Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) in Saudi Arabia reported a Q3 loss, blaming a requirement introduced last year that customers had to register their fingerprint with SIM cards. The company's net losses increased by 5 percent to 174.5 million riyals ($46.53 million) it said in a statement to the Saudi bourse. Revenue also dropped 4.3 percent to 2.8 billion riyals.
Dr. Khaled Biyari, STC Group CEO, confirmed that Telecoms turning towards Digitization is a need imposed by local and international reality. He emphasized that STC will move gradually from conventional telecommunications to Digitization.
The acquisition of 9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, looks to be competitive, as 16 firms have submitted their interest to bid for the operator. Etisalat Group was forced to pull out of Nigeria this year after its firm couldn't come to an agreement with its lenders to restructure $1.2 billion debt after missed payments. Following Etisalat's exit, the Nigerian firm announced it had rebranded as 9mobile and said it is open to discussions with new investors.
'Technology for good' was a major focus at Etisalat this year during GITEX Technology Week' focusing on transformative technologies that will enhance the lives of the differently-abled, specially designed to help them in their day to day activities, many of them showcased for the first time in the country.
du announced that it is the first provider in the Middle East to trial SDAN technology on NG-PON and establish an intelligent network capable of supporting future needs. Using Nokia's SDAN solution, du can accelerate innovation through a more open, automated network environment that makes it easier and faster to create and deploy new intelligent services.
Under the auspices of His Excellency the Minister of Telecommunications Jamal Jarrah, Alfa, managed by Orascom TMT, in cooperation with the Francophone Association for Mental Illnesses (AFMM), launched an awareness initiative on mental health and the importance of integrating it in public health, as part of the Alfa 4-Life Program at a press conference held on at Saint Joseph University's Faculty of Medicine (USJ). The event coincided with World Mental Health Day and included six awareness films produced for this campaign dealing with common mental illnesses and addressing prevention and treatment. It was attended by Alfa CEO and Chairman Marwan Hayek, AFMM President Dr. Sami Richa, USJ Vice-Rector Father Michel Scheuer, and Alfa's management, team and interested stakeholders.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC, the parent company of telecom brands "du" and "Virgin Mobile UAE" announced key organizational changes on Oct. 18, as part of a strategic approach to drive the company's transformation agenda and allow expansion into new areas of growth.
Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P. (Zain), Kuwait's leading mobile operator announced it has entered into definite agreements to sell and leaseback the passive physical infrastructure of its mobile tower portfolio in Kuwait for US$165 million to IHS Holding Limited (IHS), in partnership with Towershare Management Limited ("Towershare"). The transaction will result in the formation of a new entity that will acquire and manage Zain's tower assets in Kuwait, with Zain assuming a minority shareholding in this newly formed entity.
The Saudi Telecom Company (STC), represented by its enterprise unit STC Business, stole the show at GITEX 2017 in Dubai last week by unveiling a variety of ICT digitization enabling platforms - essential to achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030 transformation objectives. The leading operator signed a Cloud Service Provider agreement with Thales Group at the event, and also signed mega deals with Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei.
Nokia will modernize and expand Zain Iraq's radio networks with its most advanced technologies across Karbala, Najaf and Basra, with a special focus on the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, to support the expected increase in data and voice traffic during the annual Holy event Zeyara as millions of people converge on the region.
