issued in December 2003.

The licences permitted nationwide rollout once regional obligations had been met. When Iraq re-established sovereignty, the authority to award mobile licences and regulate the telecommunications sector was entrusted to the CMC. On the expiry of these licences, the CMC issued the operators of these licences with Interim Licences, effective until June 30, 2006, and commenced a process to award long term licences.

An initial pre-qualification is to be undertaken based on responses to a Qualification Questionnaire, which is available from the Financial Advisor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, by e-mail: iraq_mobile_licensing@uk.pwc.com

Interested parties should contact the Financial Advisors by e-mail to register their interest and request a copy of a Confidentiality Undertaking, following which the Qualification Questionnaire will be released.
The deadline for receipt of completed Qualification Questionnaires is May 29, 2007.

The previous process was stopped during the latter half of 2006, following the election of a new assembly, and further interim licences, which expire on June 30, 2007, were issued to the existing operators. The CMC is now relaunching the process, which will be an auction-based process, to award 15-year national mobile telecommunications licences. It is envisaged that these licences will commence at the end of the interim period referred to above.

From ITI Reports

Baruzinda and the Three Telecoms

• The Kingdom of Baruzinda needed to upgrade the kingdom's old outdated telecoms Network. He received three bids:
• One from ARACOM, One from CHICOM, and One from USCOM.
• ARACOM went to the King and said, "I will put in a system for 70$ million. 30$ million for Hardware, 30$ million for the labor, and 10$ million for ARACOM."
• USCOM came in and said: I will put in a system for 60$ Million, 25$ Million for Hardware, 25$ Million for Labor, and 10 million for USCOM
• CHICOM said: I will put in a system for 150$ million. The King was surprised. "How can you bid it that high? He asked. "You will never win." CHICOM said, The system will costs 45$ Million for the King, 45$ Million for CHICOM, and 60$ Million to hire USCOM to put in the system." Will he win the contract? we will see.

South Africa Telecoms Falling Behind

A recent analysis of the the South African Telecom Sector claims that though they once had the most advanced and cost effective systems in Africa, recent technology and market changes have eliminated the advantage. Further, they have not positioned themselves well for the next generation of changes.

Telekom's dominanace of the SAT-3 Landing station and its large margins have not been leveraged to upgrade to new technology or capacity.

-Morrocco already has more broadband capability than South Africa.

-Vast Telecoms capacity is coming into many places in Africa over the next few years.

They may be trusting in political and economic maneuvers to limit access to the new fiber optic submarine cables coming in, but that will just prolong the life of Satellite networks, still cheaper than their retail costs.

When the British 1st Battlation 24th Foot in the Battle of Isandlwana sat still and waited hoped that their better firepower would defeat an overwhelming force of Zulus. It did not. I hope that is not what South African Telecoms are hoping for, again.

-Lee Royal

Qtel getins European funding for Expansion

Qtel

Qatar Telecommunications Co. (Qtel) secured a $2 billion credit facility from a group of banks to help fund its expansion abroad, Qtel said on Thursday.

The company said in a statement on the Doha bourse website that Barclays Capital and Royal Bank of Scotland were bookrunners for the facility which was signed in London on April 30.

It said the revolving facility was Qtel's first move into international capital markets.

Qtel took control of Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications Co. (Wataniya) in March for $3.72 billion, the largest Gulf Arab telecom acquisition, giving it customers in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, the Maldives and Iraq.


Arabian Business has an extensive set of Quatar Telecom ( Qtel ) articles here.

Pakistan to Issue its first 3G License this year

Pakistan plans to issue its first three licenses for third generation (3G) mobile telecoms service by the end of this year in a cellular market of more than 55 million users, a government official said— Pakistan plans first three 3G licenses this year

the Rest @ Telkom

Ericsson has shipped 1 million GSM base Stations

Ericsson has shipped its millionth GSM base station [receiver/transmitter that serves as the hub of the local wireless network. It typically consists of a low-power transmitter and wireless router.] the company has announced. The millionth unit was delivered to the mobile operator MTN Nigeria. Ericsson has shipped its millionth GSM base station, the company has announced. The millionth unit was delivered to the mobile operator MTN Nigeria. Base Stations. [a base station is a network, and may also be the gateway between a wired network and the wireless network. The vendor delivered its first base station in 1991 to Mannesmann in Germany, and it took 12 years to ship its first half million, with the second half million taking only three years.
The worldwide GSM network now connects 2.3 billion users and the strong growth is expected to continue, said Ericsson.

