Group items tagged

Zain has announced that it will join forces with China based kit maker Huawei

Zain prides itself for being the only telecommunications company in Kuwait that offers its customers various telecommunication solutions while providing the best mobile services experience in town.

Huawei to launch the first joint innovation centre

Operations in Kuwait were “negatively impacted by stronger competition” in the quarter, Qtel said in the statement. The company is now offering to purchase shares it doesn’t own in Kuwait’s National Mobile Telecommunications Co., also known as Wataniya Telecom. It submitted an offer document for approval from the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority, which may lead to an offer for all the issued shares of Wataniya, it said. Qtel offered to pay about 640 million dinars ($2.3 billion), or 2.67 dinars a share, to purchase the stake, Al-Rai newspaper reported July 1, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Wataniya competes with Mobile Telecommunications Co., Kuwait’s largest mobile phone operator, known as Zain. (ZAIN)

Additional support from Zain Group ensured the Saudi operator improved its financial performance and results, which led to a reduction in its net loss by 9% year-on-year in 2012

highlighted challenges in Sudan, which saw its currency fall by 55% against the US dollar during 2012

No.3 mobile company, an affiliate of Kuwait's Zain, made a net loss of 443 million riyals ($118.1 million) in the three months to Dec. 31. This compares with a net loss of 461 million riyals in the prior-year period.

Quarterly gross profit was 739 million riyals, up from 691 million riyals a year ago.Loss from operations widened by 23 percent to 262 million riyals, compared with 213 million riyals for the same quarter last year.

Based on data from Zain and Wataniya, there were net additions of roughly 205,000 subscribers - or growth of 4.9% q-o-q to reach 4.696mn subscribers

Zain accounted for majority of new subscribers with 64.9% market share of total net additions in Q211. Wataniya had an estimated share of 22.9% of net additions while Viva had 12.2%

Mobile penetration is expected to reach 169% by the end of 2011 and 187.2% by 2015

On the other hand, increased sales coming from handset items and the corporate segment may pressure margins for Mobily.

For Zain, on the one hand its financial outlook has improved post its balance sheet restructuring due to lower interest payments.

remains significantly behind STC and Mobily in terms of market share and available products, and the top-line performance has been muted in the past several quarters, holding back the pace of its recovery.

that the Kingdom’s strong macro outlook coupled with the government’s increasing expenditures will continue to support growth in the sector.

The broadband and corporate segments remain the primary growth drivers for the sector

Increasing competition and change in regulations are the main concerns while the impact of MVNOs is mixed

has been constantly changing with the young population actively joining the work force and desire to follow a modern lifestyle.

Zain has been clearly targeting users below 15 years old; this is reflected in its TV ads and campaigns.

In its home market, the kingdom's former monopoly is facing increased competition from Mobily and Zain Saudi and handed the reins to a new chief executive last year to renew its focus on domestic operations, which account for two thirds of the company's revenue.

Between 2006 and 2011 STC suffered a 40% drop in annual profit, after the market was opened to competitors Mobily (in 2005) and Zain (in 2008).

fixed-line offerings by packaging phone, TV and Internet services

At the time of writing, the latest data from Zain and Wataniya relate to the end of March 2012 while the latest data published by VIVA relate to end of December 2011.

4.962mn mobile subscribers in Kuwait at the end of December 2011.

11.5% during 2011

Of the nearly $90bn expected to be spent on ICT infrastructure in the Kingdom by 2012, $67b is projected to be spent on telecommunications.

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has posted impressive numbers – both in subscribers and profits – and 2009 was no exception

Mobily’s services revenues rose 21 percent to reach SR13.06bn ($3.48bn) versus SR10.79bn ($2.88bn) the previous year.

With the mobile penetration rate in the UAE hovering near 200 per cent - about two devices per resident - growth in the sector is slowing.

post-paid promotions such as the Elite Plan helped the rival company du to add 159,800 mobile customers in the third quarter. The smaller operator has about 37 per cent of the market.

Protecting that revenue stream is becoming increasingly important to Etisalat as it pursues a foreign expansion strategy, recently offering $11bn for a 51 per cent stake in the Kuwaiti operator Zain.

Penetrations rates: Fixed line 16.5%, Mobile 141% (number of subscribers reaching 3.56 million and increase of 10.7%, as compared to 3.22 mm subscribers at the end of 2008 according to Kuwait Internet and E-commerce Investment and Business Guide), Internet 41%.

Kuwait is the only country in the gulf without the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA). The regulations are carried out by the Ministry of Communication (MoC), which controls the fixed line and the international gateway for overseas calls. In the last 3 yeas the Ministry has announced plans for establishing the TRA, introducing Mobile Number Portability (MNP), privatize the fixed line operations as well as develop the country's fiber optic infrastructure. These plans have been slow to materialize and further delay is expected putting pressure on the telecom operators.

4.962mn mobile subscribers in Kuwait at the end of December 201

Quarterly staff costs climbed 17.5 per cent to Dh1.25 billion compared with a year ago, etisalat said in a statement

Etisalat, which dropped plans to buy a controlling stake in Kuwait's Zain earlier this year, posted second-quarter revenue of Dh7.93 billion, down from Dh8.05 billion a year earlier

especially in the post-paid segment,

4G service fast enough to download a movie in just two and a half minutes,

UAE telecommunications firm plans to charge subscribers Dh555 (US$151) a month for the speedy mobile-data service, which is currently available through a USB modem.

which offers speeds of 100 megabits per second

Viva, which competes with Zain and Qatar Telecom subsidiary Wataniya, raised 25 million Kuwaiti dinars ($88.57 million) from selling half its shares to Kuwaiti nationals in an IPO in September 2008, launching services later that year.