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Qatar Telecom News
Qatar Telecom secures
capacity on Intelsat 15 to expand international services (From Business
Wire, March 3, 2010)
LUXEMBOURG - Intelsat S.A., the
world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced that Qatar
Telecom (Qtel) signed a multi-year capacity contract on Intelsat’s recently-launched
Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15), located at 85º E. Qtel will utilize the
capacity to expand its international connectivity and provide a portfolio
of services for its wholesale and enterprise customers in the Middle East.
“The capacity provided through
this contract will help ensure rapid growth of our international services
across the region,” said Ahmed Al Derbesti, Executive Director, International
Services, Qtel. “Intelsat’s IS-15 satellite also
provides us with the Ku-band coverage we need to expand our broadband
services in areas where it is not possible either to deploy or maintain a
terrestrial network.”
“With Qtel, we now host the
three leading telecommunications providers in the Middle
East on our network,” said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s
Regional Vice President, Europe & Middle East.
“IS-15’s capacity is ideal for the distribution of on-demand services that
include broadband networks for enterprise applications; IP trunking, for
Internet connectivity; and video services, for DTH programming.”
Intelsat will be exhibiting at
CABSAT MENA 2009, the region’s premiere exhibition for the digital media
industry, at booth C-3-1. The event runs from 2-4 March in Dubai.
Qatar Telecom
launches new Dawli cards (July 1, 2009)
(MENAFN) - Qtel has launched two
cards - Dawli MENA and Dawli Asia – that will provide specially reduced
rates for overseas calls to specified countries in the MENA region and Asia.
Available in denominations of
QR25 and QR75, the Dawli cards will enable people to stay in touch with
friends and family overseas longer since the promotion will run for eight
weeks during the summer. With the promotional rates available through these
cards, customers will be able to call the specified countries for as little
as QR0.99 per minute all day, with the call initiation charge dropping from
QR1 per call to only QR0.25 per call.
Customers calling people in
popular destinations such as Egypt,
Syria, India, Pakistan
and Lebanon
will benefit from savings of over 50 percent every day when using the new
cards.
The Dawli Asian International
Card provides reduced rates for Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Brunei, Diego Garcia, Hong
Kong, India,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos,
Macau, Maldives,
Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan,
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
The Dawli MENA International
Card provides reduced rates for Algeria,
Djibouti, Egypt, Iran,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,
Palestine, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Tunisia
and Yemen.
Qatar Telecom cuts
price in general offer for Indosat shares (October 27,
2008)
(Bloomberg) - Qatar Telecom QSC,
which runs phone services in 16 countries, cut its general offer price for Indonesia's
second-largest phone company by 13 percent, the Qatari company said in a statement,
without disclosing a reason.
Qatar Telecom, or Qtel, said it
will pay 6,416 rupiah (57 cents) a share to increase its stake in PT
Indosat after Indonesia allowed it to boost the stake in Indosat to as much
as 65 percent. Ahmad Fuad Rahmany, chairman of Indonesia's capital market
regulator, yesterday said he expected Qtel to offer to buy the shares at
the original price of 7,388 rupiah apiece.
Qtel in June paid $1.8 billion, or the 7,388 rupiah a share price, to buy a
40.8 percent stake in the phone operator from Asia Mobile Holdings Pte.
Under Indonesian takeover rules, companies must offer to buy the shares at
the initial purchase price or the average intraday high in the last 90 days
before announcing the general offer, whichever is higher.
``Subject to confirmation by the
Indonesian market regulator, under the new mandatory tender offer
procedures, the offer price for each series B share will be set at 6,416
rupiah,'' Qtel said in the statement. ``Upon receiving formal notice of the
clarification from the authorities, Qtel should shortly be in a position to
proceed with coordinated tender offers in Indonesia
and the United States.''
Nick Swierzy, a spokesman of
Qtel, couldn't be reached on his mobile phone and didn't respond
immediately to e-mails seeking clarifications. Rahmany didn't respond to a
text message sent to his mobile phone today.
Indonesian law allows overseas
companies to own as much as 65 percent of local mobile-phone companies,
while limiting foreign ownership to 49 percent in fixed-line phone
operators. Indosat will have two years to spin off the fixed-line
operations, Communications Minister Muhammad Nuh said yesterday.
Qtel on June 26 offered to pay
7,388 rupiah a share to buy control of Indosat.
Vodafone wins Qatar's second fixed-line
license (September 15, 2008)
DOHA (AFP) - A consortium including British telecom giant
Vodafone has been awarded a license to operate a second fixed-line service
in gas-rich Qatar, the telecommunications regulator said on Monday.
ICT Qatar did not reveal the
value of the license, which was awarded to the same consortium that
successfully bid for the Gulf state's second mobile phone service, breaking
the monopoly of state-controlled Q-Tel.
"The Board of ICT Qatar
today decided to award the second fixed telecommunications license to the
Vodafone and Qatar Foundation consortium, permitting one of the world's
largest telecommunications companies (Vodafone) to compete against Q-Tel
for both mobile and fixed-line customers," the regulator said.
