UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are the Arab World's highest adopters of telecommunication services according to the annual results of Arab Advisors Group's Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM) announced at the Arab Advisors's Fourth Annual Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference 2007..…. It also stated that Threats to revenue and business models in the telecommunications industry are forcing companies to come up with new services and converge with media and information technology sectors….. In a seminar held by Global Intellectual Plus (GIP), an international company specializes in knowledge management holding based in Bahrain, a company executive said that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are qualified to become knowledge-based economies, and these projects are widely needed in the region, as there is a great market for them because of changing laws to comply with World Trade Organization and protect intellectual property which guarantees the rights of people working in the field….. Dubai Muncipality and Saudi Arabia ’s Ministry of Telecommunications and IT were among the top winners at the 12th Middle East ICT excellence awards. They were specifically awarded in the categories of eService provider organisation of the Year and 2007 eCountry best ICT initiatives award respectively…. Information Technology companies will need to come up with new solutions that build on existing IT investment and core business applications that strengthen companies' ability to improve business processes, reduce cost, adapt to changing markets, meet regulatory requirements and offer a stable platform for growth. This was stressed by an industry expert while addressing the ITQAN-Open Text ECM Leadership Forum held in Abu Dhabi . Focusing on Enterprise Content Management (ECM), speakers at the forum provided insights on the global IT market for an audience of about 100 IT managers from the region…. Telecommunications -- the fastest growing industry worldwide - is marking another bumper year of mergers, cross-border acquisitions, exponential growth and intensive competition. For the Middle East , with the fast creation of worldwide-scale pan-regional operators, analysts predict the buzzword for the second half of 2007 to be consolidation…. M&A-driven consolidation in the MENA telecommunications industry will define investment in the sector going forward, particularly in the current environment of strong economic growth, increasing market liberalization, and declining issuance of new telecom licenses….. Dubai will host the 2007 GSM>3G Middle East and Gulf (MEG) congress and exhibition on 2-3 September at the Dubai International Convention Centre. The 6 streamed annual event is expected to draw over 3,000 attendees to set the agenda for one of the world's most dynamic markets. Above shows last years event….. Representatives of two of the region's major telecom regulatory bodies withdrew at the last minute from a conference held in Dubai that sought to explore the opportunities for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology in the Middle East . Mohammed Gheyath, manager, technical affairs, at the UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and Ahmed Bougadoum, permanent secretary of the Arab Regulators Network were both scheduled to take part in a panel session at the event, VoIP World. Organisers said that no representative from either body attended, without giving an explanation as to their absence.

Afghanistan :

In 2003, telecom was a national monopoly with 12,000 fixed line phones in the whole country, 50,000 mobile phones and 20,000 satellite phones. The cost per call was three to four dollars per minute. For long distance calls, Afghans had to trudge hundreds of miles to a neighbouring country.

Today, there are 2.5 million subscribers, with five operators, one of the four private companies, Roshan, having 50 per cent share. Call rates today vary around 10 cents per minute for a local call anywhere in the country and 45 cents for international calls. The market is growing at 50,000 new connections per month. Roshan is the leader and the other operators follow its lead. It employs over 1,000 people of average age 23, and indirectly (outsourcing and so on) another 20,000. Except corporate accounts, almost all subscribers are pre-paid ones….. Afghanistan 's largest mobile-phone company is only four years' old and has just made its first annual profit, but there are still teething problems. for the first time, mobile phones are threatening to outnumber guns on the streets of Afghanistan . Only 8 percent of Afghans own a mobile phone but the market is growing at around 100,000 new customers a month, says Roshan, which means "Light" in the local Dari language. "It's the fastest growing market in the world today in terms of penetration," …. The Ministry of Communication has launched work on a comprehensive programme to provide 150,000 telephone lines in the central capital and four other major cities of the country….. Roshan, the leading telecom operator in Afghanistan , launched a pioneering Telemedicine solution in Afghanistan to expand healthcare access and delivery across the country. Using broadband technology, wireless video consultation and digital image transfer, the Telemedicine project will provide hospitals in Afghanistan with real-time access to specialist diagnosis, treatment and training expertise from abroad.

