vol. 4 no. 12 december 2006 · of the overall cost of ownership,” said hanafy meleis, president...

Vol. 4 No. 12 December 2006

IraqTelecomNewsletter is published by Information Gatekeepers Inc.

320 Washington St., Brighton, Massachusetts 02135, USA. Fax: (617) 782-5735. Editorial telephone: (617) 782-5033.Circulation telephone: (617) 782-5033. (800) 323-1088 (Outside MA)Publisher/Editor: Dr. Paul Polishuk Editor: Dr. Hui Pan Managing Editor: Bev WilsonCirculation Mgr: Jaime Perez Subscription rates: $995 per yearDiscounts available for multiple subscriptions. © Information Gatekeepers Inc. 2006. All rights reserved. (ISSN xxxx-xxxx)No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a data base, or transmitted without prior written permission of the publisher.For photocopying authorization, contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, Tel: (978) 750-8400.

In This Issue...

IRAQ

ITPC to improve communications across Iraq with Norteloptical solution

Iraq Telecommunications & Post Corporation (ITPC),Iraq’s sole fixed-line operator, has awarded Nortel a US$20million contract to build a nationwide optical backbone to

2003 2004 20050

10

20

30

40

50

3.1

18

.6

40

.3

7.1

23

.6

36

.2

12

.1

29

.5

29

IP Hybrid Traditional

UAE PABX line shipments(thousands)

Source: Gordon Feller

IRAQTEL selects Redline to

establish Iraq’s first WiMAX

networkIRAQTEL selects

Redline to establish Iraq’s

first WiMAX network2

Operators sign MoU for I-

ME-WE submarine

cableOperators sign MoU

for I-ME-WE submarine

cable3

Nokia navigates the Middle

East market with first ever

Arabic GPS system for

mobile devices from

Navicore4

Samsung unveils first Mobile

TV phone in the Middle

East5

Afghan Wireless to expand

GSM in Afghanistan6

Batelco and Etisalat sign

partnership agreement7

Copyright 2006 Information Gatekeepers Inc. 320 Washington St. Brighton, MA 02135 Tel: (617) 782-5033 Web: www.igigroup.com

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Iraq Telecom Newsletter December 2006

deliver high-quality high-bandwidth data, video,and multimedia services for personal andbusiness communications. Nortel was selectedby ITPC as the prime contractor for the Iraqnational optical backbone following a publictender process.

“This national project is vitally importantto the many telecommunications projectsunderway that will help rebuild the capabilitiesof the Iraqi society and economy,” said H.E.Mohamed Allawi, Iraq minister ofcommunications.

“We selected Nortel’s advancednetworking technology as the right foundationfor Iraqi telecommunications and are confidentthat the improved communications madepossible by this network will help accelerate thereconstruction of our country.”

“Restoring and improving countrywidecommunications is vital for the reconstructionof Iraq,” said Simon Beard, director of MiddleEast business development, Nortel EMEA. “Thiscontract is testament to Nortel’s successfulrecord of DWDM transmission projects in Iraqsince 2004 and our continuing commitment toproactively partner with ITPC in its efforts torebuild Iraqi communications.”

The new network will link to the ITPC IraqSouth Ring DWDM network — built by Nortel in2004 as part of the US aid-funded Iraqreconstruction program. The network deliversbroadband optical services between Baghdadand Basra.

Under the terms of the contract, Nortelwill supply a national optical backbone networkthat covers a distance of 5000 kilometers andincludes 35 major cities.

The network will be constructed usingNortel’s next-generation DWDM (DenseWavelength Division Multiplexing) solutionincluding Common Photonic Layer (CPL),Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500 terminalswith electronic dispersion managementtechnology, and Optical Network Manager forsimplifying field operations. The resilient network

comprises seven interlocking rings providing abandwidth capacity of up to 160Gbps per ring.

IRAQTEL selects Redline to establish Iraq’sfirst WiMAX network

Redline Communications, a provider ofstandards-based broadband wirelessequipment, and IRAQTEL, the telecomsubsidiary of Al Emaar Holding Group — Iraq,announced that it will deploy the first WiMAXnetwork in Iraq using Redline’s WiMAX ForumCertified RedMAX products. Vision Valley, aspecialist in systems integration, networkdesign, and implementation, will provide itsregional expertise to ensure that the network iseffectively established. IRAQTEL will deliveradvanced voice and broadband services tothousands of businesses and residentsthroughout its region via the Redline network.

IRAQTEL will begin its RedMAXdeployment in Basrah, and will expand itsWiMAX network to include additional regionsacross Iraq. The Redline solution will enableIRAQTEL to quickly and cost-effectivelyestablish broadband wireless network to deliverthe voice and broadband services its enterpriseand government customers need and extendits network to reach more businesses, residents,and municipal organizations.

“IRAQTEL has been searching for aWIMAX solution that would provide a cost-effectively alternative to VSAT networks, whichhave been the only available solution forestablishing broadband connections because ofthe lack of copper line infrastructure,” saidSheikh Fawzi Al Lami, chairman of IRAQTEL.“We chose Redline’s RedMAX products toestablish a carrier-class telecommunicationsbackbone capable of supporting a scalable,high-performance network.”

As the first to bring WiMAX technologiesto Iraq, IRAQTEL joins a growing roster ofleading telecommunications carriers that havechosen Redline’s RedMAX products. The mostwidely deployed WiMAX Forum Certified


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system, RedMAX enables carriers to establishWiMAX networks that will deliver theperformance and features they need to deliverincreasingly advanced communicationsservices and expand their subscriber base overtime.

“In choosing RedMAX, IRAQTEL hasdemonstrated its commitment to meeting thecommunications requirements of its growingcustomer base,” said Majed Sifri, president andCEO, Redline Communications. “IRAQTEL willdeploy one of the world’s most advancedWiMAX networks to address the lack of existingcommunications infrastructure with a vision toserve the people of Iraq with innovative andaffordable wireless communications services.”

“We have worked closely with Redlineto design and deploy the WiMAX network forIraqtel and other major telecommunicationscompanies throughout the GCC,” said MahirElfadil, chief executive officer, Vision Valley.“RedMAX products enable operators to positionthemselves at the forefront of thetelecommunications industry, by delivering themost advanced wireless communicationstechnologies available today.”

ACROSS THE REGION

Operators sign MoU for I-ME-WE submarinecable

Leading telecom operators TelekomEgypt, Etisalat, Saudi Telecom, VSNL, andTelecom Italia Sparkle have signed anMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) to workjointly on the construction of a new submarinecable (I-ME-WE) linking India, the Middle East,and Western Europe.

The signing of the MoU marks the firstmajor milestone in the commissioning of the I-ME-WE cable project. The rapid progress madeby the five telecom carriers in moving fromconceptualization to signing of MoU reflects thestrong alignment and commitment among theparties towards the I-ME-WE project.

