MTN Ghana Launches 3.5G Technology in Kumasi

The Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Ghana, launched its 3.5G Technology at the Golden Tulip in Kumasi at the weekend. This follows the Premier Commercial Launch which took place in Accra a week ago. The 3.5G network is to enable customers to experience a variety of services such as voice calls, video messaging, multimedia services which includes video streaming, games, music videos, sports, news and high speed internet access. The theme for the launch was; "Go Beyond, Experience Our Better Life Today". 

Mr. Eben Albertyn, Chief Technical Officer of MTN Ghana, speaking at the launch explained that with the largest market share, widest coverage and competitive pricing, MTN 3.5G Technology will complement its existing 2G network to positively improve its services to customers. He said that MTN would also offer subscribers the flexibility to access a variety of services to customers in Kumasi and Accra and other regions of the country. 

Miss Mawuena Dumor, Corporate Services Executive of MTN Ghana in a speech read for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, said, "We are very pleased with the significant progress we have made in building an extensive 3.5G network and making it available to a large number of our valued customers". Chief Marketing Officer of the Company, Mr George Kojo Andah, also assured customers that MTN's tariffs will continue to be competitive to other networks and will enable their customers enjoy services everywhere. 

Mr. Kofi Opoku Manu, Ashanti Regional Minister said the MTN 3.5G Technology has added to the growing list of innovations in Ghana, stressing that the future of the country depended on the growth of telecommunications. He commended MTN Ghana for sponsoring sports and other activities, and urged private organizations to emulate the company.

Pakistan Mobile Reduces on Orascom Debt

Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) says that its wholly owned Pakistan subsidiary, Pakistan Mobile Communications (PMCL) had brought back US$140 million of its debt at the rate of US$730 per US$1,000.

After settlement and cancellation of the repurchased Notes, PMCL will have repurchased and cancelled US$137,762,000 of debt for roughly US$ 100.6 million of cash. The company said that it had received tenders worth US$153 million of debt to be repaid.

The debt ratings agency, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services recently warned that it considers Pakistan Mobile to be at risk of defaulting on a debt repayment due to its plans to purchase up to US$250 million worth of debt at a discount of 20-30% to the face value.

"If the proposed transaction is completed, we would view it as being tantamount to default for two key reasons," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Yasmin Wirjawan. "First, the offer represents a material discount to the par amount (or face value) of the outstanding issue. Second, we believe Mobilink could face difficulty in servicing its debt obligations or remaining in compliance with its covenants over the next one to two years."

Etisalat Loses Iran License to Zain

Iran has given a consortium led by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain) the country's third mobile licence, stripping it from Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat).

A spokesman for Iran's Communications Regulatory Authority told the official IRNA news agency on Monday that Etisalat and Iran's Tamin Telecom, which won the tender in January, had 'not fulfilled its obligations.'

'With the elimination of Etisalat's consortium from the third operator project, the Zain Iran consortium, which was runner-up in the bidding, takes over the project,' Mohammad Reza Farnaqi said.

Iranian telecommunications minister Mohammad Soleimani was quoted in an interview with Iranian IT daily Fanavaran Etisalat was removed after failing to submit 'the necessary collateral and payments of the licence fee on the appropriate time.'

In Kuwait, a Zain spokesman said the company was arranging talks with Iran about the licence. 'We will meet with the Iranians sometime in May to discuss the new terms and conditions,' Ibrahim Adel told Reuters.

Etisalat confirmed that it was no longer the winner of the licence, but said it would 'carefully review its options' and go back to the regulator with a formal response.

Zain, majority-owned by the country's sovereign wealth fund, has aggressively spent billions of dollars to expand abroad as competition heats up at home, where an affiliate of Saudi Telecom has started operations.

Farnaqi, the Iranian official, said two Iranian pension funds were also part of the Zain-led consortium.

Etisalat, one of the largest Arab telecommunications company by market value, had said it expected to invest up to $5 billion over five years in its Iran operations.

It said in January the group would have exclusive rights to provide third-generation (3G) services and it hoped to get at least 1 million subscribers in the first year of operation.

Iran has a mobile penetration rate of less than 60 percent, in a market where about half of its 70 million population is under 25 years of age.

The current telecom operators in Iran are the state-owned Iran Telecommunication Company (TCI) and Irancell, which is 49 per cent owned by MTN Group, sub-Saharan Africa's biggest mobile phone company.

