The prospects for WiMAX seemed to have dimmed somewhat in the past couple of years as a result of the strong growth of HSPA, which is often seen as a rival to WiMAX, and a recession that has reduced the appetite for the spending necessary to build networks.
As the Middle East’s mobile markets mature, and with the impact of the recession still raw, many of the region’s operators are becoming more cost-conscious.
The telecoms industry in the Gulf region is in the throes of change with mobile markets becoming more competitive and saturated. As a result the big players are expanding into Africa and Asia Pacific to continue growing, but there is also a need for more domestic capacity to support growth and home in both the mobile and fixed markets.
Perceptions about the Middle East and North Africa countries’ ability to foster e-commerce are increasingly becoming outdated. The pace of development in the last three years has been truly impressive. Operators across the region are investing large sums in getting high-speed, high-capacity and cost effective telecoms networks into the region and the current infrastructure is much more advanced than perhaps they have been given credit for.
Second placed Omani mobile operator Nawras has been issued a fixed line licence, the company said on Tuesday.
Qatar’s incumbent operator, Qatar Telecom, is under threat from Vodafone, after the UK-based operator won its second licence in the country this week.
In addition to the mobile licence Vodafone acquired in Qatar earlier this year, the Big V has also snapped up the right to offer fixed line services and plans to offer both from [...]
Vodafone and its local partner will pay Riyal7.72bn ($2.1bn) for Qatar’s second mobile licence, authorities revealed on Tuesday.
A Vodafone led consortium was awarded the second mobile telecoms licence in Qatar in December, beating rival bids from Verizon and Etisalat.
Regulator ictQatar also revealed the shareholding structure of Vodafone’s local consortium, which will see the Vodafone/Qatar Foundation [...]
A Vodafone led consortium was awarded the second mobile telecoms licence in Qatar on Monday, beating rival bids from Verizon and Etisalat.
ictQatar, the country’s telecoms regulator said the Vodafone and Qatar Foundation Consortium had been successful, submitting the highest bid in the second round auction.
Other eligible consortiums submitting bids were the Verizon led Argos group [...]
October could be the end of Qtel’s 20 year monopoly on the Qatari telecoms sector, as the country’s regulator prepares to auction off the country’s second mobile licence.
Final bids for the country’s second mobile license are due in September, with the winner of the second licence to be announced in October. Qatar is the only [...]
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