The cable project will connect the majorcountries in the region, including India, UAE,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, andFrance. The cable will leverage the strength ofthese major carriers and provide interconnectionfacilities with several existing and emergingsystems in the regions.

All the I-ME-WE member parties arecommitted to keep up the rapid pace of progressto enable the Ready for Service (RFS) by mid2008, with expectation of construction contractsbeing awarded by the end of 2006.

I-ME-WE cable system will be built usingDWDM (Dense Wavelength DivisionMultiplexing) technology, with a proposed designcapacity of at least 2.56 Terabits per second(Tbps). The network, upon its commissioning,will provide high-speed connectivity to the Asian,Middle East, North and East Africa, and WesternEurope regions, to meet their exponentiallygrowing bandwidth requirements.

NavLink and Trendium partner to delivermanaged services to enterprises and NSPsthroughout the Middle East

Trendium Inc., a global provider ofservice assurance and performancemanagement software and services, andNavLink, a managed service provider deliveringdatacenter managed hosting, enterprisenetworking, and Internet technology solutions,announced that NavLink will market and deliverservices from the Trendium Service Bureau tocompanies, enterprises, and network serviceproviders throughout the Middle East.

The NavLink/Trendium partnershipmelds technological innovation with a proven,extensive distribution channel. Businessesthroughout the Middle East will now have accessto Trendium’s award-winning technologyinherent in InfraSight, BroadSight, and SLAManager, services that comprise the TrendiumService Bureau. NavLink, whose customersinclude MTC-Vodafone Bahrain, BatelcoBahrain, Qatar Telecom, and Etisalat U.A.E., is


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extremely well positioned to deliver theseservices as a result of its deep local presence,reach, and reputation.

Also of note is that this partnershipaddresses regional demand for managedservices. According to industry analysts suchas Gartner, IT service markets in Europe, theMiddle East, and Africa returned to growth in2004, with the latest forecast indicating that ITservices in EMEA will grow from EUR165.4billion in 2004 to EUR195.8 euros in 2009.

“With broadband proliferation increasingthroughout the Middle East, coupled with thegrowing organizational dependence oninformation technology, it is imperative thatcompanies take every possible step to protecttheir business, and ensure the highest-levelcustomer experience. By partnering with aregionally established distribution powerhouse,integrator and service provider such as NavLink,we are able to provide this growing market withthe advanced services they need at a fractionof the overall cost of ownership,” said HanafyMeleis, president and CEO Trendium Inc.

“The Trendium Service Bureaurepresents the natural progression of ourbusiness,” said Laurent Delifer, co-president andCOO, NavLink. “For years, Fortune 500companies worldwide have looked to Trendiumto optimize and assure service objectives forDSL (and other) providers, monitor the userexperience, and meet SLA expectations.Through our Service Bureau, we can offerspecific functionality inherent in our existingsolutions, in addition to advanced securityinformation monitoring resources, packaged asextremely cost-effective services.

“Trendium’s Service Bureau addressestoday’s business climate, in which spendingindicates a growing confidence in managedservices’ security, reliability and effectiveness.With Trendium as our partner, we are able todeliver on the promise of accelerateddeployment and potential cost savings; ourdecision was based on InfraSight’s and

BroadSight’s unique ability to deliver powerfulIT infrastructure health and traffic forensics forthe enterprise, and enable service providers toachieve maximum service revenue,respectively.”

A state-of-the-art management service,InfraSight offers a blend of proven, real-timedata collection and trend performance analysis,in addition to security insights, event monitoringand network traffic predictive alerts — solutionscritical to maintaining a healthy enterprise.BroadSight is an end-to-end assurancemanagement service for DSL broadband serviceproviders that detects and corrects DSL-relatedservice quality issues impacting every aspectof the customer experience. The SLA Managerwill provide a portfolio of business-related SLA/SLO service assurance for Ethernet, triple-play,MPLS, WIMAX, and other managed services.

Nokia navigates the Middle East market withfirst ever Arabic GPS system for mobiledevices from Navicore

Nokia, Navicore, and NAVTEQannounced a joint collaboration to producemobile navigation abilities for Nokia’scommunication devices. “Navicore Personal”will work in close conjunction with the Nokia LD-3W GPS receivers, which can be connected tomany of Nokia’s handheld devices, and willmake use of NAVTEQ’s mapping efforts for theGCC. Among its many unique features,Navicore Personal is also the first Arabic-speaking navigator for mobile devices. Neverbefore has the Arabic market for handsetnavigation devices been so directly served.

“Our agreement with Navicore allows usto continue to be at the forefront of mobiletechnology as well as serve the linguistic needsof the Arabic market,” said Zsolt Menesi, director,Multimedia Experiences, Middle East Africa,Nokia. “Navicore Personal’s navigationapplication is compatible with over 30 Nokiaphones and devices is a further demonstrationof Nokia’s commitment towards consumers in


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this region and reflects that company’sunderstanding of consumers’ needs andrequirements. Now Middle East users of ourGPS systems can get directions in the languagethey are most comfortable with, be it English orArabic,” added Menesi.

Besides having the ability tocommunicate to the user in Arabic, the newapplication is designed specifically to be aneasy-to-use mobile navigation system.Guidance is clear and concise both vocally andvisually. Navicore Personal will run on Nokia’sconnected devices using S60, S80, and NokiaLD-3W GPS receiver.

“The navigation application will give topeople the ability to know where they arewherever they may be,” added Menesi. “It’s areflection of the growing sophistication of thismarket and its consumers that this applicationis now readily available.”

Navicore Personal also featuresextremely fast routing capabilities with either thefastest or the shortest route displayed for a user,and automatic re-routing in case the user straysfrom the route or the road is blocked ahead.Pedestrian, cycling, and car navigation modesare also available. An extensive point-of-interestdirectory includes thousands of gas stations,hotels, restaurants, parking facilities, and manymore, together with phone numbers, Webpages, and direct dialing support. There is alsoon-line support for downloadable points-of-interest databases.

Navicore Personal and Navteq mappingis compatible with most of Nokia’s devices,including N70, N73, N80, and E61. In addition,the Nokia Multimedia Car Kit CK-20W allowsthe Navicore Personal with NAVTEQ mappingto have GPS continuity whether users arewalking or driving. Customers who use the NokiaMultimedia Car Kit can simply connect theirphone to it, and immediately have a GPS systemfor their car. The entire kit makes for hands-freeGPS navigation that can guide a traveler to anydestination as he or she drives. Navicore

Personal’s voice instructions enable drivers toreach a destination without having to take theirhands off the wheel.

Navicore Ltd. is one of the premiersuppliers of solutions for the booming navigationindustry, and is a member of the Forum NokiaPRO and PRO Enterprise Zone premiumdeveloper programs for Nokia.