Iran's nuclear row with the West has deterred many foreign companies from doing business in the country. US sanctions bar US companies from doing business with Iran, and United Nations sanctions have made other firms wary of investing there.

However, analysts say the size of the market and its energy riches still make it an attractive investment prospect.-Reuters

Maroc Telecom Registers Q1 Revenue Growth of 2.4%

Maroc Telecom Group's revenues in the first quarter reached MAD 7.1 billion, up 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Operating profit rose to MAD 3.2 billion, up 2.7 percent on a strong performance both in its home market Morocco and in the subsidiaries' operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The group's EBITDA increased to MAD 4.2 billion, up 4.9 percent.

The customer base grew by 9.7 percent year-on-year to 19.7 million at 31 March. This growth was essentially attributable to mobile services in Morocco, which achieved a 6.8 percent year-on-year increase in the customer base to 14.6 million (up by 147,000 from December), and to the African subsidiaries, which expanded the mobile customer base by 42.8 percent to 2.8 million. Revenues in Morocco rose to MAD 6.1 billion in the first quarter, up 1.0 percent year-on-year, with mobile service revenues up 1.9 percent to MAD 4.4 billion

The annualized mobile churn rate came to 37.5 percent, representing a 2.6 point increase versus the previous quarter, while blended ARPU amounted to MAD 91, down 6.4 percent year-on-year, essentially due to the impact of growth in the customer base and lower interconnection revenues. Revenues in the fixed-line and internet segments in Morocco came to MAD 2.4 billion, up 1.2 percent year-on-year. At end-March, the fixed-line network had 1.286 million lines in service, representing a 3.7 percent decrease year-on-year, while the average monthly bill increased marginally (up 0.6%).

The ADSL customer base totaled 488,000 lines at 31 March, up 0.2 percent year-on-year. In addition, the 3G mobile internet customer base rose from 28,000 customers to 65,000 customers during the first quarter.

Zain Begins Lay-offs In Nigeria, Uganda

The Zain Group - a mobile communications firm with operations in Africa and the Middle East – has started laying off at least 2,000 employees from all its subsidiaries, with its entities in Nigeria and Uganda announcing the lay-offs of 300 and 27 employess, respectively.

This follows the Group’s decision to sack the lot as it strives to position itself in the premier league of world’s top 10 telecommunications firms.

The decision emerged at a strategic meeting with senior Zain executives from all 22 African and Middle East operations, in Bahrain last week.

Zain’s new wave of layoffs will particularly affect its head offices and operations structures across all markets. Until Monday, the Group directly employed 15,500 workers. The reduction of its workforce by 2,000 will represent a loss of 13 percent in its human resource departments.

Zain Nigeria in a statement announced it was laying off 300 of its staff, an action aimed at aligning its business model with the Zain group's growth strategy. Mr Yesse Oenga, the managing director Zain Uganda, said 27 workers will be sacked from their jobs in the country.

In March, 141 staff at Zain Kenya were laid off. Other markets that have already sacked workers include; Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Malawi and Sierra Leone.

Zain Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Saad Al Barrak who announced the layoffs – the single largest in Africa so far, said the layoffs are part of the firm’s Drive2011 – a new programme aimed at propelling the company towards its 2011 target with 150 million subscribers and $6 billion in revenue.

In Uganda, the termination of workers to re-align Zain’s operations begun yesterday, according to Mr Oenga. Zain’s staff downsizing process forms part of its new drive to improve service delivery to its customers in all operations, according to Mr Oenga. 

Specifically, Zain Nigeria said it was joining operations across Africa and the Middle East to implement the new business model, Drive2011, which is part of Zai n 's drive to become a top 10 global mobile operator by 2011 with 150 million cust o mers and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of US$6 b illion.

Zain has invested more than US$12 billion in Africa since 2005, with a plan to m ake further investments of up to US$2 billion this year.

Phone Companies Spend US$62 Billion On Outsourced Services in 2008

­Market research firm Infonetics Research is reporting that telecom carriers spent US$62 billion on outsourced services in 2008, and have plans to increase that spending. The report noted that the top revenue-generating tasks outsourced by service providers in 2008 include network maintenance, application service delivery, network build, and network planning and design.

