IMImobile is a global player in providing content and value added services (VAS) to mobile operators and is a pioneer of the managed services model in this space. Michelle Mills speaks with Vishwanath Alluri, founder and CEO of IMImobile about the exciting prospects for VAS and his company’s evolving business model

“Mobile advertising is a question of when and not if. It is at early stages right now, but advertising will definitely come in to subsidise the content delivery,” Vishwanath Alluri, IMImobile’s CEO states. “But right now, there is not a right advertisement model that is appealing to advertisers. The mobile phone is a personal device, if you are to exploit it you really need to personalise it.”

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Jordan has one of the highest numbers of licensed communications providers per capita in the Middle East, and such a level of liberalisation has given way to its fair number of positives as well as its drawbacks. Despite its leadership position in the number of providers in the market, Jordan lags behind in the licensing and implementation of 3G services, though a process has finally commenced to rectify the situation

At the end of June a forum on mobile communications and 3G services was held in Amman, where Ahmad Hiasat, chairman of the board of commissioners and CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) confirmed that the regulator is working on creating a suitable environment for the introduction of 3G services in the kingdom.

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The second showing of the Middle East Communications (MECOM) exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi at the end of May was an opportunity for the region’s telecoms sector to discuss and assess the critical issues being faced by the wider community in the region. Convergence, in all of its manifestations, was a key theme and appears likely to play a critical role in the industry’s next phase of development

MECOM was the platform upon which the GETMO Middle content delivery system was announced

One of the most exciting announcements made at MECOM 2008, epitomised the importance of convergence in the telecoms industry and beyond. Arvato Middle East Sales (AMES) and Abu Dhabi Media Company, a diversified media corporation, detailed plans to form a joint venture initiative aimed at bringing digital media solutions to the Middle East and north African regions.

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According to industry analysts, there were almost 80 million voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscribers worldwide in 2007, with the global market’s worth expected to rise to US$48.9 billion by 2010. Michelle Mills investigates what slice of this growth operators in the region are likely to enjoy as third-party provision of VoIP is liberalised over time

Etisalcom’s Al Snan says the entry of third-party VoIP providers is inevitable in every telecoms market and incumbents and regulators ought to prepare for that

The region’s VoIP community assembled at a conference in Dubai last month, which reinforced the impression that there remains no universal strategy among regional regulators as to how best to accommodate the use of web-based and third-party provided VoIP services.

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The phenomenal subscription growth across the Middle East over recent years has seen with it an acceleration in network rollout and coverage as operators rush to meet the capacity needs of their growing subscriber base.

Devine Kofiloto is a senior consultant with Teleplan Consulting.

The subsequent increase in voice traffic and the take-up of wireless broadband will see backhaul, transmission and core networks come under further strain. In a region where many of the operators do not have adequate wireline infrastructure in place to backhaul cellular traffic, this bottleneck will become all the more pronounced with the current focus on data centric networks and the move towards converged service offerings. Continue reading →

Sources close to Hits Telecom Uganda have told Comm. that the licensee would launch service in a matter of weeks, in line with licensing conditions, and thereby circumvent threats from the regulator that the concession may be withdrawn.
Edwin Rowell (left), CEO of Hits Telecom Uganda, receiving the universal licence in February 2007
  At the end [...]

Zain today launched commercial services in Saudi Arabia, joining the’ One Network’, Zain’s borderless mobile service offering over 45 million Zain customers in 16 countries favourable rates, free of roaming charges for cross-border communications.
On launch, the operation will have 160 official Zain outlets and over 3,000 authorised distribution points of sales
Zain’s planned coverage area extends [...]

Kuwait’s third mobile network licensee, Kuwait Telecommunications Co. is reported to be seeking to raise as much as KWD25 million (US$93 million) in an initial public offering on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, commencing August 24. The company, in which Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will hold a 26 per cent stake, is selling 50 per cent [...]

Mobile satellite services company Inmarsat yesterday confirmed the successful launch and acquisition of the third Inmarsat-4 satellite.
The Proton Breeze M is one of the few launch vehicles capable of lifting the I-4 satellite – the size of a London double-decker bus and weighing six tonnes – into geostationary transfer orbit.
The satellite was launched on [...]

Earlier this week Qatar Telecom (“Qtel”) issued a clarification regarding recent media reports linking the telco with a bid for a 25 per cent stake in Omantel.
Omantel is set to face competition domestically as a call for interest for a second fixed licence is set to close on August 25
The Qatar incumbent stated that it [...]