NAVTEQ map coverage for the regiongives Nokia GPS systems unparalleledaccuracy of the streets and highways of Kuwait,Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.NAVTEQ databases powered more map-enabled devices than any other solution inEurope and North America, making it the leadingmap developer for the world’s consumer GPSsystems. NAVTEQ maps span 58 countries andsix continents, all with the same consistent highlevel of support and quality, making thecompany’s Middle East mapping efforts thelogical choice for Nokia devices in the region.

Samsung unveils first Mobile TV phone inthe Middle East

Samsung Electronics announced itsglobal leadership in the mobile TV category byunveiling the SGH-P910, the first DVB-H (DigitalVideo Broadcasting) phone in the region, to leadmobile broadcasting service through the DohaAsian Games. SGH-P910 has many multimediafeatures, such as TV capabilities, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and an MP3 player.

The P910 will bring large-volumemultimedia and television content directly toconsumers via their mobile handsets.

To receive TV signals, users can easilyflip the 2.2" TFT LCD screen to a horizontalposition for optimal viewing. With a high-resolution QVGA (240x320 pixels) screen with262,144 colors. TV images are clear, crisp, andflicker-free. The display shows up to 30 picturesper second, allowing users to enjoy a vivid livebroadcast as if they were at home.

The SGH-P910 comes in a compact sizeof 97x50x27.4mm. Seamless connection with


6


personal computers is guaranteed by a built-inUSB port and Bluetooth functionality. It alsosupports online browser, personal informationmanager, and a series of office functions. TheSGH-P910 also features all of the classicfunctions of a high-quality GSM/GPRS mobile.

Moreover, the 20MB user memory andthe external memory let this innovativemultimedia phone not just play, but also recordand save, TV broadcasts, videos, and games.All of these add up to a whole lot of fun for sportsfans, who can print out their favorite momentsor relive athletic highlights in video format, evenwhen they are late for the game.

Mr. J H Park, president Samsung GulfElectronics, said, “Samsung continues todevelop the premium mobile handsets that giveconsumers the ultimate multimedia experienceand allow them to fully realize the power ofmobile broadcasting.

“Mobile television will radically change TVviewing behavior in Qatar,” says Mr. Park.“Samsung has successfully introduced theworld’s first DMB phones to the Korean marketlast year, where the T-DMB and S-DMBstandard are already deployed. At the IFA inBerlin last summer, we joined with TSystemsin demonstrating the interactive capabilities ofthis system. Now, we want this phone to beanother milestone along the road to mobiletelevision in the region.”

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Wireless to expand GSM inAfghanistan

Afghan Wireless plans to expand itsnetwork in many places in Afghanistan.Additional 50 Siemens BTSs are to be shippedsoon. Several shipments of BTSs, BSCs, andMSCs would be executed in the near future. Thecost of the equipment is likely to be $30 million.The new BTSs will enhance coverage in all citiescovered by AWCC, including Kabul, Gazni,Kunduz, Kandhar, and many more. The firm

intends to increase the number of cell sites by100 percent by next year.

BAHRAIN

Kalaam Telecom first to bring wirelessInternet services to Bahrain

Kalaam Telecom and Green Packet, aglobal developer of next-generation mobilebroadband networking solutions, haveannounced a strategic partnership paving theway to provide wireless broadband solutions inBahrain. The partnership will bring value-addedservices to cater to corporate and residentialcustomers and offer a real alternative to otheroperators in the market.

Kalaam will be the first in the market,using Green Packet’s SONmetro technology, toprovide wireless broadband Internet access,VoIP telephony, and other applications andservices at rapid speed and high quality tocustomers. These innovative services will allowKalaam to compete in the highly open telecommarket of the kingdom.

Commenting on the partnership withGreen Packet, Carlos Riera, CEO of KalaamTelecom, said, “We are proud to be the first inBahrain to provide wireless broadband solutionsusing the most advanced technology fromGreen Packet. This partnership not onlypositions us as leaders in the market but alsohelps our mission to offer innovative offeringsand services to our customers at cost-effectiveprices with superior quality and value in additionto ending the monopoly over important servicesincluding broadband.

“It is the strong feedback from the marketwhich stresses the need for alternative providersalongside our continuous study and researchinto customers’ telecoms needs that drivesKalaam Telecom to be first in the market to offersuch innovative services such as this one.” Rieraadded.

Elaborating more on the new services’benefits for customers, Andy Hanna, chief of


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sales and marketing at Kalaam Telecom, said,“Through the new wireless broadband network,our customers will now be able to enjoy thefreedom and flexibility of fast Internet servicesin Bahrain in addition to innovative and lowercost structures that includes better downloadlimits. Customer can also take advantage ofother products in conjunction with the wirelessservice including Net-Talk VoIP telephony whichallows any customer to utilize their broadbandconnections to make and receive telephone callsover the Internet at substantially reduced costs.”

Kalaam’s SONmetro WirelessBroadband Solutions will be available inselected Bahrain areas to customers startingJanuary 2007.

Batelco trade-in deal: Change your oldmobile for the latest model

Batelco, Bahrain’s leading mobileoperator, is once again offering mobilecustomers the opportunity to trade in their oldmobile phones for brand new ones through therelaunch of “Trade-in Offer,” which previouslyproved to be a very popular campaign.

This is the third year that Batelco ishelping its mobile customers to celebrate thefestive season by offering them a great value-for-money deal, which will continue until the endof the Eid Al-Adha holiday.

Customers are invited to bring their oldmobile phones to the Batelco shop at Seef Mallor Bahrain Mall, where a neutral evaluator willassess the condition of each mobile. If thecustomer accepts the price offered, he or shewill receive vouchers which can be used towardsthe purchase of any other phone from Batelco.

“By giving our mobile customers theopportunity to trade in their old mobile for a newone, they can enjoy the latest in mobiletechnology at a reasonable price,” said Batelco’scorporate affairs general manager, Ahmed AlJanahi. “

The re-introduction of this offer comes inresponse to customer demand, indicating that

Batelco is once again addressing their needsand is always committed to giving choices andmore value to them.”

Batelco and Etisalat sign partnershipagreement

Batelco and EmiratesTelecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) haveannounced the signing of an agreement duringthe tech showcase GITEX in Dubai. Under theterms of the agreement, the two Gulf telcos willprovide a range of data communication servicesto their customers and enhance thegeographical reach of their operations.

This partnership deal covers a range ofdata services for global connectivity targeted atmultinational companies, which will enable bothcompanies to use IP-VPN technology to transfervoice, video, and data between geographicallyremote locations just as if they were in the samebuilding.

“Meeting customers’ requirementsthrough strategic partnerships with leadinginternational providers is aligned with our overallstrategy to deliver better value and enhancedcustomer experience,” said Batelco’s directorinternational operations and senior manager,product portfolio and marketing, Adel Daylami.