Algeria :

Huawei Technologies has celebrated jointly with its Algerian partner, Algeria Telecom, the largest provider of network services in Algeria , the official launch of CDMA 2000 1xEV-DO network in Alger, the capital of Algeria …. Algerian mobile operator Wataniya Telecom Algeria and Wmode, a leading provider of digital media distribution services, announced the commercial launch of the latter’s ClearMode brand on its Nedjma network. The outsourcing agreement allows Wmode to offer Nedjma customers a suite of bespoke mobile and web service digital media offerings…. Wataniya Algeria has selected Ericsson’s mobile softswitch solution for its nationwide GSM network. The solution will increase network capacity, performance and operational efficiency, allowing Wataniya to meet subscriber growth and demand for its mobile services, Ericsson says. Wataniya Algeria , which operates under the name Nedjma, is the newest of the country’s three cellcos, launching in August 2004. It had almost three million customers and 14.5% of the Algerian mobile market at the end of March, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database…..

Bahrain :

Batelco is seeking approval from Bahrain 's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority for a proposed reduction in the price of various Internet packages aimed at business customers. The firm aims to reduce the cost of its Inet Dedicated Access service by up to 50%, while it also aims to cut the price of its Broadband Business package for single users from BD40 to BD20 a month….. Batelco is ensuring that Bahrain accelerates its efforts to create a knowledge based, IT driven e-commerce society unrivaled in the Region, by introducing new broadband services and significantly lower prices…. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) issued to Batelco the non-confidential version of its Reference Access Offer (RAO), which details services and corresponding pricing structure that Batelco has to offer to other licensed operators for the use of its network. …. Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) will accept new pricing regulations issued by the Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) for rival operators to use its network infrastructure, the company said in a statement. Batelco, which enjoys a monopoly in building and maintaining Bahrain ’s fixed line infrastructure, was in discussions with the TRA over the fees competitors should pay to use its services, the statement said. …..MTC-Vodafone ( Bahrain ) is connecting Bahrain 's young people with its latest prepaid package, 7ada eeZee…. MTC-Vodafone ( Bahrain ) will start rolling out its WiMAX service in July 2007 with the full commercial service being available from September 2007…..

Egypt :

Mobile phone provider and distributor of Etisalat Misr products i2 has signed an agreement with Egyptian retailer Omar Afandy. As a result of the partnership, i2 will open 40 branches within Omar Afandy's 82 stores across Egypt by the end of 2007. i2 offers Etisalat Misr products such as pre and post-paid mobile lines as well as recharge cards and bill payment….. Google has opened an Egyptian office to help market its Arabic products in the region. Google has developed Arabic language versions for online services such as Google News, Gmail and Google Earth. Internet use is growing rapidly in the Mena region, with 12.4m people expected to be online in Egypt alone by 2010, according to Madar research cited by Google…. Egypt is the latest country to give its consumers and businesses more telecom choices by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority's (NTRA) selection of the Telcordia(R) Number Portability Clearinghouse as the centralized repository for number porting. The NTRA selected the consortium of Giza Systems (www.gizasystems.com) and Telcordia (www.telcordia.com) to carry out the project following a competitive bidding process…. The Egyptian government will offer a licence to operate a second fixed-line network in early 2008, Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said. The second network, which would compete with that of Telecom Egypt , would start operating in early 2009, he said in a statement quoted by the state news agency Mena…..

Iran :

Iran 's top telecommunications official has welcomed the presence of foreign companies to invest in the nation's telecommunication infrastructure. Saber Feizi, the head of the state-run Telecommunication Company of Iran , said current rules and regulations in the country allow foreign investors to engage in the development of Iran 's telecom sector ….. Iran and Iraq established an optical fiber link through telecom stations in Iranian southwestern city of Abadan and Iraqi city of Basra . Telecommunication equipment of Abadan and Basra stations has been installed by experts of Iran 's Telecommunication Infrastructure Company. The new link has a capacity of 30,240 channels.

