Telecoms & ITC
Egyptian telecom firms to focus on Africa investments
Egyptian communication companies are increasingly directing investments towards emerging African markets as opportunities in the Egyptian market have weakened with little chances for new fixed-line and mobile operation licenses.
Broadband penetration rates rise in Arab region
Qatar leads the fixed line broadband penetration as a percentage of population in the Arab World in 2007, according to research firm Arab Advisors Group. ""While absolute broadband penetration in the Arab World may seem low by industrial countries standards, the effective household broadband penetration is much higher. This is related to higher number of people per household as well as line sharing,"" said Jawad J. Abbassi, founder and general manager of Arab Advisors Group.
The region's telecommunications and broadcast entertainment markets continue to experience strong growth in subscribers and poised to face more competition as operators seek expansion.
16 Telcos sign agreement to build high-bandwidth undersea cable
Major leaders of the global telecommunications industry signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to build the first direct, high-bandwidth optical-fiber submarine cable system from the United Kingdom to India.
The Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system, which will cost more than US$700 million, will significantly enhance capacity and diversity between the countries of these regions.
Zain Iraq and Nokia Siemens Networks sign a US$150m network modernization contract
Zain Iraq, the country's leading mobile operator has signed up Nokia Siemens Networks in a US$150 million contract to increase capacity while also simplifying and modernizing its existing core network.
Nokia Siemens Networks will unify the technologies and bring them under Nokia Siemens Networks portfolio, thus assuming responsibility for Zain Iraq's Core, Intelligent Network and Value Added Services elements of the network.
Mid East 'virtual' mobile business worth US$5 billion
The Middle East could witness a virtual revolution worth US$5 billion, which due to increased competition, could bring down the cost of making mobile phone calls throughout the region, according to industry experts.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) – which provide mobile services to their consumers over the existing infrastructure of licensed operators - have already dramatically changed the telecom landscape in Europe, the US and parts of Asia.
Kingdom's IT sector gauged at SAR11bn
Saudi Arabia's information technology (IT) market has proved itself as one of the major outlets for software and hardware solutions in the Arab region over the recent years. The Kingdom's IT sector has grown by more than 11 percent since 2006, reaching SAR11 billion.
Batelco enters Saudi telecoms market
Bahrain's leading telecom player Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has announced that it is investing US$1 billion in the Saudi Arabian telecoms market as part of its strategy to augment revenue flow from overseas operations.
It is also seeking permission for an IPO with plans to list 25 percent of its shares on the Saudi Arabian bourse, said Peter Kaliaropoulos, its CEO during the quarterly media briefing held at the company's headquarters in Manama.
Middle East technology market expected to hit US$13.4 billion in 2008
The Middle East technology market is expected to hit US$13.4 billion in 2008, according to latest IDC reports, as a result of the continuous uptrend, which has set off since the market reached the US$6.9 billion mark in 2003. With aims of leveraging the burgeoning demand for business-critical networking and communications solutions, Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East and Alcatel Lucent are offering a complete range of enterprise IP networking and communications solutions to regional customers.
Bahrain goes online
Bahrain's ambitious BD42 million (US$111 million) project to make all government services online is fully under way.
About 50 government services are now available online and another 40 expected to go on stream by the year end. All of Bahrain's 167 government civic services would be available at the click of the button by 2010.