The number of GSM subscribers around the world is set to increase by 40 million a month during 2007, according to the GSM Association.

More than 10 million are currently being added every month across India and China. In India alone, Ericsson is currently installing a new GSM base station every 15 minutes. Kurt Jofs, executive VP and head of the networks business unit at Ericsson, said: "After 16 years, the pace of GSM deployments shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, we expect 2007 to be the fifth consecutive record year for deliveries."

Meanwhile president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said at a conference in Stockholm today that he expects traffic in fixed as well as mobile networks to grow tenfold by 2012. "With high-speed broadband, we will see multimedia to start a new era in telecom," he added.

The Rest @ GlobalTelecombusiness

MTC Profile

MTC is a Kuwait-based wirelss telecoms company. It was founded in 1983, and it alleges it was the first wirless system in the middle east.

From their website...

“Our ultimate mission is to cement MTC as a leading global mobile operator that provides world-class services to our customers, wherever they are. With a primary focus on achieving excellent returns for our shareholders that is consistent with a high standard of corporate governance, we consider ourselves defined by our commitment to excellence and our ethos of corporate social responsibility in supporting communities wherever we operate.”

MTC is a global citizen, and in the human spirit of community building, we build support, provide for, work with and strengthen communities wherever we go. We take our social responsibilities very seriously. This means pushing our role in the community beyond providing world-class-leading telecommunications technologies and services...

We believe organisations should focus as much on social responsibility as on pure business performance – it is important to MTC that its social and cultural projects have a positive impact on the people of all the countries in which we operate. We are a business, but one that recognises that we do not live in a cosy bubble, cut off from the rest of the world.’ –

Dr Saad Al-Barrak, Deputy-Chairman and Managing Director (CEO)
MTC is a global citizen, and in the human spirit of community building, we build support, provide for, work with and strengthen communities wherever we go. We take our social responsibilities very seriously. This means pushing our role in the community beyond providing world-class-leading telecommunications technologies and services.
Empathy, respect and participation are the three words that encapsulate our approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Bringing this concept of CSR down to earth is what MTC is all about: it boils down to our role in local communities at a grass roots level.

Our roles in local communities take many different paths, from high-profile corporate sponsorship to lower-profile charity-related grants. In all of the countries we operate, this has translated into support in many forms for education, health services and the protection of environmental and maritime heritage, and the sponsoring of sports, arts and cultural events.

March 2007

On a two day visit to Zambia to acquaint himself with investment opportunities in the country, Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman MTC Group, met with the President of Zambia H.E. Levy P. Mwanawasa (SC) on Saturday 10 March at the State Lodge in Lusaka.

During the meeting, Dr Al Barrak pledged that MTC Group's new investments in Zambia would exceed US$ 130 million during 2007, bringing the company's total capital outlay in the country to US$ 400 million by end of the year. Additionally Dr Al Barrak announced the setting up of a US$ 250,000 (one billion Kwacha) fund for children in Zambia. This Celtel Bursary Fund will pay education fees for five years for vulnerable children.

MTC Finishes buyout of Celtel, Nigeria

Mobile Telecommunications Group K.S.C (MTC) says it has become the holder of 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Celtel International B.V (Celtel) following the final payment of $467-million (N59.8-billion). This payment finalises a binding agreement entered into with the shareholders of Celtel in April 2005 to acquire the remaining 15 percent of the outstanding shares in Celtel within two years and brings the total purchase sum to $3.4-billion (N435.2-billion
The Rest @ Business Day

Fiber Optic Project: Port Sudan to Durban

Kenya's telecommunication sector will receive a boost as a result of Sh32 billion (347 million euros) financing mobilised for infrastructure development in Africa.
The European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and nine European countries have set up a fund to finance the continent's telecommunication infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Trust Fund for Africa will back New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) projects as such as the East Africa Submarine Cable System (known as Eassy).
Financing for each project and when the money will be released has not been decided.
The 9,900 km Eassy cable is set to run from Port Sudan in the north to Durban, South Africa and will complete the fibre optic loop surrounding Africa.

The Rest @ AllAfrica.com

East AFrican Cables Expands to Meet Coming Telecom Growth

THE Kenya-based East African Cables has concluded a sh27b expansion plan. The deal has enabled the company to expand to the Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzanian markets.