"Our analysis of vendor financial reports clearly shows major double-digit increases year over year for equipment vendor service revenue, which more than offsets product revenue declines for some vendors in the Tier 1 category (vendors with $7 billion or more in annual revenue). As a result, worldwide service revenue from equipment vendor services to service providers hit $62 billion in 2008, up 17% from 2007, and will continue to increase as service providers outsource more tasks so they can continue to cut opex and beef up their margins. In the equipment vendor services market, no one sees a slowdown during this global recession; instead, they all see more opportunities," said Stéphane Téral, Principal Analyst, Mobile and FMC Infrastructure, Infonetics Research.

The vendor services to service providers market is driven by traditional IT integrators and the telecom vendor integrator arms of Tier 1 vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, HP, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC, Nokia Siemens, and Nortel 

In 2008, IBM continued to lead the equipment vendor services market, while Nokia Siemens Networks gained market share in 2008, and the other top 5 vendors maintained or dropped a point or two of worldwide market share. 

The bulk of the growth for the vendor services to service providers market comes from Asia Pacific, with major outsourcing deals such as Bharti Airtel in India. Worldwide Tier 1 vendor service revenue from equipment vendor services to service providers jumped significantly in 2008, due mainly to strong activity in India as well as the combination of smaller deals in Europe. 

In conclusion, between 2008 and 2013, the Central and Latin America region is expected to gain share at the expense of North America and EMEA 

Telkom Sells Media Arm to Shenzhen Media

South African fixed-line operator Telkom has sold its 75 percent interest in Telkom Media to Shenzhen Media South Africa for a nominal amount. Last year, Telkom announced its decision to significantly reduce its investment in Telkom Media.

Subsequently, various expressions of interest were considered, some of which led to further negotiations with interested parties in a process to find a new majority shareholder for Telkom Media. However, the process was unsuccessful and on 25 March Telkom announced that a Telkom Media shareholders' meeting had been called to approve the winding up of Telkom Media.

In a final attempt to prevent the winding-up of Telkom Media, Telkom launched an accelerated sale process for Telkom Media shareholders equity and loan accounts. Telkom said it was only prepared to consider unconditional offers backed with adequate financial guarantees. An invitation was sent to parties who, in one way or the other, had expressed an interest in Telkom Media.

The accelerated process resulted in an agreement being signed with Shenzhen, in terms of which Telkom disposed of its shareholding and loan account in Telkom Media on a "voetstoots" basis. The transaction closed on 4 May. Shenzhen agreed to procure Telkom Media and to change its name within 30 days of closing.

MTN Reports Growth In Subscriber Numbers

­South Africa based MTN Group has published an update of its global subscriber based and recorded 98.2 million customers at 31 March 2009. This is an 8% increase for the quarter from 90.65 million subscribers recorded at the end of last year. The company noted that while strong subscriber growth continues to be a feature in almost all countries in which it operates in, currency volatility has generally had a more negative impact on ARPU reported in US$. Changes to spending patterns have been varied as economies respond to the global economic situation.

South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 26% (December 2008: 27%) of the Group's total subscribers while West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 45% (December 2008: 44%) and 29% (December 2008: 29%), respectively.

The SEA region increased its subscriber base by 4% for the quarter. The South African operation contributes 69% to the region's subscribers, increasing 2% to 17.43 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2009. The modest increase in subscribers was due to the mix of seasonal trends, weakening economic conditions and aggressive competition. Uganda increased its subscriber base by 13% due to the continued success of MTN Zone.

The WECA region increased its subscriber base by 10% for the quarter. The strong growth in the region was primarily due to growth in Nigeria which contributes 59% to the region's subscribers and recorded a 12% increase in its subscriber base to 25.9 million. This was mainly due to continued improvements in network quality and capacity with 173 BTS's added in the quarter. Ghana increased its subscriber base by 5% despite fierce competition. Both Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire increased their subscriber bases by 7% to 3.82 million and 3.81 million respectively.

The MENA region recorded a 9% increase in subscribers for the quarter. This was due to continued growth from the Iran operation, which contributes 63% to the region's subscribers and increased its subscribers by 14% to 18,252,000. The disappointing slowdown of subscriber acquisitions in Sudan and Syria is mainly attributed to the economic downturn in the respective countries. Sudan increased its subscriber base to 2.66 million while Syria saw its base drop by 3% to 3.43 million subscribers.