Services will be launched in
2009, the statement said.
In December, the Vodafone-Qatar
Foundation consortium won a 2.12 billion dollar bid to operate the second
mobile phone license. Services are due to begin by March 1 and the new
company will offer 40 percent of its shares for public subscription by
November 30.
Bidders for the second
fixed-line license included ATT and Verizon from the United States, Batelco from Bahrain, Eutelia
from Italy, Jordan
Telecom, PCCW from Hong Kong, and British Telecom as well as Vodafone from Britain.
Qatar Telecom may
post 50% rise in quarterly net
(Bloomberg) -- Qatar Telecom
QSC, which provides phone services in 16 countries, may this week report
second- quarter profit jumped by as much as half due to gains by its Iraq
unit and more subscribers in Oman and Algeria.
Net income at Qatar Telecom,
known as Qtel, may rise 50 percent to 618 million riyals ($169.7 million),
according to Global Investment House KSCC, a Kuwaiti investment bank.
Analysts at ING Bank NV estimate profit in the three months ended June 30
grew 28 percent to 529 million riyals, according to a July report.
Qtel's revenue will grow
"mainly due to the consolidation of Asia Cell's Iraq operations and a
more than 50 percent growth in subscriber base in Oman and Algeria,''
Sarwat Fatima Hussain, a telecoms analyst at ING Bank, said in the report.
``Due to higher financial cost'' not all of that revenue increase will flow
to the bottom line, she said.
Phone companies in the Persian Gulf are expanding abroad to boost sales as
domestic markets mature and competition grows. Qtel bought 41 percent of PT
Indosat, Indonesia's
second-biggest mobile phone operator, in June from Asia Mobile Holdings
Pte, the Qatari company's venture with Singapore Technologies Telemedia
Pte. The $1.8 billion buyout boosted its subscribers to 44 million.
It's unclear whether Qtel will
include Indosat's earnings in second-quarter results, ING said. If it does,
profit will grow 35 percent, based on Indosat's consensus earnings
estimates.
Regional Acquisitions
In March 2007, Qtel agreed to
pay $3.72 billion for a 51 percent stake in Kuwait's National Mobile
Telecommunications Co. KSC, or Wataniya Telecom. The company owns 30
percent of Iraq's
Asia Cell for Communication LLC.
“There will be good growth in Iraq
and we are positive on Qatari operations where they are likely to have good
margins,'' Chandresh Bhatt, assistant vice-president for research at Global
Investment House, said in a phone interview. “We are also positive on
Wataniya's operations.''
In April, Qtel reported an 11
percent rise in first-quarter profit to 525 million riyals as it added
customers.
Vodafone consortium wins Qatar
telecom bid (From The Gulf News, December
10, 2007)
Dubai: Vodafone and Qatar Foundation
Consortium yesterday won the bid for the second telecom licence in Qatar defeating Argos (Verizon) and etisalat, which will
effectively end the monopoly of Qtel.
ictQatar, the telecommunications
regulator yesterday selected the Vodafone and Qatar Foundation Consortium
as the successful applicant for the second mobile telecommunications
licence in Qatar,
a statement said.
"They submitted the highest
bid in the second round auction. The other eligible consortiums submitting
bids were Argos
(Verizon) and etisalat," the statement said.
The licence will be issued when
closing procedures are completed. The new licensee is expected to launch
service during 2008.
ictQatar had earlier received initial
bids from Argos Consortium, AT&T Qatar Mobile Consortium, etisalat
Consortium, MTC and Partners Consortium and Vodafone and Qatar Foundation
Consortium who had qualified after the technical evaluation phase.
They were requested to submit
one further bid to complete the auction process.
Qatar gets seven
bids for mobile phone license (September 18, 2007)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar received bids from seven
of 12 qualified companies and groups for the Gulf Arab state's second
mobile phone license, the telecom regulator said on Tuesday.
AT&T, Vodafone and a group
including Verizon Communications Inc were among those that bid, Qatar's
Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology said in a
statement.
Emirates Telecommunications
Corp, Bahrain Telecommunications Co, Kuwait's
Mobile Telecommunications Co and a group including India's Airtel also submitted
bids.
The regulator said in July it
had short-listed 12 companies and groups to bid for the license that will
end the monopoly of Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel) in the country of
840,000 people.
Oman Telecommunications Co was
among five companies that pulled out of the race. Egypt's Orascom Telecom, Jordan
Telecom Group and a group led by Belgacom were also on the shortlist.
The regulator said it would
review technical bids before inviting companies to submit financial bids in
an auction that is likely to happen in early November.
Mobile penetration in Qatar,
holder of the world's third-biggest reserves of natural gas, exceeds 100
percent.
Its population should grow to
1.3 million by 2015, driving mobile phone use, the regulator said in April.