Jordan :

Jordan has the most competitive mobile phone market in the Arab world, while Qatar , with only one operator, has the least competitive, according to an index devised by the Arab Advisors Group. The index takes into account the number of operators, packages, and services available in each of the 19 Arab countries covered by the report…. Jordan still holds its first rank position in Arab Advisors Group's cellular competition intensity Index, followed by Iraq , which impressively jumped to the second rank.

Kuwait

Kuwait 's Mobile Telecommunications Co., the second-largest Arab telecom by market value launched BlackBerry in Kuwait , citing the country's economic boom, to deliver a suite of applications for its customers in 20 countries, and following a new agreement it forged with Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS)…... It is also interested in bidding for Qatar ’s second mobile phone licence….. In light of its new operations in the region, Nokia Siemens Networks tied up with MTC, to showcase its latest product portfolio in Amman , Jordan last month…. Kuwait 's government plans to sell a 76 per cent stake in the country's third mobile phone operator in a public offering and a tender open to foreign firms and local non-telecom firms, a company official said….

Morocco :

The Moroccan Telecom regulatory body ANRT announced on its site the implementation of number portability for both fixed and mobile subscribers starting May 31st. All operators are required to port a number within 15 days of a subscriber’s request….. The Moroccan state has begun the sale of 4 percent of Maroc Telecom, offering 35.16 million ordinary shares to Moroccan and international institutional investors. Following the transaction, the government will own 30 percent of the incumbent operator, which is 51 percent held by Vivendi. CFG Group and Banque Centrale Populaire are financial counselors and Morgan Stanley is the sole bookrunner of the placement.

Oman :

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) was chosen as the No.1 on the Top 20 Rankings of the listed companies in Oman as per the classification of 'Oman Economic Review' magazine published by UMS Oman …..

QATAR :

THE Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) is starting the public consultation process on proposed licences for the provision of public fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Qatar …. Qatar Telecom (Qtel) launched its 'Validity and Card Notification, a free feature, which assists Hala prepaid customers with tracking their calling credit and validity without continuously having to check their balances…. Wataniya International is set to shut its headquarters in Dubai 's Media City as of September 1. The closure will affect the 30-strong workforce and follows the acquisition of Kuwait 's Wataniya Telecom, parent company of Wataniya International, by Qtel in March….

Saudi Arabia :

The Saudi Council of Ministers has approved a national plan for the development of its telecom and information technology sector with the objective of transforming the Kingdom into a knowledge-based society and a digital economy. …. Saudi Arabia is developing four economic cities in Riyadh , Jeddah, Hail and Jizan, and Malaysian technopreneurs should bid for the projects, said a businessman from that country. Businessman Sheikh Muhammad Al-Shibani said the Saudi Arabian Government is impressed with Malaysian technology because it is of high quality and at competitive prices…. Saudi Telecom said it had agreed an 11.4 billion riyal ($3.04 billion) deal that would give it 25 per cent stake in Maxis Communications. The deal would also see Saudi Telecom take a majority stake in Maxis' Indonesian operations, Saudi Telecom said in a statement. The two operators would invest about $900 million in India to help Maxis expand operations in the world's second most populous country, the statement said. Maxis Communications is Malaysia 's biggest mobile operator…. Maktoob Mobile and Saudi Telecom Company partner to offer STC subscribers latest sports news via mobile alerts ….. With a monthly average of 1.5 million hits, the Saudi Telecom Co.'s site is the leading website in the Middle East and its 80 plus e-services offer fast and quality service to customers. With more than 340,000 customer registrations, STC's Khidmati customers will be able to get all mobile and landline services automatically…. Saudi mobile operator HITS Telecom, which won Uganda 's fourth GSM licence in March, is looking to spend $1 billion on seven licences in Africa …. Mobily has launched video call roaming for its customers in Malaysia through an agreement with Maxis, a Malaysian mobile operator….. The Council of Ministers licensed Kuwait 's Mobile Telecom Company to operate the Kingdom's third mobile phone network. The MTC-led consortium won the bid with an offer of SR22.91 billion ($6.11 billion)…. The Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) held a charity auction of 70 unique high-demand cell phone numbers at the Makarim Hall in Riyadh ’s Marriot Hotel. The 70 numbers which were auctioned were divided into three categories according to their monetary value. The most popular numbers include 0533333333, 0550055000, 0550055555 and 0550777777….

