Telecoms & ITC

Emirates Telecoms wins Iran licence bid

Iran said Emirates Telecommunications Corp has won a tendering for the country's third mobile phone licence. "The Emirates Telecommunications Corp won the third operator licence tender in Iran," an unnamed source at the telecommunications ministry said. There are currently two mobile service providers in Iran -- state-controlled Iran Telecommunication Company (ITC) and MTN Group , sub-Saharan Africa's biggest cellphone operator.

Tough year ahead for IT industry, warns OECD

The economic downturn will hit the Internet economy hard in 2009, according to the latest available OECD estimates. The IT Outlook 2008 says that the IT industry is likely to have grown by 4% at most in 2008 compared to the previous year. But with the outlook for the global economy worsening and business and consumer confidence plummeting, growth will remain flat or decline in 2009.

Qtel, San Miguel in Philippines mobile partnership

San Miguel Corporation, the largest Philippine food and drinks company, said on Monday it would partner with Qatar Telecom (Qtel) to provide telecommunications services in the Southeast Asian nation. The venture will "look into opportunities in the wireless broadband, mobile and mobile broadband businesses in the Philippines," San Miguel said in a statement.

Zain to use US$4.5bn to acquire 5 MEA firms

The US$4.5 billion generated from Kuwaiti investors will be used to acquire four to five companies in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), a top Zain official said. Zain is committed to investing in Africa and the GCC and it is an example of how a company can bring together two continents, said Zain Africa chief executive officer Christopher Gabriel. Zain operates in 22 countries, 15 in Africa and seven in the Middle East - bringing together two continents is what Zain is all about, he said.

Vodafone Qatar signs agreement with Meeza

Vodafone Qatar has signed a QAR125 million (US$34.5 million) agreement with Meeza, a newly established IT services company. Under the agreement, Meeza, which is a joint venture with the Qatar Foundation, will provide "end-to-end turnkey IT infrastructure solutions" to support Vodafone Qatars planned core and wireless network operations, according to Rashid Al-Naimi, chairman of Meeza.