Qtel chooses Visto to power
mobile email in Qatar
(April
7, 2007)
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (PRNewswire) - Visto
Corporation, the leading global provider of secure and easy-to-use mobile
email, has been chosen by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), to deliver its new mobile
email services. Qtel has implemented Visto's market-leading Visto
Mobile(TM) platform to offer Qtel Mobile Email Service, its own branded
mobile email offering, to its fast growing subscriber base.
Qtel's Mobile Email service
provides busy mobile professionals with a choice of 27 mobile handsets with
which to send and receive email on the move, access and update their
desktop calendar, and search their contacts - safely and securely, and
without having to make any adjustments to the corporate firewall. The new
Qtel mobile email service is already available on Symbian- powered UIQ,
Nokia Series 60 and Series 80 devices, and also Pocket PCs and Smartphones
that use Windows Mobile, with more handsets to be launched in the near
future.
"By working with operator
partners like Qtel, Visto has expanded its reach into more regions on more
mobile handsets than any other mobile email provider" said Frederic
Aries, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA. "We will
continue to penetrate markets all over the world by offering a service that
is easy to install and use by providing our service on the world's most
popular handsets. As more operators like Qtel begin to roll out affordable
service packages on a wide range of mobile phones, mobile email adoption
will catapult to new levels of growth previously unseen in the
market."
Qtel's launch of its
Visto-powered service furthers Visto's sustained success working with the
world's leading operators to bring mobile email to the broader market.
Global Market Insite (GMI) recently commissioned a study that revealed that
mainstream attitudes are changing as over 45% of those surveyed not
currently using mobile email expect to do so in the next 3-12 months. As
the sole provider of mobile services to Qatar, Qtel is well
positioned to take advantage of this burgeoning opportunity and open up the
market by offering an easy-to-use mobile email service on all of the leading
mobile phones.
After two successful customer
trials with leading businesses in Qatar - QNB and Ras Gas
-- Qtel Mobile Email has been made immediately available to mobile
professionals throughout the country.
Qtel
buys 51% stake in Wataniya for $3.72b (March 3, 2007)
Kuwait (Reuters) - Qatar
Telecommunications (Qtel) has agreed to buy 51 per cent of Kuwait's
National Mobile Telecommunications (Wataniya) for 1.075 billion dinars
($3.72 billion), the largest telecom acquisition in the Gulf region.
"We have reached an
agreement to sell 51 per cent of the capital of Wataniya ... to Qtel,"
Faisal Al Ayyar, chief executive of Kuwait Projects (Kipco), told a news
conference in Kuwait
yesterday.
Kipco, which owned around 24 per
cent of Wataniya, was appointed last week by the consortium of shareholders
to lead negotiations with buyers.
Qtel would pay shareholders 4.6
dinars per share, Al Ayyar said. The share closed at 3.1 dinars on
Wednesday, the last trading day of the week.
Qtel, which is bracing for the
end of its monopoly in Qatar this year, was one of three Gulf operators
named as potential bidders for the stake put up for sale by a group of
Wataniya shareholders.
Qtel has been less active on the
acquisition trail than other rivals in the world's biggest oil-exporting
region. The company operates a subsidiary in Oman and bought a 25
per cent stake in Asia Mobile Holdings, a unit of Singapore Technologies
Telemedia, in January. It borrowed $2 billion in November mainly to finance
acquisitions.
Emirates Telecommunications
(etisalat), the second largest Arab telecoms firm by market value, said on
Tuesday it had dropped plans for a bid for Wataniya.
The other potential buyer was
Dubai-based Oger Telecom, owned by conglomerate Saudi Oger. It said on
Wednesday it was not in talks on the stake but declined to say whether it
would consider a bid.
Qatar ends Qtel
monopoly (From The Gulf News, November 10, 2006)
Doha - Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al
Thani, Emir of Qatar, has issued a decree that ends Qatar Telecommunication
Corp's (Qtel) monopoly over the country's telecom sector and paves the way
for competition among new providers, local papers reported here yesterday.
Under the new Law No 34/2006
issued on Monday, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication
Technology (Ict-Qatar) will be responsible for adopting and implementing a
comprehensive regulatory framework for the sector. The decree, which was
published entirely on local papers, said IctQatar will issue, amend, cancel
and renew licenses to new telecommunication providers.
The decree will come into effect
from the date of publishing in the official gazette, and abrogates Law No
21 of 1998, under which Qatar Telecommunication Corporation (Qtel) was the
sole telecom provider.
However, the decree states that
Qtel will continue to provide telecommunication services until new
providers come forward.
Commenting on the decision, Qatar's
leading Arabic newspaper Al Sharq said in its editorial yesterday that the
law will pave the way for other companies to enter the sector and benefit
customers.
"This law would promote
further economic development in Qatar ... In other
countries the opening of the telecom sector has led to an improvement of
services and a reduction in tariffs for the benefit of customers,"
said the paper.