“Providing this new data communicationservice is entirely aimed at giving our customerswhat they want and moreover exceeding theirexpectations. The interconnection will alsoempower our future joint venture operations inthe Gulf region to provide more competitiveservices to our customers,” he said.

Etisalat’s chief operating officer ,AhmedAbdulkarim Julfar, said that Etisalat is committedto making a difference in the workplace, andthis partnership for regional seamless IP-VPNconnectivity will address the needs of regionalbusinesses in the most effective way.

“With this service, our businesscustomers can increase their productivity andefficiency by removing the limitations ofdistance. This service, due to its major positive


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impact on the business, brings excellent returnson investment, freeing up resources for corebusiness activities,” Mr. Julfar noted.

“A solution such as the IP-VPN serviceis a smart investment for a business, with returnsseen in a short time,” he added.

The service, which will be implementedover a regional MPLS (multiprotocol labelswitching) network, will provide customers withsuperior-quality services to meet differentnetworking requirements like voice- andvideoconferencing, high-bandwidth datatransfers, real-time applications, and otherservices.

“The Batelco-Etisalat agreementinterconnects our regional networks with that ofother global service providers to ensure thatcustomers receive the best quality of serviceand global coverage,” concluded Mr. Daylami.

Ericsson to supply HSDPA network inBahrain

The largest operator in the Kingdom ofBahrain, Batelco, has chosen Ericsson forupgrading its network with HSDPA technology.Batelco will deploy a 3G/HSDPA network thatwould support Batelco in its Broadband Bahraininitiative.

The process of rolling out the networkhas already started. The deal also includestechnology consultancy services to help Batelcowith optimization of the network performance.Ericsson will also offer business consultation ina go-to-market program for advanced 3Gservices. Batelco chief executive PeterKaliaropoulos said that the deployment ofservices from Ericsson would serve andentertain the company’s customers.

EGYPT

OT’s Q3 revenue increases, but its bid toacquire 100 percent of HTIL fails

Egypt’s Orascom Telecom reported a 37percent rise in Q3 EBITDA as its group mobile

user base increased by 83 percent year-on-yearto over 46 million. Revenues in the quarterending September 30 rose 35 percent to $3.216billion, increasing EBITDA to $1.4 billion and netincome by 12 percent to $0.55 million.

OT’s stakes in cellular operators includePakistan, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq,Bangladesh, the Republic of Congo, and Africa.

By the end of September, OT’s total userbase rose to 46.52 million from 25.49 million ayear ago. But OT has apparently failed in a bidto acquire 100 percent of Hong Kong-basedHutchison Telecommunications InternationalLtd. (HTIL) due to disagreement on the terms.Orascom claimed 19.3 percent stake in HTILfor $1.3 billion in December 2005.

This pair engages in wireless operationsin 15 nations and covers two billion people. OTis presently interested in increasing its stake inHTIL by 3.7 percent to around 23 percent.

KUWAIT

Wataniya Telecom announces third-quarterresult; revenues increase 40 percent year-on-year

Kuwait-based operator WataniyaTelecom announced its result for the Q3 endingin September. Revenues increased by 40percent year-on-year to $1.06 billion.

EBITDA also increased by 67 percent to$463 million. Wataniya has contributed to growthin almost every network it participated in; Iraqand Tunisia (+11 percent) and Algeria (+16percent) added the highest number ofcustomers.

The business in its home marketincreased by just 3.5 percent, though it helpedthe firm to reach the 1 million mark.

The increase in year-on-year subscriberbase was just below 70 percent from 5.2 millionto 8.8 million. Wataniya also improved theaverage revenue per user in each of its sixterritories; in Maldives, the ARPU increased from$14 to $15.


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INX wins army contract to supply VoIPinfrastructure upgrades in Kuwait

INX Inc. announced that it has beenawarded an infrastructure upgrade contract forthe 160th Signal Brigade, US Army, Kuwait. The160th Signal Brigade, US Army, Kuwait, is thepermanently assigned unit responsible for allArmy communications for locations inSouthwest Asia for Kuwait, Qatar, andAfghanistan. With Voice over IP (VoIP) takinghold in the region as a result of the Voice overSecure IP (VoSIP) initiative implemented by theDefense Information Systems Agency and thecertification of Cisco Systems VoIP products bythe Joint Interoperability Test Command lab, theArmy is now moving forward with infrastructureupgrades that are required in preparation forVoSIP communications implementation. Theinfrastructure upgrade project is for the networkheadquartered in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and willreplace existing Local Area Network equipmentthat has reached an end-of-life status. Thecontract award represents approximately$628,000 in products and services revenue forINX, including Cisco network switches, routers,VoIP upgrades, and implementation services.Regarding the award, Roger Haney, vicepresident of sales, Federal Division for INX,commented, “Beginning with the initial VoSIPsystem that we installed in Iraq for CENTCOMin 2004 that continues to operate effectively andexpand under our supervision, we continue tobroaden our presence in Southwest Asia andwe anticipate further expansion in this marketas the need for network upgrades and voice/data convergence solutions increases with theArmy’s Voice over Secure IP initiative.”

LEBANON

Cedarcom deploys MOBI, the first truemobile broadband wireless access networkin the Middle East

Cedarcom, the leading Lebanesetelecommunications provider, and Kyocera

Corporation, the Japanese high-techmanufacturer, announced that Cedarcom hasdeployed MOBI, the first true mobile broadbandwireless access network in Lebanon and theMiddle East, using Kyocera’s iBurst technology.Cedarcom has extensive fixed wirelessexperience and through this move will harnessthe personal mobile broadband market.

MOBI, in partnership with major ISPs inLebanon, offers users connectivity to a high-speed data communication network within awireless broadband Internet environment. Itsdata downlink speed of up to 1Mbps enablesusers to enjoy high-speed data communicationsincluding all IP-based applications, browsing,email, streaming video, e-CRM, etc., within theservice areas. The MOBI service is availableinitially within Greater Beirut and Jounieh andall their surrounding mountains. MOBI servicewill reach Tripoli, Faqra, and Faraya within twoweeks.

“Lebanon is about to experience magic!With MOBI, the true mobile broadband or mobileADSL, Lebanese business executives andInternet aficionados will enjoy the liberty andfreedom at true broadband speeds at affordableaccessible prices for the first time in their lives.Our network infrastructure provides theperformance, scalability and reliability toaccommodate the needs of all corporateexecutives in need of mission-criticalconnectivity at all times and in all places. It alsoprovides facility and ease of use for studentsand web surfers, and for that we have catereda wide range of business and residential servicepackages that suit the needs of our clients. TheMOBI service area covers almost 1.5 millioninhabitants and we will continue its expansionin the coming months,” said Imad M. Tarabay,chairman and CEO at Cedarcom.

