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For African telecoms news, AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST TELECOM WEEK is your weekly news service in this fast-moving telecoms market! Never before has Africa and the Middle East offered such a remarkable business opportunity for telecom manufacturers, operators and suppliers. africantelecomsnews Telecom News & Operator Data from issue 403 dated 17 December 2009: A & ME SUBSCRIBER STATISTICS: Gulf mobile subscribers by State 3Q 2009 Net Additions Africa 1Q 2008 - 2Q 2009 AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST: LION cable launched in Reunion Submarine cable network Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) was inaugurated in Reunion on 11 December 2009. The... < more > AFRICA: Africa growth greater than other developing markets says Fitch Debt ratings agency, Fitch has said that the Middle East and Africa telecoms market will to continue to grow in 2010,... < more > CAMEROON: Orange takes Voice HUB to manage growth On Monday Comverse said that Orange Cameroon had selected its Voice HUB to replace the existing system, to ... < more > EGYPT: FT approved for Mobinil stake acquisition The Egyptian financial regulator has finally approved the appeal of France Telecom SA (FT) to acquire the remaining...< more > NTRA extends deadline for triple-play licence bid submission The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has extended the last date for submission of bids for the two triple-... < more > Mobinil to issue bonds worth EGP 1.5 billion Khalid Ellaicy, the CFO of Mobinil, has announced the company’s plans to launch five-year fixed-rate unsecured bonds...< more > Orascom Telecom announces rights issue Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) has announced that it will raise approximately USD 800 million through a rights issue....< more > GABON: Azur resumes services USAN Gabon, the newest telecom player in Gabon, operating under the brand name Azur, has been allowed by the...< more > GAMBIA: Q-Cell launches roaming service Q-Cell, the fourth mobile phone carrier in Gambia which launched its services in the country in August 2009, has...< more > ISRAEL: Drahi wins bid for MIRS stake Motorola, the parent company of MIRS Communications Ltd., has finalised the sale of MIRS to Patrick Drahi, the owner...< more > IGLD completes placement of Series B Debentures Internet Gold - Golden Lines (IGLD) has announced closure of private placement of ILS 300 million (USD 79 million) par ...< more > JORDAN: JTD request extension in 3G service deployment deadline Safaricom has partnered with Cisco to develop a series of managed services offerings. Safaricom plans to launch the...< more > Privacy protected by Zain Zain has said that it has investment some JOD 250,000 (USD 352,000) in a number of solutions for filtering...< more > SIM pre-sales solution for Zain Last week Zain signed a strategic agreement with Hello Jordan, a regional service provider and logistics company, who ...< more > KENYA: Essar moves into mobile money market Essar Telecom Kenya (ETKL) has announced plans to enter the mobile money market business. The company will...< more > Telkom Kenya petitions for lowering 3G licensing fees Communication Commission of Kenya (CKK) has received its second petition in a month arguing for the lowering of...< more > Zain deploys new customer support system Zain Kenya has introduced a new queue management system Opti-Q at its outlets in Nairobi, which will enable the ...< more > KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom, NSN sign network upgrade deal Kuwait’s Wataniya Telecom has awarded a contract to Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) to upgrade its HSDPA network....< more > MALAWI: MTL announces fibre optic network launch Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL), the country’s sole fixed-line operator, has announced the launch of its Fibre...< more > MOROCCO: Maroc Telecom awards BSS contract to Alcatel-Lucent ...Maroc Telecom has chosen Alcatel-Lucent for its mobile billing platform that will be used by the operator in its mobile,...< more > NIGERIA: MultiLinks to offer nationwide coverage in 2010 Ijeoma Abazie, the chief corporate affairs officer of MultiLinks Telekom (a private telecom carrier in Nigeria), has...< more > Visafone claims a first with OMH compliance Visafone said last week that it has met all of the requirements to comply with the CDMA development group’s (CDG)...< more > RWANDA: KT facilitates Kigali wireless Internet KT Corp., Korea’s top fixed-line operator and ISP, has launched a wireless Internet service in Rwanda: Kigali Wireless...< more > SOUTH AFRICA: Cell C to launch 3G network in 2010 South Africa’s Cell C has announced plans to invest approximately ZAR 5 billion (USD 671.5 million) next year on the...