Alcatel-Lucent & TE Connect Northern Egypt to France

Telecom Egypt (TE), the incumbent telecom operator in Egypt, and Alcatel-Lucent have signed a US$125 contract to deploy a new submarine cable network linking Sidi Kerir in Egypt to Marseille in France. Named TE North, the project will enable Telecom Egypt to expand international connectivity, providing diversity from existing cable routes. Additionally, the TE North submarine cable system will help Telecom Egypt enhance its network capacity to operate as a wholesale carrier to other operators and expand its service offering to businesses and consumers.

Spanning 3,100 km, TE North will deliver an ultimate capacity of 128 x 10Gbit/s on eight fiber pairs, which makes it one of the largest cable systems in the region. As a result, Telecom Egypt will be able to meet the growing demand for broadband services of its business and residential users at more affordable costs. Moreover, it will further establish Egypt’s role as international communication hub between Europe and Asia/Africa, and it will also reinforce the city of Marseille as a communications hub with ‘open access’ facilities.

“Egypt has a young population with a growing demand for more and more capacity. In addition Telecom Egypt has decades long tradition of being the partner of choice to all Asia-Europe submarine cable systems, by providing the infrastructure for crossing from Red to Mediterranean Seas. Today, through TE North, we extend the Telecom Egypt service footprint by offering an option to extend this infrastructure from the Red Sea to Europe,” said Akil Beshir, Chairman and CEO of Telecom Egypt. “Alcatel-Lucent’s turnkey expertise and technological lead in submarine networks shall help us achieve our project and business objectives on time."

“Access to advanced technologies is key to operators like Telecom Egypt to best serve their customers,” said Georges Krebs, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel-Lucent’s submarine network activity. “By meeting the requirements of communications infrastructures in terms of capacity, flexibility and scalability, Alcatel-Lucent helps Telecom Egypt respond to the ramping demand for innovative applications.”
 

Du To Offer Home Cam Service Du, the new telecom operator in the UAE, has announced the latest of firsts to be introduced soon to the UAE, the new HomeCam service. HomeCam is a new service to be offered by du as part of it's NGMS (New Generation Mobile Service) portfolio that will allow users to monitor their homes, properties, etc. from anywhere and anytime simply from the comfort of their mobile screens. This new service will be offered to all du customers both Pay as you Go and Monthly Plan customers, and usage will be charged by the second. Once the service is launched, customers can visit any of du's shops or premium dealers across the UAE to buy the du HomeCam and activate the service without paying any subscription fees. The HomeCam comes with a du SIM card and a memory card to record on. Commenting on yet another upcoming milestone Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Officer of du said: 'We at du always believe that our customers deserve world class treatment and the best services and products. The introduction of HomeCam will further underscore this commitment and is set to make a difference to families in the UAE.

Etisalat Afghanistan To Be Launched By July

UAE's telecom giant - Etisalat - is all set to launch operations in Afghanistan by the end of June. In the war-ravaged Afghanistan, Etisalat's focus is on low-tech voice and text services, the company's CEO Mohammad Al Qamzi was quoted. "Etisalat Afghanistan offers mobile services with 2G and plans to introduce its services in the first half of this year," he further added.

The company has recently launched Etisalat Misr, Etisalat's subsidiary in Egypt, which became Egypt's third mobile operator. Etisalat Misr has launched Egypt's first 3.5G network and also brought mobile television, high-speed internet access and video calling to the Egyptian market for the first time.

Being the second-largest Arab telecom company by market value, Etisalat manages 14 service providers in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The company currently has access to a potential market of over 400 million subscribers and its services reach over 32 million subscribers.
 

Batelco Threatens Regulator, Demands Better Terms Batelco has threatened to halt any major investment in infrastructure in Bahrain unless it receives more favourable operating terms from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. The company also expects to scale back local operations and is actively talking with several "interested parties" about a possible sale of an equity stake, chief executive Peter Kaliaropoulos revealed. "What is the incentive for Batelco to keep investing in infrastructure in Bahrain when the regulator is saying to us: 'we will give you a 10-12 per cent return'?," said Mr Kaliaropoulos. "Thank you, but that's not good enough. I might as well take my capital and invest it overseas, because I would make a much higher return." "I'm not suggesting we're going to buy a company tomorrow for $3bn, but we can acquire up to that level without putting pressure on our current operations." More than 26pc of Batelco's revenues already come from overseas operations and the company is planning to expand this year into Saudi Arabia, where it recently secured several contracts to roll out broadband Internet, voice and data services as part of the Batelco/Atheeb consortium. "In the last couple of years we have built a presence across the Middle East, and we think there are still ample opportunities for us to grow by acquisition," said Mr Kaliaropoulos.

Mobbily To Expand Its Saudi 3G Network

Saudi Arabia's second largest telecom company, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), is going to award a 1 billion riyals ($266.7 million) contract to expand its third generation wireless network. The existing infrastructure, set up by Ericsson, Nokia and China's Huawei, covers 19 Saudi cities.

"The expansion...will cover the rest of Saudi cities," Mobily's Chief Executive Officer Khaled al-Kaf said in a statement, without naming the bidders or saying when the contract would be awarded.

Mobily, in which Emirates Telecommunications Corp. is the main shareholder, is in a competition with Saudi Telecommunications Co. (STC) in the mobile market. Mobily claims a 34 % market share two years after it started operations in the kingdom.

According to a company statement, out of Mobily's 6.2 million customers, 1 million are 3G users, making it the largest of seven firms that provide third generation wireless services in the Middle East and North Africa. The 3G expansion is also designed to capture the growing demand for the internet access, it said.

 

Warid Being Approached By Telecom Investors According to market sources, Warid Telecom (owned by Abu Dhabi Group), Pakistan's third largest mobile phone operator, is in talks with several foreign firms, including Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), to sell a minority stake. Sources added "Warid has been approached by several international telecom companies over the last six or eight months, including those from the Far East, the Middle East and Europe, but no final decision has been taken as yet," It is believed that the picture will become clear by July or August. There is also no confirmed reports about how much the deal could be worth. Sources indicate that the companies in talks with Warid includes Singtel, Britain's Vodafone Group and Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC). However there are also reports of Warid not willing to sell a controlling stake, or to give up its brand. Warid is owned by the private Abu Dhabi Group, which is one of the largest foreign investor groups in Pakistan and also owns Bank Alfalah Ltd. and Wateen Telecom. It also has a stake in United Bank Ltd. Warid Telecom started operations in 2005 and has around 10 million customers in Pakistan -- a market share of roughly 17 percent. Recently, China Mobile Communications Corp., the world's largest cellular carrier, acquired Paktel - Pakistan's cellular company. Beijing-based China Mobile bought an 89 percent stake in Paktel, now known as CM PAK, from Millicom International Cellular S.A., a Luxembourg-based company that operates in emerging markets. Apart from Warid and CM PAK, the other players in cellular industry of Pakistan are Mobilink, a unit of Egypt-based Orascom Telecom, Norway's Telenor, Ufone, a subsidiary of Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd., and Instaphone.