“Besides this campaign, the East African Cables has also finalised a Ksh1b expansion project and we are currently commissioning our modern factory in Nairobi’s Industrial Area,” Mugo Kibati, the group managing director, said.

Kibati was speaking during the launch of the company’s brand campaign dubbed “Connecting Lives,” in Nairobi recently, a statement said.

The Rest at New Vision

Linux for Mobil Devices - October 2007l

Linux evolves for mobile devices

Mobile devices are becoming more and more sophisticatedA version of the increasingly popular Linux operating system Ubuntu will be developed for use on net-enabled phones and devices.
The Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project aims to create the open source platform for initial release in October 2007.

The operating system will be developed by members of the Ubuntu community, along with staff from chip giant Intel. Its development was prompted by the growth of power hungry portable devices that place new demands on software.

The Rest @ BBC Technology News

Infrastructure Trust Fund for Africa

05/03/2007

On 23 April, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, the representatives of Austria, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Greece, and the President of the European Investment Bank, Philippe Maystadt, signed a memorandum of understanding setting up a trust fund to finance infrastructure in Africa.

The Trust Fund is a financial instrument of the EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership, one of the pillars of the new EU Strategy for Africa adopted by the European Council in December 2005. In the 2006-2007 start-up phase, the Community and its Member States have mobilised EUR 87 million for the Fund, and the EIB has made available EUR 260 million in the form of loans.

The Rest @ GOPA

Etisalat buys more shares of Atlantique Telecom

Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) has announced the acquisition of additional shares in Atlantique Telecom.

This brings Etisalat’s total shareholding to 70%, an increase of 20%.
Atlantique Telecom holds variant majority shares in seven telecommunications organisations across the Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Togo and the Central African Republic.

These countries hold a combined population of approximately 60 million and mobile phone penetration of less than 10%.

The Rest @ Google News

Andrews to sell off its Satellite Business

In announcing its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 earlier this week, Andrew Corporation let it be known that it is planning to sell its satellite communications equipment business, as it now considers that business to be non-core to its future activities. The company refused to be drawn on when the sale would go through, nor would it say how much it expected to raise from the sale or which companies were likely to buy it. Nevertheless, Andrew has confirmed that it has received "several expressions of interest" for the unit, which accounts for around 6% of annual revenues.

The announcement came as Andrew reported a net loss of approximately US$2.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007; this compares with a net profit of US$3.6 million reported for the same period in 2006. The company has attributed the loss to a slowdown in orders from two of its largest customers which have recently merged and which are now rationalising their purchasing plans.

The customers were not formally identified, but Andrew's annual report for the period ended September 30, 2006 as well as its Form 10-Q documents for the subsequent two quarters have named Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Group, Siemens AG, and Sprint Nextel Corporation as each having accounted for more than 5% of sales. Alcatel-Lucent and Sprint Nextel are both continuing to undertake corporate restructuring programmes as a result of their recent mergers, while Nokia and Siemens formed the equally-owned Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture in April this year, to pool their networking and carrier equipment businesses.

The Rest @ ITi Newsreport.com

List of World Wide Satellite Companies

Source: Wikipedia

Argentina
LatinSat
Nahuelsat

Australia
Optus

Brazil
Star One
INPE
Loral Skynet do Brazil

Canada
Mobile Satellite Ventures
Telesat

China
APT Telecomunications
AsiaSat
Chinasat
Sinosat

Egypt
Nilesat

France
France Télécom
Stellat
Télédiffusion de France

Germany
Deutsche Telekom
OHB System

Greece
Hellas-Sat

India
Agrani
ISRO

Indonesia
PT Datakom
PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara
PT Telkom

International
EuropeStar
Eutelsat
Inmarsat
Intelsat
RASCOM
Worldstar

Israel
Spacecom

Japan
Broadcasting Satellite Corp.
JCSat
MBC
NTT_DoCoMo
Superbird
Kazakhstan
JSC KazSat

Luxembourg
SES Astra

Malaysia
Binariang Sdn. Bhd. (MEASAT)

Mexico
Satmex

Netherlands
New Skies

Nigeria
NASRDA

Norway
Telenor

Pakistan
Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)

Philippines
Mabuhay

Russia
NPO Kosmicheskaya Sviaz
Gazkom
Global Information Systems
Intersputnik
Media Most (Bonum)