Qtel offers ‘Toll Free’ calling
facilities (From The Peninsula,
April 30, 2006)
DOHA - Corporations, small and
medium business enterprises will now be able to offer Toll Free calling
facilities to their customers with Qatar Telecom (Qtel) opening the service
for the corporate sector. Special, Easy-To-Remember (ETR) numbers have also
been offered to such subscribers by the company.
Toll Free service is a value
added service where Qtel will not bill the calling party for the call, but
the company or individual who owns the number will be billed and pay all
charges.
The owner of the Toll Free
number will benefit from having a single Easy To
Remember number, as well as making potential cost savings on advertising
and promotions.
Usually, Toll Free numbers are
used by the service industry such as hotels, airlines, car rental firms,
travel agencies and information providers for callers from abroad. In Qatar
itself, a local call is not charged unless made to or from a mobile line.
"With this Toll Free number
service, Qtel has enhanced its role as the
region's best Managed Service Provider (MSP) with a comprehensive service
offering which helps promote business development in Qatar. This revenue-enhancing
and cost-saving service asserts Qtel's commitment towards fulfilling and
servicing the needs of our business customers," said Khalil Al Emadi,
Executive Director, Wireline Services, Qtel.
Numbers are classified into
service type, with Easy To Remember numbers such as double numbers or a
repeated set of numbers (800 9911, 800 0000) which are in great demand.
'Royal' numbers end in names or are sequential, 'Gold' numbers consist of 2
similar digits, while 'Silver' numbers are those that are not categorized
in Royal or Gold tier.
"Allowing companies to pay
for the customers' call, will give businesses a huge advantage over
competitors who do not have Toll Free numbers," said Khalil Al Emadi.
Qatar's QTel to invest
$400m a year in technology ahead of Asian Games (April 21,
2006)
Doha (Reuters) - Qatar Telecom
(Qtel) is investing heavily to upgrade its infrastructure ahead of the 2006
Asian Games and expects a boost in annual profits after a dip last year,
the company's chief executive said.
Nassir Marafih said the company
is investing $400 million a year to introduce new technology, including 3G
and video streaming, ahead of the Games which Qatar is hosting in
December.
He also said high-tech services
were becoming a main source of revenue for Qtel as more foreign firms and
expatriates relocate to Qatar to take advantage of its
booming economy.
"We are building the
network because of the big demand," he said. "The Asian Games was
an opportunity to speed this up and showcase Qtel. But the services will be
needed after the Games."
Marafih said the company is
pushing forward with a plan to outsource revenue-draining activities and
focus on providing new technology to corporations moving to Qatar.
Revenues from corporate
consumers, he said, grew 25 per cent in 2005.
Qatar, an Opec
member with the world's third largest gas reserves, has one of the world's
fastest growing economies and is luring an estimated 120,000 expatriates a
year.
Qtel announced an agreement with
AT&T in January to increase its access to international telecom
networks, which Qtel said would allow companies headquartered in Doha to
communicate more easily with branches around the world.
"We want to focus on the corporate
sector which is a growing part of the economy because of all the
multinational companies coming in," Marafih said.
He said the company would launch
3G services by the second quarter of 2006 and was also planning to launch
voice and video streaming ahead of the Asian Games.
Marafih said Qtel would post
profit growth in 2006 after the company’s net profit declined 20 per cent
last year to 1.19 billion riyals ($326.8 million).
Qtel announced a first quarter
profit of 419 million riyals on Wednesday, up 47 percent from the same
period last year.
"We expect this year that
our profit will pick up and will grow from last year," he said.
"We are seeing growth in the market."
Marafih said the company was
targeting 95 percent penetration rate in 2006 after reaching 85 percent at
the end of 2005, driven mainly by broadband and wireless as revenues from
basic voice services shrink.
The company blamed the decline
in 2005 net profit on royalty payments to the government, instituted last
year in exchange for the company’s monopoly status.
Marafih said the company is
lobbying for the fee, currently 25 per cent of net profits, to be abolished
or reduced.
He also said the company was
seeking expansion opportunities outside the region and expected the firm’s
Nawras mobile service in Oman to post its first profit
in 2007.
"We are growing very fast
in Oman
and captured a 20 percent market share in our first year," Marafih
said. "Our first positive (earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization) will be in 2006 and our first profit will be
in 2007."
Qtel, which is bidding for Egypt’s third mobile license and has
expressed interest in a potential third mobile license in Saudi Arabia, is also
eyeing the Arab and Islamic world for acquisitions.
"We look at both Greenfield and
existing operations," Merafih said. "Our focus is on mobile but
we are integrated...we look across the board."
RESULTS
First-quarter revenue up 46.5%
In the three months to March 31,
QTel earned revenues of Dh951 million (2005 Dh649 million), an increase of
46.5 per cent over the corresponding period last year, and an EBITDA of
Dh590 million (2005 Dh379 million), an increase of 55.7 per cent. The group
said it also grew its mobile customer base by 96.4 per cent over the
corresponding period from 548,800 subscribers to 1.07 million.