< more > MWEB launches reduced call tariffs ISP MWEB has introduced national calls for its enterprise clients at call rates much lower than that offered by state-...< more > Quizzical Vodacom queries MTN win Vodacom has alleged that market competitor MTN has not won the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan tender by fair...< more > SYRIA: MasterCard for MTN Syria MTN Syria has formed a partnership with Bank Audi Syria to offer credit cards in association with global credit...< more > TANZANIA: Two thirds of mobile users still to sign-up The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has said that the decommissioning of unregistered SIM...< more > TURKEY: Turkcell opts for Dilithium to offer wireless video services Dilithium, the US-based mobile video solution provider, revealed that the company’s DTG 3021 multimedia gateway has...< more > Turkcell turns over sales staff As of 10 December 2009 Turkcell announced changes to its Sales management team....< more > Usmanov appeals against merger Alisher Usmanov, a Russian businessman holding nearly one-third stake in MegaFon through his holding company AF...< more > UGANDA: Smile Telecom to focus on low income users Smile Telecom, which recently launched its business in Uganda, plans to target the low income earners in the country...< more > Issue index: 403 - 17 Dec 2009 | 402 - 10 Dec 2009 | 401 - 3 Dec 2009 | 400 - 26 Nov 2009 | 399 - 19 Nov 2009 Why Africa? "...Africa remains Millicom's fastest growing region and an increasing proportion of total Group capex has been invested in the region in 2008 and we expect that this will continue in 2009. The slightly lower growth in new subscribers, 611 thousand in Q4, reflects the more challenging economic conditions across Africa, but we expect to continue to achieve high growth in Africa as, with around 160 million people under license, Africa represents 55% of Millicom's potential market and with the penetration still low in all our markets, there is potential for high growth for many years to come." Millicom 4Q 2008 Financial Report Why 'Africa & Middle East Telecom-Week'? developing-telecoms.blogspot.com - 14 April 2009 "I have, of late, been taking advantage of an excellent newsletter from Blycroft Publishing - Africa & Middle East Telecoms Week." Acision "I like your magazine a lot! Very up-to-date and interesting info." Saudi Telecom "...it was my pleasure to receive your Africa & Middle east Telecom week, I believe it’s one of the highest standard reports I have seen in terms of coverage to the big news especially in Saudi Arabia where I work." Globitel "The title is meaningful, I like it mostly, nothing was bad so far.... It is great news." Neugroups "It is an excellent source of information, well compiled and concise. I am indeed interested to continue. Thank You." listerus & partners "I think that A & ME is very good. We are a consulting company and recommend it to our clients." September 2009 Country Report - Democratic Republic of Congo Telecoms Market Overview & Statistics The DRC is a mineral-rich country that is recovering from civil strife and many years of pillage by its former leaders which has accounted for the low level of development of its telecommunications and other infrastructure. While there has been little success with revitalising the fixed-line network infrastructure, the mobile networks have experienced strong growth and provide a replacement for fixed telephony and public payphones. Following the launch of mobile data services, they are also set to become major players in the underdeveloped Internet and broadband sector. Overall, market penetration is still well below the African average, leaving enormous potential for future growth. Check out the African Telecoms News' resource area for mobile telecoms market information and data. Click here for market research reports, studies and research services covering other telecom markets.

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE: Gulf Mobile Network Subscriber Statistics: 3Q 2009 chart Gulf mobile subscribers by State 3Q 2009 data table Gulf mobile penetration 3Q 2009 data table Gulf mobile subscribers by Operator 3Q 2009 Middle East Mobile Penetration 2Q 2009 chart Middle East Mobile Penetration 2Q 2009 table Cameroon Mobile Subscribers & Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 chart & data table Egypt Mobile Subscriber Growth y-o-y 4Q06-3Q09 chart Gabon Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Gambia Mobile Operator Share 2Q09 chart Jordan Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 table and chart Kenya Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Kuwait Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Morocco Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Multilinks Subscriber Numbers 3Q08-3Q09 chart Syria Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Tanzania Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart Uganda Mobile Subscribers and Penetration 3Q07-3Q09 data table and chart