“MOBI service appeals to a vast sectoramong the Internet users in Lebanon, includingexecutives in various vertical sectors, salesforces, consultants, reporters, site engineers,school and university students, etc. Several


10


service plans are available from 256Kbps,512Kbps and 1Mbps – all at affordable fixedprices,” continued Tarabay.

“Prior to launching we did studies andtested several MBWA technologies and wefound out that Kyocera’s iBurst technology,which is considered the pre-802.20 standard,is superior to all offerings out there, includingWiMAX 802.16e, which has not seen light yet.iBurst offered us a comprehensive, high-performance IP-based wireless mobilebroadband network and combines the reliabilityand scalability that we will need in the future toaddress our customers’ service needs,”continued Tarabay “We would like to expressour respect and appreciation for Cedarcom, whohas been taking great efforts to launch thecountry-first mobile wireless broadband serviceagainst all difficulties. Kyocera will supportCedarcom and contribute to Lebanon’sdevelopment in communications environmentwith our technology,” said Junichi Jinno, generalmanager of Kyocera’s CorporateCommunication Systems Equipment Group.

“Cedarcom has obtained exclusive rightsto Kyocera iBurst for Lebanon, Kingdom ofBahrain, United Arab Emirates, Sierra Leoneand Liberia and we look forward to additionalrollouts soon,” continued Junichi Jinno. In thenear future, Cedarcom will extend and scale IPconnectivity to provide its customers throughoutLebanon a diverse range of services, includingIPTV and other advanced data services.Cedarcom is rolling out the MOBI service inpartnership with leading ISPs Cyberia, IDM,Sodetel, LYNX, and Broadband Plus, amongothers.

Ericsson setting up new Global ServiceDelivery Center in Lebanon

Ericsson announced a new GlobalService Delivery Center to be opened next yearin Beirut, Lebanon. The new center will initiallyemploy about 100 people and will serve regionaland global customers.

Its location in the Middle East meansLebanon offers a central position and culturalcapabilities to Ericsson’s global organization.

Its 17 universities delivering technicaldiplomas provide highly skilled, multilingualprofessionals who work across the whole region.The country also offers a very good climate fornew company investments and establishments.

“I am impressed of the business growthof the region Middle East and Africa,” saidFredrik T. Strand, vice president and head ofService Delivery within Ericsson.

“We are a global company and ourservice delivery organization provides a globalstructure that includes local capabilities in orderto meet our customer’s demands.”

Initially about 100 persons will beemployed during 2007, mainly engineers todeliver services in the areas of systemsintegration and of network and technologyconsulting.

The new Global Service Delivery Center(GSDC) in Beirut is a consequence of theexpansion of Ericsson’s services business, andis in line with Ericsson’s plans to continue todevelop global and local services and deliverycapabilities.

The current Ericsson servicesorganization employs about 23,000professionals worldwide. About 6,500 of theseemployees work in Global Service DeliveryCenters.

Ericsson has 18 GSDCs, which aredesigned to ensure business readiness for theglobal market.

They support global and regionaldemand by providing global expertise cost-efficiently, supporting the expansion ofEricsson’s services business.

Ericsson has activities and operations inall 14 countries in Middle East and offices in 11of them (Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan areexceptions) employing around 1,800 persons.Today, Ericsson does business with more then20 operators in the region.


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OMAN

Belgacom and Omantel sign MoUBelgacom and Omantel have signed an

MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to carryout international carrier services in the MiddleEast. This deal will allow Belgacom InternationalCarrier Services (ICS) to utilize Omantel’snetworks to maximize its connectivity in theregion and enhance its growth. Also, Omantelwill improve its bilateral voice relations to boostthe service for retail and wholesale users signedup for a two-year deal with Belgacom.

PAKISTAN

UTStarcom sings deal with Maxim Telecomof Pakistan

Telecommunication equipmentmanufacturer UTStarcom Inc. has signed adistribution deal with Pakistan-based MaximTelecom. No financial details were provided bythe company. The deal will include offering thewhole range of UTStarcom’s handsets and alsoInternet protocol (IP)-based broadbandtechnology. The vice president of the Europe,Middle East, and Africa region at UTStarcom,Youssef Kassissia, said that since foreigninvestments in Pakistan account for 29 percentof all investments, this deal would help thecompany to enter an expanding market in thecountry.

MIC planning to exit the Pakistani mobilemarket

Millicom International Cellular (MIC)could exit the Pakistan mobile market becauseof concerns regarding the profitability of itswireless unit there, Paktel Ltd. Millicom statedthat the returns on the investments could bethreatened by harsh business conditions inPakistan mobile telephony and some frequencyinterference matters. Paktel was granted anadditional 1800MHz spectrum to settle thefrequency interference issues, but this grant was

temporary. Paktel had requested a deferral ofthe newest installment of its $29.1million licensefee. However, this was not granted by the PTA.In August 2004, Paktel had filed a case againstthe PTA, and refused to pay a fee of $38.8 millionit supposedly owed to the regulator for the GSM-1800 spectrum. The appeal was rejected by theHigh Court in Lahore after a few days.

QATAR

Q-Tel plans major global expansionincluding Indonesia

CommsMEA reports that Qatar Telecom(Q-Tel) plans a push in its global investments,including the identification of proper investmentopportunities in telecom sector in variouscountries. To support this plan, the company isrecruiting additional staff from across the globe.Q-Tel will not restrict itself in Africa and theMiddle East and plans a new investment inIndonesia. The company aims at a potentialprocess for acquisition and is not just interestedin Greenfield licenses.

SAUDI ARABIA

Mobily assigns EMC for Data Protection andBusiness Continuity Solutions

EMC Corporation, a provider ofinformation management and storage,announced that Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), theSaudi mobile operator, has assigned EMC toprovide business continuity services that helpMobily in protecting its customers’ data. EMCplans to provide Mobily with high-end businesscontinuity and information managementsolutions that will offer reliable and continuousaccess to its data and applications in order tomaintain the highest level of services forcustomers.

Mr. Ahmed Hassan, CIO of Mobily, said,“Mobily already has a solid customer base, andwe are now in the process of expanding ournetwork to reach more customers in the


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Kingdom. To attract and retain those customers,we rely upon various elements and one of themis a solid information system, enabling us toprovide the highest level of services, so it isessential that those systems and data areavailable to us at all times.”

The Saudi GSM operator will deploysystems from the EMC Symmetrix DMX-3 seriesof enterprise-level networked storage systemsat two sites in the Kingdom. More than 120terabytes (1 terabyte is approximately equal to1,000GB) of data will be managed by thesystem. Symmetrix DMX-3 systems also provideMobily with full replication capabilities andfailover protection to ensure high availability forall of its applications and information, assuringfast access to vital data such as call records,customer details, and emails.