The group, on a consolidated
basis achieved net profit (before royalty) of Dh548 million (2005 Dh349
million), an impressive growth of 57 per cent. Taking into account the
royalty payable to the government, the net profit attributable to Qtel's
shareholders is Dh419 million a significant increase of 47 per cent (2005
Dh285 million).
Qatar Telecom, Naeem
to bid for Egypt
mobile tender (April 13, 2006)
CAIRO (Dow Jones) - Qatar Telecom, or
Qtel, has teamed up with Egyptian Naeem Holding Co. to bid for Egypt's
third mobile network license, Al Alam Al Youm newspaper reported Thursday.
The privately-owned business
daily said vice chairman of the board of Qtel Mohamed Bin Sohaim Al-Thani
had signed a deal with Ahmed Naeem, board member of Naeem Holding.
This comes after Qtel signed up
with Singapore Technologies Telemedia for the bid last week.
ST Telemedia, a unit of Singapore's
state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.,
formed a joint venture with Qtel that will be majority owned by the Qatar
company.
Naeem Holding Co. operates in Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the
field of direct investment, funding and securities.
Qtel will continue to hold a
majority stake in the partnership after the new deal.
The paper also reported that
state-owned Banque Misr, Egypt's
second largest bank, had teamed up with Turkey's Turkcell for
the bid.
Another state-owned bank, The
National Bank of Egypt,
had entered into an alliance with Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or
Etisalat, a few days ago for the same purpose, reported the paper.
Egypt is currently receiving offers
for its third mobile license bid, which ends May 4. Offers from international
companies who have local partners and firms willing to trade a portion of
the shares on the Cairo
and Alexandria Stock Exchange after two years of operation will be favored,
according to the terms.
Egypt currently has two mobile
operators - Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications and Egyptian Company for
Mobile Services, or MobiNil.
Vodafone Group PLC owns 50% of
Vodafone Egypt
while MobiNil's shareholders include Egypt's
Orascom Telecom Holding and Orange,
which is a unit of France Telecom.
An estimated 19 companies and
consortia are vying for Egypt's third mobile telephone
license.
Qtel set to enter Egypt market (From The Peninsula, March 26, 2006)
Doha - Qatar Telecommunications
(Qtel) is set to enter the Egyptian mobile phone services market, following
its successful venture in the Sultanate of Oman.
This was revealed by Dr Nasser
Marafih, Qtel Chief Executive Officer pointing out that Nawras, its
subsidiary in Oman
has signed up 300,000 new customers, which represent 20 per cent of the
Omani mobile market during its first year of service.
Qtel is currently exploring
several investment opportunities in the region as part of its expansion
plan, Dr Marafih told reporters on the sidelines of a function held in
honor of the company's outstanding customer service employees.
Answering to a query on
Qatarization of jobs in the company, Dr Marafih said Qtel was sponsoring a
number of students and graduates from the College of North
Atlantic and is also conducting training
courses for national workforce within the company's departments that have
led to an increase in the number of Qatari employed at Qtel.
Qatar:
Qtel expands coverage to remote areas (From Mena
Report, December 12, 2005)
- Qtel has announced the launch
of state-of-the-art Remote Locations services (Wireless Local Loop) that
uses Broadband Point-to-Multipoint Radio technology to provide nationwide
telephone and Internet services to customers who reside outside Qtel's
wired network.
Qtel customers living outside Doha with no
wired network coverage like remote residential areas, farms, chalets and
even companies' site offices can now avail fixed line and Internet services
on one connection. Remote Locations services will allow customers to use
the connection simultaneously for both normal fixed lines and Broadband
services.
"The Remote Locations
services is in line with Qtel's motto of 'Bringing you closer' and its 'Qatar,
the Broadband Country' campaign. This technology ensures that Qtel's
network spreads across the entire nation, even to the most remote regions
in Qatar,"
said Dr Nasser Marafih, CEO of Qtel.
With Remote Locations services,
customers have access to fixed telephony and Internet services that offer
superior quality and reliability similar to Qtel's wired network. It also
provides all telephony value-added services including Caller ID, Call
Forwarding and Call Barring.
The Broadband Internet services
offered through Remote Locations services is similar to barQ, the high
speed Internet access that is up to 10 times faster than existing
Internet dial-up connections. It has the ability to provide Internet speeds
of 512Kb/s and 1 Mb/s.
"As Qtel works toward
ensuring the availability of advanced telecommunication services for the
Asian Games, we first believe in the right of all Qatari residents to have
access to services offered by Qtel, irrespective of their location, and
this assures that we meet the needs of people living in remote areas,"
continued Dr Nasser Marafih.
MMS available in Qatar
(From
menareport.com, November 24, 2005)
- Qtel has announced that
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) will now be available to its entire
Postpaid and Prepaid customer base, starting November 24, 2005.
MMS was previously available as
part of a promotion only to Postpaid customers for a monthly subscription
fee of QR20. Now, it is conveniently priced per message to enable all
Postpaid and Prepaid mobile customers to send and receive pictures, video
and audio files.