Tunisia :

Tunisie Télécom (TT) has inked an agreement with Cisco for the latter to offer managed services to the operator’s enterprise customers. According to the news agency, the relationship aims to strengthen TT's position as a provider of integrated data services and to increase marketing of its Cisco product based services….

UAE:

UAE is to invest $26b in Pakistan , but IT&T was NOT one of the sectors mentioned, despite the fact that President general Pervez Musharraf earlier said Pakistan offers attractive incentives for investment in the country particularly in Information Technology (IT) sector. He said this during his meeting with Mr. Tom Slone chairman of Touchstone Communications (TC) who called on the president. TC is one of the largest international call centers functioning in Pakistan . Citing to the incentives President said they included tax holidays, establishment of software technology parks, investment in IT human resource development, protection of intellectual property rights and other measures ….Etisalat's pre-paid and post-paid mobile customers can now send and receive emails from their phones using the Etisalat Pushmail service. Any POP3 or IMAP email can be registered for the service including EIM mail, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo mail plus, Hotmail plus and MSN premium accounts. Etisalat is offering customers a 30 day free trial if they register by July 9; the service will then cost Dhs45 a month…… Etisalat has released a new BlackBerry mobile and package for light users. The BlackBerry 8800 smart costs Dh3,000 and goes on sale from 17 June. Etisalat is now offering a 3MB BlackBerry package for Dh130 per month, in addition to its Dh185 Domestic Unlimited and Dh295 Global Unlimited deals….. Etisalat has set up mobile phone recycling collection points at its business centres across the UAE. Customers wishing to dispose of their old handsets can take them to an Etisalat business centre and place them in a specially marked box. The phones will then be taken to a special facility at Dubai Investment Park before being sorted and then shipped to manufacturers for recycling or for safe destruction…. All Etisalat mobile customers now have a new option that will enable them to reach out to friends and loved ones in their favourite country at attractive rates….du continued its blitz of new value-added services for its mobile subscribers by announcing the option to make international video calls in 14 countries around the world ….du has launched a Visitor Mobile Line Pack aimed at offering comfort, convenience, information and entertainment for all UAE visitors. Aiming to make all visitor mobile line customers feel as special as its subscribers, du is also providing International Roaming services in over 170 countries, allowing visitors to keep in touch with their UAE friends, family members and colleagues as well, when they return home. The special pack from UAE's new telecom provider is designed to provide a host of services including Pay by the Second, Me&Mine, MyWorld and Next Generation Mobile Services when visitors to the UAE opt for a du Visitor Line. Visitors will also have access to video calls, mobile TV and mobile broadband, which will ensure they stay connected while in the UAE…. Callers from the UAE can expect lower rates in the near future, said Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Officer of du….. In support of the National Mobile Recycling Initiative recently announced by EnviroServe and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), du has launched a campaign among its staff encouraging them to donate their old or used handsets….. Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. has commenced operating its new Prepaid Roaming service with Etisalat of UAE, Mobily and STC (Al Jawwal) of Saudi Arabia and GSM networks in Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire …. Thuraya has introduced cheaper rates for its mobile satellite services in an attempt to make them accessible to more people. Under a re-branded service, now called and ThurayaECO, rates have been dropped by up to 70% for operations in 77 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe…..Pakistan is joining the global trend to provide consumers and businesses with more telecom choices, as UAE based Warid Telecom becomes the second of three major mobile operators in Pakistan to select a Telcordia number portability solution…..Director General Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) Mohammed Al Ghanim has said that according to e-Government readiness rankings carried out by the UN, the UAE in 2005 has taken the lead among its neighbouring countries with a ranking of 42 in the world, rising 18 spots from the year before…. Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the United Arab Emirates Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has reiterated that the provision of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services will remain the exclusive domain of Etisalat and du …..al-falak presented with excellence award at arabcom 2007 for contribution in the field of iptv in the arab world….