“We have selected EMC’s integratedstorage solutions because they are able to meetand exceed the very demanding requirementsthat we have for business continuity and disasterrecovery,” said Hassan.

“Telecoms operators have to have an‘always-on’ service, and by deploying thesesolutions at two main sites, we will be able toduplicate all of our essential systems, to ensureconstant availability for our systems.”

The project with Mobily will includeEMC’s industry-standard storage platform,advanced business continuity software, anddirect support and consultancy from EMC’spersonnel in the Kingdom.

Mohammed Amin, general manager ofEMC Middle East, said, “Telecoms operatorshave many requirements for their informationsystems – they create large volumes of dataand they need constant access from thosesystems.

EMC solutions are in use with many ofthe largest telecoms companies worldwide, andwe have a depth of experience in this sectorthat helps us to develop products and solutionsthat address the specific, high-end challengesof telecoms operators.”

Habib Mahakian, country manager ofEMC KSA, added, “EMC has a very strongpresence in Saudi Arabia, and this, coupled withthe experience we have gained working withalmost all of the key operators in the MiddleEast, gives us a unique strength in the regionaltelecoms sector that we bring to our relationshipwith Mobily. We are very pleased that they havechosen our business continuity solutions tosupport them as they continue to build servicesfor the Kingdom.”

TURKEY

Turkcell deploys RMSCTurkcell, a Turkey-based network

operator, has deployed the Rich Media ServiceCenter (RMSC) of Moxibell. This RMSC willimprove Turkcell’s multimedia content servicesand deliver a centralized solution for its ServiceDelivery Platforms (SDP). Cenk Bayrakdar, chiefservice and product development officer,Turkcell, said that the operator can now providecustomers with high-quality multimedia contentby deploying the RMSC.

Turkcell selected Moxibell because theoperator needed a proven solution that wouldlend support to its service delivery platform andmeet all the optimization needs. The operatorhas deployed the RMSC with ContentManagement System (CMS), MMSC, and aMultimedia Push Application.

Garanti Bank selects Cisco Systems for newTurkish datacenter backbone

Cisco Systems announced that GarantiBank, the leading Turkish retail, commercial, andcorporate bank, has selected Cisco to providea new backbone network infrastructure for itsdatacenter operations comprising storage areanetworking, datacenter switching, andintegrated security.

The new datacenter infrastructure willhelp the bank support the data securityrequirements of its mainframe applications.


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Garanti Bank’s datacenter houses all itsbanking data. The new datacenter networkinfrastructure will also help allow the companyto take advantage of improved capacity tohandle expanding requirements stemming fromareas such as multichannel banking and theneed to comply with banking regulations.

“We have been very impressed byCisco’s Data Centre Network Architecture andthe integrated systems approach to providinginteroperability between data centrecomponents,” said Mrs. Eser Unal, business unitmanager, network services for Garanti Teknoloji.“As we develop our strategy, we are looking toachieve further cost efficiencies by deployingCisco SAN technologies and Cisco’s virtualizedFirewall Services Modules (FWSM) to helpsupport high levels of reliability and securitywithin our data centre environment. One keyadvantage of the Cisco technology is that thereis a consistent integrated networking approachacross its data centre switching and storagenetworking portfolios.”

The new storage area networkinfrastructure is based around Cisco MDS 9509Multilayer SAN directors, with Cisco MDS Multi-Protocol Services Modules.

In addition to redundant Cisco Catalyst6500 Series switches with the Cisco SupervisorEngine 720, Garanti Bank’s network upgradefeatures a number of other Cisco networkcomponents, including integrated security withCisco Firewall Services Modules.

The Catalyst 6500 Series switches willalso help allow Garanti Bank to boost switchingrates in the datacenter from 140Gbps to720Gbps, and interconnect to Cisco Catalyst4510R series switches at the network edge.

“The Cisco Data Centre NetworkArchitecture represents the practical realizationof our intelligent networking vision for the datacentre.

An important benefit of Cisco’s datacentre strategy lies in helping enterprises to planfor future growth through a tight integration of

intelligent architectures including switching,optical, storage area networking, integratedsecurity and server load balancing,” commentedKaan Terzioglu, VP for Central and EasternEurope for Cisco Systems.

“We are working to provide the buildingblocks for a phased evolution of our data centrestrategy as organizations move to consolidate,virtualize and ultimately build automation intotheir data centre environments.”

The approach to using Firewall ServiceModules in the datacenter is to help give fullycontrolled access to host systems from differentregions on the Garanti Bank network. FWSMmodules operate in multiple context modesusing a stateful failover approach.

Using different contexts for eachsegment, the traffic from all parties can also beisolated. Contexts can be used either in routedor transparent mode; by using a context intransparent mode, Garanti Bank is able to passOpen Shortest Path First (OSPF) traffic throughthe context, eliminating the need for staticroutes.

The advantage is that this approach ismore reliable, more secure, and more practical.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Etisalat selects Huawei for UTMS/HSPAnetwork provision

Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat)has chosen Huawei as its national UMTS/HSPAnetwork supplier. Huawei would provide above1,000 Node-B base stations for constructing thisUTMS/HSPA network.

It would be the first HSPA network basedon lub/IP transmission in North Africa and theMiddle East. Huawei’s association with Etisalatcan be traced back to December 2003, whencommercial 3G services were launched in theUAE.

The general manager of Etisalat NetworkPlanning, Naseer Salim, said that the HSPAnetwork in the UAE will set the foundation for


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the global expansion of 3G technology. The twocompanies are also working on various otherprojects in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Etisalat, SingTel to provide IP-VPN servicesSingapore Telecommunications (SingTel)

and Etisalat will provide Internet Protocol VirtualPrivate Network (IP-VPN) to users in the MiddleEast and the UAE. SingTel will now be able toprovide seamless network connectivity and IPservices in the Middle East through Etisalat’sIP-VPN solutions.

The Emirates TelecommunicationsCorporation will have a wider reach in AsiaPacific via the network coverage andConnectPlus IP-VPN services of SingTel. Thefirm’s ConnectPlus suite serves importantbusiness cities in Asia-Pacific and other areas.The global data services of SingTel’s partnerslike Etisalat (in the UAE) will help in extendedcoverage. Etisalat provides service to 5.3 millionmobile users in the UAE, with penetration rateof 125 percent. SingTel has 37 offices in 19nations and territories in Europe, Asia-Pacific,and the US.