MTN South Africa's blended ARPU decreased by 6%. This is as a result of increased penetration into lower market segments, seasonal trends and a slowdown in consumer spending. Iran's ARPU remain relatively stable notwithstanding seasonal trends and increased penetration. The decline of many local currencies against the US$ has negatively affected ARPU trends. Larger operations including Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Sudan experienced significantly more resilience in local currency ARPU than reflected in the reported US$ number.

Zain Reports 3.3% Rise in Q Profits

Just a couple of days after announcing 2,000 job cuts, Zain has reported a 3.3% rise in first-quarter profits to KWD 75.7 million (US$260.5 million), compared with KWD 73.3 million a year ago. Consolidated revenues jumps by 25% to KWD 567.2 million (US$1.96 billion), an increase of 25% compared to Q1 2008. Profits were held back due to costs associated with the recent launch of networks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ghana.

The company said that it ended the quarter with 64.7 million customers - a jump of 41% over the year.

Commenting on the results, Zain Group CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak said: "Despite the challenges imposed by the global economic crisis and the competitive markets in which we operate, these impressive first quarter results are testament to the sound management practices of the Group and a reflection of our unwavering commitment to reach our 2011 target of being a top-ten global mobile operator."

Regarding Saudi Arabia and Ghana, Dr Al Barrak commented: “Both operations have performed beyond expectations in attaining impressive customer numbers to date and we expect them to provide healthy fiscal gains in the years to come.”

Dr Al Barrak also confirmed that Zain is working on several fronts to overcome the changes in global markets such as the increasing cost of financing and the sharp volatility of currency rates, pointing out that “Zain was able to achieve realistic results despite the fact that the latter cost the company KWD 18.4 million (US$63.3 million).”

Zain to Cut Down on 2,000 Jobs, Plans to Outsource More Functions

Zain has announced that it is cutting some 2,000 jobs as it streamlines its operations and increases the outsourcing some back office/non-core functions to strategic partners. The project, Drive2011 is expected to improve Zain’s operating margin by 5% within 12 months.

The Zain Group will align its head office and operations structures in accordance with the new operating model. This will result in Zain reducing its current 15,500 global workforce by 2,000 - a 13% reduction across the board. Zain operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi and Sierra Leone have already begun the process.

“Drive2011 is a natural consequence of Zain’s evolutionary journey. It was planned soon after the launch of our ACE strategy in 2007 and is a structured and timetabled approach to maximizing efficiency,” declared Zain Group CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak. “We will create genuine market differentiation through our services and deliver on our Zain brand promise of ‘A wonderful world’. This will be achieved through a combination of managed outsourcing, centralization and leveraging capabilities, as well as training and development for our personnel, all of which will improve our operating efficiencies.”

In a move aimed at tackling the challenges ahead and attaining other 2011 targets of 150 million customers and a US$6 billion EBITDA, Dr Al Barrak also announced several senior management changes at both Group and country operation level.

MTN Presence at Zim Fair Creates Anxiety

South Africa's MTN is rumoured to be considering an investment in neighbouring Zimbabwe to get a stake in the country's mobile phone sector. The rumours were heightened when the company took a stand at a trade fair in the country this week.

According to media reports in South Africa, MTN is eyeing a 60 percent shareholding in Telecel Zimbabwe - which is owned by Egypt's Orascom Telecom.

"We have always said we are looking for value-enhancing opportunities and Zimbabwe presents us with one. Zimbabwe is our neighbour sitting there waiting. The Government is embarking on a reinvention of itself and has opened up to South African companies to go in and operate there," MTN spokeswoman Nozipho January-Bardill told South African newspaper Business Day.

"MTN has taken risks in much poorer countries and from what we are seeing there seems to be a commitment to grow and redevelop the economy," January-Bardill said.

The country currently has three mobile network operators. According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, Telecel is estimated to have ended last year with around 232,000 subscribers - representing a market share of around 15%.

France Telecom Q1 Profits Fall Due to TV Services

France Telecom has reported a 4.4% drop in first-quarter profits due to costs incurred by its French television services. EBITDA was down 4.4% on a comparable basis, at EUR 4.3 billion. The EBITDA margin dropped 1.7 points from the first quarter of 2008.