"And as MMS gets more
functional and accessible, it will pave the way for a broader customer
experience that will soon include advanced 3G multimedia services,¡¨ said Fahad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Executive Director
for Wireless Services.
Any mobile user with an MMS
compatible handset can send pictures at QR0.90 or video clips at QR1.20
respectively for local messaging. Customers can also send pictures
internationally to Bahrain
(Batelco), Kuwait
(Wataniya) and Jordan (MobileCom) at QR1.35 or video clips at QR1.80.
MMS can be activated at Qtel's
MMS kiosk at the City Center Doha for a period of two weeks starting
November 24th to December 8th 2005; and at any of the MMS authorized
dealers in Qatar
or the nearest Qtel customer service center.
All MMS authorized handset
dealers in Qatar
have been specifically trained and are certified by Qtel to support Qtel's
MMS service. Customers will be able to identify the certified stores by a
large sticker stating "MMS Authorized Dealer".
Postpaid and Prepaid customers who have not yet activated the MMS service or
do not have an MMS configured handset, will receive an SMS informing them
how to view MMS messages they receive on the Qtel website.
"Qtel intends to configure
customer handsets remotely by sending them the appropriate settings through
an SMS,¡¨ said Fahad Bin Jassim Al-Thani. "In
some rare cases, however, the handset will need to be manually configured.
This can be done either by the customers themselves using the information
on the Qtel website or by visiting an MMS authorized handset dealer."
Qatar Telecom joins Falcon cable
network (From
The Gulf News, April 21, 2005)
Dubai - Qatar Telecom, the country's main telecom provider,
has signed an agreement to participate in a submarine cable system called
Falcon, company officials said.
"Our
agreement with Flag Telecom, the submarine cable providers for Falcon,
highlights our commitment to our customers. Falcon will provide us with a
major boost and strengthen our data, internet and telephone services,"
said Dr Nasser Marafih, Qatar Telecom's (Qtel) chief executive.
Under
the agreement, Qatar
will have connectivity to Falcon. This loop cable system will provide
multiple landings throughout the Gulf region, with submarine links
stretching from the Middle East to Egypt
in the west and to India
in the east. The landing site in Qatar for Falcon will
be in Semaisma, near Al Khor.
According
to the agreement between Qtel and FLAG Telecom, Qtel's multi-million dollar
investment will provide it access to the system for a period of 15 years.
"We
hope Falcon will help Qatar develop into one of the
most connected broadband communities in the region. This is particularly
important for Qatar
as we gear up ahead of the technological demands we anticipate from the
Doha Asian Games in 2006," Dr Marafih said.
Falcon
will be interconnected with other global submarine networks.
Interconnection with Flag Europe-Asia at the Suez
landing will provide regional operators with seamless connectivity to
destinations on the Flag global network, including locations in Europe, the
United States, Asia
(Hong Kong, Tokyo, South Korea, Taiwan) and the Middle
East, company representatives said.
"We
are happy to be partnering with Qtel to provide a backbone to deliver
advanced broadband services to Qatar,"
said Walid Irshad, Flag Telecom's president for Middle East and Africa.
"Falcon
will incorporate comprehensive protection mechanisms to ensure the highest
level of network reliability for telecommunications users in Qatar,"
he said.
The
Falcon network is being built and installed simultaneously at various
points, using several submarine cable-laying ships. Initial service for Qatar
will commence by the first quarter of 2006, with full connectivity by June
2006.
Qtel to invest 800m riyals in wireless network (From Gulf News, March 23, 2005)
Doha - Qtel will spend 800 million riyals on its wireless
network to attract more customers, a company report said.
In
the next two years, Qatar Telecommunication Company, Qtel, aims to achieve
100 per cent penetration rate in the Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) segment.
Mobile
penetration in Qatar
on December 31 was 65 per cent, with 490,000 subscribers in a population of
about 750,000.
The
company aims to increase the number of customers, which grew 40 per cent
last year over 2003.
Qtel
hopes to achieve this goal by pumping an additional 800 million riyals
(Dh808.40 million) into its wireless network, the report said.
3G
service
The
company is working on commissioning the Third Generation (3G) network by
the end of this year offering several multimedia services.
One
advantage of 3G is that subscribers equipped with compatible handsets will
be able to view one another during the phone conversation.
Speaking
at a recent conference here, Nasser Marafia, chief executive officer of
Qtel, said the company is striving to ensure that its telecommunications
infrastructure is in place before the Doha Asian Games are held next year.
"We
are fully geared up for the communication needs of the Games."
Qtel achieves a world first (From The Peninsula, December
7, 2004)
DOHA - Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has
earned the unique distinction of becoming the world's first
telecommunication services provider to implement a state-of-the-art billing
system that will offer customers, a comprehensive bill for four of its
services while allowing the company to offer discounts on different service
packages.