Dubai Silicon Oasis selects Nortel to createinnovation-driven technology institution (

((Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the region’sNumber 1 integrated innovations hub for high-tech industries, has selected Nortel to supply anext-generation, highly resilient IP network forits headquarters opening in early 2007. The newinfrastructure will be deployed by Nortel’spartner, Beta Information Technology. DubaiSilicon Oasis is a wholly owned entity of thegovernment of Dubai, operating as a free zonetechnology park for semiconductors,microelectronics, and other electronic-basedcompanies looking to set up their regionalheadquarters and R&D divisions. The networkfrom Nortel will give DSO a scalable, mobile,and truly unified communications network,supporting DSO’s staff, tenants, and affiliatecompanies’ business growth while providing a

flexible foundation for future advancedcommunications services. “Deploying Nortelconverged IP solutions was a logical choicebecause they perfectly combine networkintelligence, resiliency, scalability, and securitywhile controlling total costs of ownership,” saidMrs. Shahla Ahmed Abdul Razak, deputy CEO,DSO. “Dubai Silicon Oasis aims to create aknowledge-based economy and this partnershipreflects how an organization can implement bestIT services to achieve greater efficiencies andoffer competitive advantages for thecorporations that decide to participate in ourproject.” “Nortel’s technology will provide DSOwith a highly secure and reliable, high-speednetwork based on the latest technologies forcurrent and next-generation multimediaapplications,” said Ramin Attari, Middle Eastleader, Nortel. “The flexibility to easily expandto meet future demand while maintaining ahighly secure and ‘always on’ business criticalnetwork will be crucial to meeting DSO’sbusiness plan for higher service and efficiency.”On the infrastructure side, the solution consistsof a resilient terabit cluster of two Nortel EthernetRouting Switch 8600s at the core and NortelEthernet Routing Switch 5520 at the edgeproviding power over LAN, and 10/100/1000connectivity. In addition, the solution includesNortel’s WLAN 2300 for secure Wi-Fi coverageand seamless mobility throughout the HQbuildings.

YEMEN

Motorola inks deal with SabaFon to expandnetwork in Yemen

An agreement has been inked betweenMotorola and SabaFon to expand the capacityand coverage of their GSM network using theMotorola Reach GSM solution. The agreementwill allow Sabafon, which already covers 85percent of the Yemini populace, to extend itsservices to the northern and the southernregions.


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Yemen’s SabaFon to boost mobilesubscriber base with Motorola GSM networkexpansion contract

Motorola Inc. announced that it hassigned an agreement with SabaFon to increasethe coverage range and capacity of theoperator’s GSM network to serve a greaternumber of subscribers in Yemen. The networkexpansion initiative, using a Motorola ReachGSM solution, will widen the scope of SabaFon’sreach in both the northern and southern regionsof Yemen and boost SabaFon’s customer reachas a growing number of residents opt for GSMconnectivity.

Penetration of telecommunications inYemen is on the rise as the modernizationprograms implemented by the governmentcome to fruition, and international connectivityconnections show the vast improvement in thestate of the industry. Mobile subscription ratesare also growing dramatically, albeit from a smallbase, which leads to exciting opportunities forcompanies such as SabaFon with strong localand regional knowledge, complimented bystrategic relationships with global leaders suchas Motorola.

“We are extremely satisfied withMotorola’s professional performance since 2003that reflects our solid and fundamental strategicrelationship. The network expansion is anongoing process and Sabafon is committed tocontinuous investment in technology and peoplein order that we can continue to provide the verybest service to our growing customer base,” saidH.E. Sheikh Hameed Al Ahmar, chairman ofSabaFon.

“SabaFon is not content to stand still.Under the leadership of H.E. Sheikh HameedAl Ahmar, we are committed to grow thecompany in a cohesive and structured manner.This required significant investment in networkinfrastructure this year and we have clearlydemonstrated our commitment to achieve ourgoal to remain the leading provider of GSMservices to our growing customer base in

Yemen. We are enormously proud of ourachievements to date and are delighted by thesupport provided by our key suppliers such asMotorola; however, our biggest sense of prideis directed towards the professionalism anddedication of all SabaFon people and thecontinued loyalty of our customers,” said Mr.Tarik Al-Haidary, CEO of SabaFon.

SabaFon has been operating in Yemensince 2001 and has been working with Motorolasince its launch. SabaFon is now able to provideGSM coverage for 85 percent of Yemen’spopulation.

“Yemen is a strategic market for Motorolain terms of our regional and global strategy to‘connect the unconnected’ and boost economicdevelopment in emerging geographies.Research has shown that increasing the numberof mobile subscribers in developing markets canhave a measurable impact on a country’s GDP,and GSM network expansions projects likeSabaFon’s directly benefit consumers throughenhanced connectivity,” said Ali Amer, seniordirector of sales, Motorola Networks &Enterprise, Middle East, North Africa andPakistan (MENAPAK).

A portion of the revenue on this contractwas recognized by Motorola in the third quarterof 2006.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Middle East anticipates video mobileservices as standard by 2008, LogicaCMGsurvey shows

More than a third of the early adoptersof new mobile services in the region are readyto subscribe to video calling and video mailmobile technologies, results from a new regionalLogicaCMG survey show. Their topconsideration is quality, followed by price.

The LogicaCMG poll, conducted at therecently concluded GITEX 2006 trade show inDubai and online at Bayt.com, also witnessedhigh levels of interest in Mobile TV (24 percent),


16


SMS Auto Reply or Out of Office Notification(19 percent) and Instant Messaging (18percent).

Almost 80 percent of those surveyed atGITEX said they expect Instant MessagingService and video mail to fully replace existingmessaging delivery methods in the next twoyears. Close to a third of those expect it will takeless than a year for the switch.

Nabil Y. Khalil, director of telecoms atLogicaCMG in the Middle East and North Africa,feels that the survey results are in line withpatterns emerging across various marketsaround the world. Khalil said, “These numbersare very encouraging for everyone in theindustry, from service providers tomanufacturers and retailers. Every society hasits share of early adopters, the people who willpick up and implement a new technology rapidly,but these numbers suggest a far morewidespread interest in technology development.The survey results show that the Middle Eastregion is clearly at the forefront of technologyadoption.”

Of the 200 trade delegates and exhibitorssurveyed at GITEX, 40 percent said videocalling/video mail would be the most popularmessaging application in the next two years.

The popularity of video calling/video mailwas twice that of its closest competitor, instantmessaging, a Web-enabled step above theexisting short message service (SMS) system,voice, and text.

DSL equipment markets in the GCC set forstrong year, says IDC

The DSL equipment market in the sixstates of the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) is set to havean impressive year. According to three new IDCstudies, the first of their kind analyzing andforecasting the markets for DSL equipment,shipments of DSL ports will more than doubleby the end of 2006 while shipments of customerpremises equipment (CPE) will shoot up by over

72 percent. Having reached $31.8 million in2005, total market revenue is expected toexpand more than 88 percent in 2006.

“This region has an advantage over otherparts of the world in that operators did not spendlarge amounts of money in the early days oncable and DSL networks,” said Mark Rotter, IDCMEA program manager, telecommunications.“Operators are leapfrogging to more advancedtechnologies, such as ADSL 2+, that mostEuropean operators have just started movingto now. In addition, operators are able to takeadvantage of economies of scale and focus theirbroadband rollout only on DSL since there isonly a very small installed base of cable – thisability to focus almost exclusively on DSLtechnologies makes rollout far more cost-effective than in other parts the world.”