Revenues grow 0.4% on a comparable basis, but currency fluctuations resulted in recorded sales dropping to EUR 12.7 billion from EUR 13 billion a year ago. The firm cited a strong performance in France with revenues up 2.1%, in Africa and Middle East (+5%) and in Enterprise services (+0.4%). United Kingdom trend was unchanged from fourth quarter of 2008 (-0.6%); as anticipated, revenues dropped in Spain ( 4.1%) and in Poland (-4.7%).

The company reported worldwide that it had 122.9 million customers at 31 March 2009 (excluding MVNOs), a 9.5% increase year-on-year. The number of contract customers continued to grow rapidly, up 9.0% in one year. The number of 3G broadband customers was up nearly 80% in one year, with 20.6 million customers at 31 March 2009.

The MVNO customer base in Europe rose to 3.6 million at 31 March 2009 (of which 1.9 million in France), compared with 2.2 million a year earlier (of which 1.5 million in France).

Commenting on the results for the first quarter of 2009, Didier Lombard, France Telecom Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "In an economic environment that continues to weaken, especially outside of France, the Group has been able expand its customer base in the first quarter of the year to more than 183 million customers, with the number of mobile customers increasing more than 9% to almost 123 million and broadband services rising nearly 9% to 13 million ADSL-equipped households."

He added, "The Group is able to confirm its guidance of 8 billion euros in organic cash flow for 2009, despite the pressures on consumer and business behaviour resulting from the overall economic conditions."

France Telecom Q1 2009 results

Rwandatel Subscribers Hit 280K Mark

Rwandatel, the second national telecom operator has currently hit 280,000 subscribers, the company's Public Relations Manager, Cleophas Kabasiita has said.

Kabasiita told Business Times that, "The company has hit 280,000 active subscribers to date and the company will be rolling out more products, which are in transit and they will be on the market very soon in order to attract more clients," Kabasiita said.

Rwandatel which was officially launched last December has a target of 600,000 subscribers by the end of this year.

Kabasiita also said that the company has been beefing up its human resource base and optimising the network.

The company officials also attributed the increasing number of subscribers to better network and service delivery to the unexpected number of subscribers within its infancy of operations.

"This is the reason why our subscribers have been increasing very first, our network is very good and our customers are experiencing less and less dropped calls," She added.

Rwandatel is the Second National Operator (SNO) in the country after MTN-Rwanda.

TIGO which is owned by the Luxemburg based Millicom International has also received an operating licence and is yet to go commercial by the end of this year.

Kabasiita stated that Rwandatel is not worried of the prevailing competition and that is bent on providing its subscribers with the best network and competitive prices.

The company is the only mobile operator in Rwanda offering all range of Information Communication Technology (ICT) services, including GSM, CDMA and 3G mobile services.

Rwandatel is owned by Libyan African Portfolio (LAP) Green, the company purchased 80 per cent shares and promised to invest $317m (Rfw173b) over 15 years period to revamp the telecom sector in the country.

Mobile Banking Could "Kill" Credit Cards & Cash

Banking by phone used to mean dialing a number and speaking with a teller. For Peter Kastner, 61, a consumer electronics consultant in Westport, it means whipping out his iPhone and touching an on-screen icon.

Up pops a program that connects Kastner to his Bank of America accounts, where he can check his balances and pay his bills, even when he's traveling or boating on the Westport River. No need to interact with a bank employee.

``I don't have to be tethered to a desktop anymore,'' said Kastner. ``Everything I can do on a Web browser, I can do on my iPhone.''

Mobile banking seems like a natural application for today's powerful smartphones, and a majority of the nation's major banks offer mobile services. But most of America's 270 million cellphone subscribers have yet to embrace the concept. That poses a challenge for efforts to convert our cellphones into digital wallets that would take the place of today's credit cards.

``About 10 percent of people have tried mobile banking,'' said Mitch Siegel, director of payment advisory services at the accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP in Atlanta. Siegel adds that many of those who have signed up for mobile banking services rarely use them. 

But Scott Moeller, chief executive of mobile banking software maker M Shift Inc. in San Jose, Calif., said his client banks have been signing up lots of new customers over the past year. ``We're seeing the adoption rate increasing dramatically,'' said Moeller. ``You're looking at the start of what's to come.'' 