Saudi Arabia
Arabsat

Singapore
Singapore Telecommunications

South Korea
Korea Telecom

Spain
Hisdesat
Hispasat

Sweden
Nordiska Satellitaktiebolaget

Taiwan
Chunghwa Telecom

Thailand
Shin Satellite

Tonga
TONGASAT

Turkey
Eurasiasat SAM
Turksat

United Arab Emirates
Thuraya

United Kingdom
ICO Satellite Management

United States
AirTV
Astrolink
DirecTV
EchoStar
Globalstar
Hughes Network Systems (Spaceway)
Iridium
Loral Skynet
Orbcomm
PanAmSat
Spacenet
SES Americom
Sirius Satellite Radio
Teledesic
TerreStar
WildBlue
XM Satellite Radio
XTAR

Vietnam
VINASAT

4 Senior MTN Officials on the Kenya Plane Down in Cameroon

Douala, Cameroon (PANA) - Four officials of the Cameroonian mobile phone company, Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) including the managing director, South African Utton Campbell, are among the 115 passengers of the Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Cameroon, reliable sources told PANA here.
In addition to the managing director, there were also the administrative and financial director, the legal director as well as another staff member and MTN leader whose post was not yet disclosed.

It is even reported in MTN Cameroon that some of these leaders were travelling with members of their families on board the Kenya Airways aircraft.

MTN Cameroon, a telecommunication company, was set up on 15 February 2000 following the take-over of the Camtel Mobile phone operating licence by the South Africa group M-Cell which later became MTN international.

The Rest @ Panaress

30B$ Raised for Middle East and African Telecom Projects

• 2006 was a record year with 14B$ raised for African and Middle East Projects
• 2007 will raise 30B$ more, according to this report from TMC NET

To sort all this out, Telecom financiers will gather at the TelecomFinance Middle East, Africa and India conference in the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on May 23 and May 24 to discuss further financing and M&A opportunities in the region. The programme will feature more than 30 speakers including:

• Prakash Bajpai, President, Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications;
• Amer Al Rawas, CEO Oman Mobile;
• Salim Bitar, CFO, Motorola MEA;
• Dr Fahad Mushayt, Head of Strategic Investment Unit, Saudi Telecom Company;
• Mohamed Naguib Al Mallah, Corporate Accounting Officer, Orascom Telecom Holding;
• George Kikvadze, Head of M&A, Investments, Sistema Telecom;
• Ananda Bose, VP, CPM, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du);
• Jeremy Sell, Senior VP Business Development, Qatar Telecom;
• Terry Vileski, Chairman, Aircom;
• Bertrand Guiot, Head of Market Development, Europe, BT Global Services;
• Julian McIntyre, President and Treasurer, Gateway Communications;
• David Nataf, Head of M&A/ECM, Middle East & Africa, ABN AMRO;
• Robin Jowitt, Global Head of Telecoms, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young;
• Tim Schwarz, Partner, Global Head of TMT, Linklaters;
• Ghassan Hasbani, Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton;
• Erik Arveschoug MD, Head TMT, CEEMA, Citigroup;
• Albert Momdjian, MD, Head of Middle East and Africa Investment Banking, Calyon;
• Walid Zein, Executive Director, Goldman Sachs;
• Dr Thomas Tschentscher, TMT Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer;
• Torsten Thiele, Head of Telecoms Project and Infrastructure Finance, Investec Bank;
• Darragh Stokes Managing Partner Hardiman Telecommunications Ltd;
• Marc Chaya, Global Telecom Markets Leader, Ernst & Young;
• Natasha Good, TMT Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer;
• Mark Gregory, Global Head of Advisory Services, Ernst & Young; Adil Chikhi, VP Media & Telecoms, MENA Region, BNP Paribas.

Issues under discussion at the event will include:

• Expansion strategies for the Middle East, Africa and India;
• Accessing local and international capital markets: How to finance growth beyond the Gulf;
• Broadband provision for growth markets: Wireless versus fixed convergence strategies;
• Building a regional platform in the Middle East;
• Greenfield opportunities in Africa and India: and capturing market share in new growth markets.
• Sponsors for the event are Ernst & Young, Linklaters, Booz Allen Hamilton, Investec, Capital MS&L and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
• The official media sponsor for the event is AME. The event is researched and produced by BroadGroup and Telecom Finance.

Here is the Conference Web Site.