The UAE was the largest single countrymarket for DSL equipment in 2005 and has thelargest installed base. In terms of vendor share,according to IDC, Siemens led in the CPEmarket, having landed a substantial contract toprovide DSL/WLAN routers for the broadbandInternet Al Shamil promotion. Their position isnot guaranteed, as both second-ranked D-Linkand third-ranked USRobotics have solid channeland retail strategies. In terms of DSL networkports, Zhone had the largest vendor share inthe Emirates.

Going forward, Saudi Arabia will becomethe largest market in terms of equipment salesthis year, according to IDC, as it has both thepopulation and economic environment tosupport a large number of broadband users. Incontrast to the UAE, Thomson had the largestvendor share for CPE shipments in Saudi Arabia(and in the Rest of the GCC) last year, withLinksys taking second and USRobotics third.Meanwhile, Alcatel took the top spot for networkport shipments.

“While the markets were hot the lastcouple of years, things are going to start slowingdown in 2007 and maintaining market share isby no means guaranteed,” said Rotter. “For CPE


17


manufacturers, success will depend on winningbig deals with operators to bundle CPE with DSLservice subscriptions. Vendors need to build andmaintain relationships with strong buyers suchas Etisalat, as personal relationships are key towinning projects.

That being said, vendors must also befirm in ensuring contracts are feasible, and bewilling to walk away from deals that would beunprofitable.”

IDC’s recent studies on the DSLEquipment markets include:

- UAE DSL Equipment 2006-2010Forecast and 2005 Analysis(IDC#ZN06P)

- Saudi Arabia DSL Equipment 2006-2010 Forecast and 2005 Analysis(IDC#ZN05P)

- Rest of Persian Gulf DSL Equipment2006-2010 Forecast and 2005Analysis (IDC#ZN07P)

These IDC studies contain in-depthanalyses of the DSL network equipment andCPE markets in the GCC. Key vendors analyzedinclude, among others, Alcatel, Cisco, D-Link,Linksys, Siemens, Thomson, and Zhone. Thestudies provide data on the current market size,vendor rankings, and projected market growthover the coming five years.

The studies answer questions such asthe following: What are the main drivers for DSLequipment growth in the region? How importantare enhanced features and functionality in termsof the actual revenue generated in the DSLequipment market? How will the pricing declinein the industry affect revenue in the DSLequipment market? What channel strategies canvendors look at to maximize sales? What DSLtechnologies should operators be deploying intheir networks at which stage?

For more information about acquiring IDCresearch, please contact Mark Walker([email protected]; +971 4 391 2741) orTatiana Hinova ([email protected]; +420 221423 140).

According to the TA, revenues from publictelecommunications services in Turkeytotaled US$12.73 billion in 2005, up fromUS$11.5 billion in 2004

Research and Markets has announcedthe addition of “Turkey TelecommunicationsMarket Intelligence Report” to their offering.

Although Turkey’s incumbent state-owned telecommunications operator TürkTelekomünikasyon AS (Türk Telekom) had itsmonopoly on domestic and international voicetelephony and network services removed at theend of 2003, very few alternative operators havebeen able to make headway in the market,largely due to a general reluctance on the partof Telekom to sign interconnection agreementswith competitors and to open its network to newplayers, as well as a seeming inability of thenational regulator, the TelecommunicationsAuthority (TA), to put important new legislationinto effect that will assist new players incompeting with the incumbent.

After more than a decade of discussionand political prevarication, Türk Telekom wasfinally privatized in the summer of 2005, with itsnew owners (a group led by Saudi Oger, backedup by Telecom Italia) taking control of thecompany in November that year. The newowners seem to have put an increasedemphasis on the development of the nascentbroadband network, increasing the reach ofdigital subscriber line (DSL) services to a largenumber of Turkish cities by the summer of 2006.The company has also bought Telecom Italia’sstake in cellular operator Avea, taking itsownership to 81 percent and clarifying the third-placed operator’s future direction (although Aveahas some way to go before it can match second-placed Telsim (now owned by Vodafone) andseemingly will never draw close to the marketleader, Turkcell).

At the time of writing, there were 45companies licensed to provide long-distancetelephony services, most of which appear to betargeting the large business and corporate


18


sectors of the market. In addition, the first threeoperators charged with competing with Telekomin the fixed-line infrastructure market (includinglocal services) were only licensed in March2006; tellingly, one of these is a subsidiary ofTurkcell, indicating that the market-leadingcellular operator also has hopes of exploitingthe fixed-line field.

At the time of writing, the regulator isworking to introduce a blanket ElectronicCommunications Law, similar to that adoptedin all European Union states.

The new law should clarify the regulatoryregime in favor of new entrants and give theauthority greater powers to force Telekom toopen up its network and services. It is generallyexpected that the law will be adopted at the endof 2006, although it remains in draft form andcould yet be diluted significantly. (Thegovernment retains a 45 percent stake inTelekom, so has a vested interest in delayingliberalization where possible.)

According to the TA, revenues frompublic telecommunications services totaledUS$12.73 billion in 2005, up from US$11.5billion in 2004 and US$8.02 billion in 2003.

The greatest proportion of revenues wasgenerated by the mobile communications sectorin 2005: at US$6.43 billion, this represented anannual increase of US$1.66 billion and markedthe first time that mobile revenues had overtakenfixed-line revenues.

For more information, please visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46059.

Gain comprehensive information onPakistan’s telecoms market

Research and Markets has announcedthe addition of “Pakistan — Telecom CountryProfile” to their offering.

This 33-page report is a completesnapshot of Pakistan’s telecom environment,providing all the information needed to besuccessful in this market. It defines the country’seconomic and political environment, keepingreaders abreast of events that could impact thebusiness environment in the future. It thenprovides an overview of the regulatoryenvironment, with information on regulators,ministries and the liberalization status of eachtelecom market. This section also comes acrossthe country’s WTO commitments and the latestregulatory events. The telecom statistics andforecast section for 2001-2011 is filled withvaluable data on telecom revenues andinvestments, as well as number of subscribers,penetration, and growth for the fixed, mobile,Internet, and broadband markets. It alsocontains international traffic and ratesinformation. This report then provides ananalysis of the country’s competitiveenvironment, analyzing the fixed, mobile, andInternet markets in terms of players, number ofsubscribers, and market share. It also coversthe trends and key events in each sector. Lastbut not least, it also provides a detailed profileof Pakistan Telecom, Mobilink, and Worldcall,giving information on their latest activities, keycontacts, service offerings, financials, andmarket shares. For more information, pleasevisit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46554.

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