Moeller credits the increasing popularity of powerful smartphones like Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry, which are capable of running more sophisticated programs than simpler, cheaper phones. 

Douglas Brown, senior vice president for mobile product development at Bank of America Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., said that his company alone has signed up 2.4 million mobile banking subscribers. ``There's a convenience and control function that people really enjoy,'' said Brown.

Today's mobile banking applications work in the same fashion as a bank's website. For example, the iPhone application for Bank of America lets users see account balances, transfer funds between multiple accounts, or make bill payments. ``Unfortunately, your cellphone can't give you cash,'' said Kastner.

But it can do the next best thing. By adding a radio frequency identification chip to the phone, it can be used to buy products at retail stores. A user would merely tap the phone against a ``near field communication'' device that could read the radio signal from the chip and collect the purchase price from the customer's bank or credit card company. It might sound like science fiction to Americans, but not to people in Japan. About 50 million people in that country carry ``wallet phones'' that let them buy items as well as place calls.

Wallet phones are getting tryouts in the United States, but nobody expects them to become commonplace anytime soon. ``We think this is more like a five- to 10-year thing,'' said KPMG's Siegel. 

The industry faces a classic chicken-and-egg challenge. Hardly any US cellphones contain the necessary chip technology, and consumers won't buy them until enough retail stores have checkout devices that will work with the technology.

Mohammad Khan, president and founder of Vivotech Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., said that this problem is well on the way to being solved. About 80 million credit cards already contain the same kind of chip found in wallet phones. And Vivotech has sold about half a million of the card-reading devices, including 400,000 to retailers in the United States. As more retailers begin using the chip-reading checkout system, Khan predicted, consumers will grow comfortable with the technology and begin demanding wallet phones. ``They're tapping their card to pay,'' Khan said, ``and tomorrow they'll tap the phone to pay.''

Khan says digital wallet technology is very secure, even though credit data is being radioed from the phone to the checkout device. The phone's chip generates a unique code number for each transaction, so data intercepted by criminals couldn't be used to make any more purchases.

Still, it'll be years before most retailers will be able to accept cellphone payments. But efficiency-minded consumers like Kastner will welcome the changPublish Poste. ``That would be one step closer to removing currency from my life,'' he said. ``It's as simple as that. Convenience.'' 

Source: The Boston Globe 

Mobinil Q1 Profits Fall Below Forecasts

Eygpt's MobiNil, which is in the midst of a tussle between Orascom and France Telecom has posted a 6% drop in first-quarter profits to EGP424 million (US$75 million) - below most analysts expectations. Imputed interest amounts relative to 3G installment payments charged during the first quarter amounted to EGP 29 million and higher interest costs are the main driver for the decrease.

Revenues of EGP2.49 billion (US$445 million) was up on the EGP2.26 billion a year earlier. Capital expenditure for the first quarter reached EGP 420 million (US$75 million).

Mobinil ended the quarter with 21.179 million subscribers which represents an increase of 31% or 1.064 million net additions.

Commenting on first quarter 2009 results, Alex Shalaby, Chairman said: “Mobinil continued to grow in tough economic times and delivered on its identified growth strategy. This again confirms Mobinil’s success in building ties with its customers by providing quality services. In difficult economic conditions it is also gratifying to see Mobinil achieving on its profitability."

First quarter blended ARPU reached EGP 39 (US$6.97) with a decline of 16% over the same period last year mainly driven by the change of subscriber mix as the firm continues to penetrate lower market segments. 

MTN Acquires Revenue Assurance Platform from cVidya

South Africa's MTN ­has ordered a Revenue Assurance platform from cVidya Networks, along with a deal with HP to act as system integrator. No financial details of the contract were provided.

“We are delighted to be working with MTN and look forward to enabling MTN to improve its bottom line and efficiency. cVidya’s recognized the importance of the African market and we therefore consider MTN to be a strategic project, as cVidya’s first Tier 1 project in Africa,” commented Alon Aginsky, CEO at cVidya Networks.

Through an ongoing process, cVidya’s Revenue Assurance Solution automatically detects problem areas which impacts profitability as a result of revenue leakage, data inconsistencies or resources that are not being used efficiently. Once MoneyMap identifies the areas of revenue leakage and resource inefficiency, it provides the user with intuitive tools to promptly correct and manage the problems.