The new Revenue Management System was installed by the US-based firm,
Convergys and integrates billing for four Qtel services: wire-line, mobile
phones, Internet and Qatar Cable Vision.
Speaking to the media yesterday, Dr Nasser M Marafih, Chief Executive
Officer, Qtel, said, the new system will enable the company to offer
discounts and special offers on subscribers who opt for more services.
It will also allow customers to check their outstanding dues through the
Qtel portal on the Internet and settle bills online, during the Phase-I of
the project, which was launched yesterday. Under Phase-II, which is
expected to commence in about six weeks, customers will also be able to
view their unbilled calls online and pay for them. Some 200 personnel from
Qtel and Convergys combined worked for a period of nearly two years on the
QR 80mn project, he added.
Qtel studied a variety of billing systems worldwide before settling for the
one offered by Convergys, since it was found to best suit the company's
requirements, he added.
According to Jean Herve Jenn, president, Europe, Middle East and Africa at
Convergys, the only other system that comes close to the one owned by Qtel
is that of Cox, a company in the US which offers three services,
land-lines, Internet and cable TV. He pointed out that Qtel's project was
the first ever undertaken by his firm in the Middle
East region and hence was an important one since it would open
doors to other avenues in the GCC for Convergys. "
This convergent solution delivered to Qtel represents the future of
telecom." He noted that the system implemented by Qtel would enable
the company to provide more advanced services in future.
Study: Qtel may lose monopoly by
2006 (August
15, 2004)
(MENAFN) - An industry study
indicated that Qatari Telecom giant Qtel may lose its monopoly in the
domestic market by 2006 with a second mobile phone operator likely to be
awarded the license to operate, the Peninsula
newspaper reported.
The study noted that the regional telecom sector was expected to witness
sweeping changes, adding that the changes are going to take place mainly in
the regulatory aspects.
Over the past three years, countries such as Bahrain, Oman,
Saudi Arabia
and UAE have set up autonomous telecom regulatory authorities, while their
neighbors are in the process of following suit.
The least penetrated market for global system for mobile (GSM) in the
region is Oman,
which has a GSM spread of 25 percent, while UAE has the highest penetration
level of 80 percent.
The percentage for Qatar
is 58, whereas the figures as regards its immediate neighbors Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are 65
percent and 31 percent, respectively. Kuwait has the second
highest penetration level at 71 percent.
Qtel to deploy ADC's Metrica for
GSM network in Qatar
(August
10, 2004)
MINNEAPOLIS (BUSINESS WIRE)
- ADC announced today that Qtel will deploy ADC's Metrica® Performance
Manager to monitor their network performance and the quality of services
delivered to all of Qtel's mobile subscribers throughout Qatar. ADC has won the
contract with Qtel via its partner in the region, Mannai Trading.
"In line with our Qturn
transformation program, our priority is to provide superior customer
service and the latest products and services demanded by the rapidly
growing Qatari economy," said Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO for Qtel.
"We believe that ADC's world-class products combined with Mannai
Trading's local experience will help us to achieve these goals to the
benefit of everyone in Qatar."
By deploying Metrica, Qtel will have a
comprehensive view of both the quality of their network and the services
being delivered on it. This will enable Qtel to detect potential problems
and resolve them to ensure the highest levels of customer service.
"Qtel represents a significant win
for Metrica," said David Heaps, senior vice president and general
manager of the Metrica group, Software Systems Business Unit for ADC.
"Qatar
continues to experience phenomenal growth in telecommunications and we look
forward to working with Qtel and our partner, Mannai Trading, to address the
increasing number of opportunities in the region."
In addition to performance management
solutions, ADC also offers Metrica Service Manager, a Service Quality
Management (SQM) solution that manages end-to-end service quality in
real-time and provides historical analysis against customer-focused quality
objectives for both existing and emergent services.
Qtel reports strong performance (From
menareport.com, July 25, 2004)
- Qtel announced Saturday its six months
financial results to 30 June 2004.
Announcing the figures, Qtel’s Chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin
Saud Al-Thani said, “In the first six months of the year Qtel achieved
another strong performance with revenues rising by 18 percent to QR 1,149m
and net profit increasing by 29 percent to QR 749m over the corresponding
period last year.
The results were achieved by growth in both the Wireless and Wireline
Business Units coupled with gains from the disposal of certain locally held
investments.”
“To reflect this strong performance, we will be distributing an interim
dividend payment of QR. 3.65 per share. This equates to 36.5 percent of the
nominal value, an 11 percent increase from last year,” he continued.
Revenue for the six months to June 2004 increased by 18 percent, a QR 177m
increase to QR 1,149m over the corresponding period last year.
Qtel’s Wireless services continued to perform well with overall revenue
increasing by 25 percent to QR 672m (June 2003-QR539m). The GSM subscriber
base experienced a 28 percent growth to 419,000 (June 2003- 328,000).
Qtel’s Prepaid GSM subscriber base experienced particular growth with a 51%
increase over the 12 month period, a net increase of 94,000 subscribers.
