Telecom News Bulletin

Telenor India Plans Nationwide Services in 2010

Norwegian telecoms group Telenor said on Monday it planned to expand operations in India to offer services nationwide this year, which will mean its investments in Asia will be higher than last year. Telenor, which has operations in eight of India's 22 telecom zones, has no plan to join price cuts in the world's fastest-growing [...]

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All Banks Connected with Mobile Operators for Mobile Banking Soon

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is closely working with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the draft of “Third Party Mobile Banking Regulations” which will be finalized soon. Once finalized, it will connect all banks of the country with cellular mobile operators for mobile transactions. It was said by Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen while addressing [...]

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UNESCO Bangkok, Intel Accelerate Teacher Development through Expansion of ‘Next Generation of Teachers’ Project

UNESCO Bangkok and Intel have signed an agreement which is expected to advance the 21st century teaching skills of pre-service teachers in nine countries across the Asia Pacific region. The countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), UNESCO and Intel will collaborate to [...]

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LTE – The Rise of the Mobile Prosumer

The average handset has evolved from the humble voice-box, to the total media centre. As a result thousands of start-up companies are profiting out of the Telecom sector’s advances, supplying the various addons which inevitably accompany any new wave of technology. Such innovations were used by the operators to supplement the pricey voice packages. However, the operators are now finding themselves in the hands of the ever-creative software/hardware companies and the changing consumer culture. iPhone app store was the first to take advantage and make millions from the operators’ customers, creating a financial redistribution within the Telecom industry. With the telecom giants left to maintain the costly infrastructure that supports this ever growing new-media industry, the outlook for today’s communication service providers is set to get worse in a new 4G world where broadband is everywhere (LTE, WiMax, FTTX and cloud services). How can the giants sustain such costs and avoid being relegated to the sidelines as bit-pipe providers?

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Orascom Telecom Eyes Africa, Pakistan Growth – CFO

Egypt's Orascom Telecom wants to expand operations in sub-Saharan Africa via acquisitions and is still seeking a small bank to strengthen its mobile banking offering in Pakistan. Orascom - which has its biggest operations in Algeria, Pakistan and Egypt - also expects a resolution to its tax stand-off with Algerian authorities within weeks, chief financial officer Aldo Mareuse told Reuters on Monday. "Telecel, which is our new African subsidiary, will need to consolidate and make more acquisitions," Mareuse said, speaking by telephone from Paris. Telecel Globe, which provides less than 1.8 percent of Orascom's revenues, exceeded one million subscribers for the first time in end-June figures - from users in Zimbabwe, Burundi, Namibia and the Central African Republic.

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Orascom Telecom First Half Revenue Down 2.3% – Hedge Losses in Pakistan

Mobile operator Orascom Telecom’s first-half revenues fell 2.3 percent over the previous year to USD 2.48 billion, which the company put down to currency devaluations in key operations. EBITDA fell 3.5 percent to USD 1.1 billion, and net income was also down, at USD 184 million from USD 276 million a year ago. The sharp decline was mainly due to unrealised foreign exchange losses and hedge losses in Pakistan for a total of approximately USD 65 million. The regional Arab mobile operator said total subscribers exceeded 84 million at end-June, an increase of 8.7 percent compared with more than 80 million at the end of March.

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Warid launches GPRS/EDGE(Mobile Internet) roaming service

Warid launches international GPRS roaming service with 73 operators across 32 countries today (Thursday) to allow its customers access to internet while traveling abroad. Under the GPRS roaming service, Warid subscribers, while abroad and roaming, can browse the internet, check e-mails, share and download photos and songs by using internet enabled mobile handsets, laptops or PDA devices. Customers will experience the same consistent level of service performance and security, which they experience on the Warid home network. In addition to this latest offer, Warid subscribers can also enjoy the existing Voice and SMS roaming facilities with 240 roaming partners across 126 countries.

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