Neotel vs. Telkom SA: Deregulation at a Snails Pace

Duncan Mcelod of the Financial Mail has written an excellent piece at Mybroadband .
it describes the problems of Neotel, The first competitor in South Africa competing against TelKom, which though technically not a monopoly, is still dominating the market. Let me summarize:

• Neoteol intially had problems in licensing stemming from being underfunded
• Telcom is tieing up large businesses with multi year contracts
• Telkom bought significant billboard space adjacent to the Neotel offices before the lease was closed.
• Neotel sells wholesale bandwidth to ISPs based on its concession to stay afloat
• Neotel is laying its own fiber networks, but is 18 Months to two years away from completion
• During this time Telkom has hiked consumer prices try to get its profits now

Neotel's Strategy, based on to Mcleod's interview with Ajay Pandey, is to move from populations centers outward.

"Its consumer-focused network, linked to the main network wirelessly, will initially be built in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Witbank and other key towns. Those in more outlying areas will have to wait a few years for Neotel's wireless services."

Neotel is also experimenting with new technologies. Neotel is getting read to do a pilot in the city of Gauteng where it is constructing a network of base stations using a wireless system using CDMA2000. The pilot will kick soon have about 20 base stations.

However: Neotel does NOT want to start a price war, ( I'm sure it needs to get profits back to its own investors)

Landey also alludes to the emerging belief that bundling services is the long term answer.

The results to date: It still takes six months to get a phone. Consumers are still waiting.

MTC Shows Slowest Profit Growth in 2 Years

Shares of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC) reversed early losses on Wednesday after reporting its slowest profit growth in almost two years in the first quarter.

By 0822 GMT, the stock of the second-largest Arab telecom company by market value, was up 0.54% at 3.720 dinars ($12.87) after having fallen 1.1% earlier.

The Rest @ ArabianBusiness.com

Notes of Interest from the SES Satellite Quarterly Report

2nd, May 2007

• SES has reported strong results for the first quarter of 2007. The results for the period include the contribution until 30 March 2007 of the assets transferred to GE as part of the split-off transaction announced on 14 February 2007.
• Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES, commented:"The year has begun extremely well, with the conclusion of a significant agreement with Canal+ for the transmission of its French pay-TV offer on ASTRA and the completion of the transaction with GE.
• GE took assets in exchange for canceled shares in SES
• SES acquired businesses NEW SKIES and ND SatCom.
• NSS-8 launch failed
• The AAP-1 satellite (28 transponders) was renamed NSS-11.
• The AMC-12/ASTRA 4A capacity (72 transponders) was transferred from SES AMERICOM and SES ASTRA respectively, and renamed NSS-10.
• SES NEW SKIES also assumed responsibility for the commercialisation of the ASTRA 2B steerable beam from SES ASTRA, currently comprising eight transponders.
• SES ASTRAThe major development in the period was the agreement with Canal+ to transmit its full pay-TV programming offer for the French market from a single orbital position on the ASTRA satellite platform at 19.2 degrees East.
• The ASTRA satellite system grew to over 109 million TV households in the 35 countries surveyed in Europe and North Africa
• ASTRA2Connect, a service offering high-speed internet connectivity via satellite, commenced service from the 23.5 degrees East orbital position, delivering broadband services via satellite to consumers not served by terrestrial means.
• SES ASTRA's utilisation rate at the period end was 88%,
• SES AMERICOM'S uccessful launch of AMC-18 led to commercial service in February 2007 after extensive in-orbit testing.
• Government Services extended its contract with NASA for a multi-year period to provide capacity for television feeds and broadcasting activities.
• NewCom joined with SES AMERICOM to add REDiSat to its Emergency Communications Portfolio. SES AMERICOM's utilisation rate at the period end was 73%,
• January 30 the NSS-8 satellite launch resulted in failure when the rocket exploded on the launch platform. The impact of the failure is that there will be a slowing of the growth profile expected in the coming months, however this represents a delay rather than a disappearance of the revenue
• New contracts in the period included a two-transponder, multi-year contract to provide internet trunking to French Polynesia, and a contract to broadcast two new free-to-air DTH channels with STV of Cameroon in West Africa.
• AMC-12 and AAP-1 satellites were transferred into the SES NEW SKIES fleet, and are now designated NSS-10 and NSS-11.
• The ASTRA 1L satellite is due for launch from the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on 3 May 2007.
• Other launches scheduled:
• SIRIUS-4 in Q3
• AMC-14 in Q4.

Weblinks: http://www.ses.com