Wireline services also performed well with a 14 percent growth in overall
revenue to QR 441m (June 2003-QR387m). This was driven by Internet and
leased circuits.
In particular, dial-up Internet expanded its subscriber base by 40 percent
over the 12 month period from June 2003, and barQ ADSL nearly quadrupled
its subscriber base, growing by 379 percent.
Operating profit for the six months to June 2004 grew from QR 575m to QR
677m, an increase of 18 percent.
Expenses for the six months period January to June rose from QR 398m in
2003 to QR 472m in 2004, an increase of 19%. This reflects predominantly
the company’s increased business and promotional activities.
Qtel’s other income for the six months was QR 72m up from QR 24m in the
same period of 2003. This was primarily due to sale of certain locally held
investments during the period.
Net profit for the first six months of 2004 grew to QR 749m, a net increase
of 29 percent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
Earnings per share for the six month period grew to QR 7.49 per share in
2004 compared to QR. 5.80 per share in 2003.
Qtel becomes 1st telecom company
in the region to launch IP-VPN system (June 30, 2004)
(MENAFN) - Qatar Telecom (Qtel)
has become the first telecommunications company in the GCC region to offer
the Multi-Protocol Label Switching-based Internet Protocol- Virtual Private
Network (IP-VPN), the Peninsula newspaper
reported.
The system allows the corporate sector to connect to remote locations and
branch offices with extreme flexibility and reliability at minimal costs
and high security.
The new generation networking solution will transfer the critical business
information and date of companies using the system with an extremely high
security level while securing company databases and networks from outside
intrusion, ensuring absolute confidentiality during data transfer.
Qtel, Nokia distributor sign
agreement to promote MMS (From The Peninsula, June 14, 2004)
DOHA - Qatar Telecom (Qtel)
yesterday signed an agreement with the Consolidated Gulf Co (CGC), the sole
distributors in the country for Nokia brand of mobile phone handsets, for
conducting a public awareness campaign about the Multimedia Messaging
System (MMS) service, according to a press release issued yesterday.
Qtel plans to announce its much-awaited multimedia messaging services today.
Under the agreement, CGC- Nokia will set up a stand at City Center,
Doha,
to disseminate information related to MMS services to mobile phone users.
Qtel, through this stand, will distribute information booklets and other
material to educate mobile phone users about multimedia messaging. CGC
staff will also assist Qtel's customers to tune their mobile phone handsets
to enable them to send and receive multimedia messages.
Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, senior manager, wireless services, Qtel,
called upon mobile phone users in the country to visit the stand to learn
more about the services and have their handsets set avail of the service.
Munthir Khalid, general manager, CGC, revealed that the awareness drive
will be conducted by his company at the City Center
for a period of one month. Visitors to the stand will also be given
souvenirs.
SMS service on Qatar Airways flights soon (From The Peninsula, April 22, 2004)
DOHA - Passengers on Qatar Airways
flights will soon be able to receive the SMS service on their mobile
phones. The airline's Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker, hinted at
this at a press conference yesterday to announce a couple of main sponsors
for the forthcoming Fourth Global Travel and Tourism Summit.
He said very soon, Qatar Airways customers would have the in-flight
facility of receiving text messages on their screens, but added that the
details of the service would be announced later.
Akbar also said the airline was looking at equipping its aircraft with
transponders to relay direct telecasts of selected television channels. One
major TV channel had approached the airline with such an offer but was
turned down, "because we don't want anyone to monopolize any service
on Qatar Airways." Live telecasts would be shown on the airline's
flights, but of channels of its choosing, in tune with its customers'
tastes. "Aircraft manufacturers are now looking at fitting their
planes with the signal receivers and we're interested," he said.
Wireless services give huge
boost to Qtel profits (The Peninsula,
April 22, 2004)
DOHA - Qatar Telecom's wireless and
wire-line services continued to be the leading revenue earners for the
company during the recently concluded first quarter of this year, according
to results announced yesterday.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Saud Al Thani, Qtel Chairman, announcing
the Q1 results for 2004 said: "In the first quarter, Qtel achieved
strong results with revenue growth up by 20 per cent and the net profit
recording an increase of 26 per cent over the corresponding period last
year. The performance was boosted by wireless and wire-line services growth
and reflects the successful introduction of new products and value added
services, coupled with a series of new customer promotions and continuous
commitment to improve services, which are central to our Qturn
transformation program."
The first quarter revenues increased by QR95m to stand at a total of
QR565m: an increase of 20 per cent over the same period in 2003, when
profits of QR470m were recorded.
The wireless service continued to spur the revenue growth with the Qatarnet
Global System for Mobile (GSM) witnessing an increase of some 40 per cent
from January 1 to March 31. As a result, Qtel now has more than 400,000
subscribers connected to the Qatarnet. The service accounted for a 29 per
cent increase in wireless services in Q1 compared to the same period last
year. The number of customers using the Hala pre-paid GSM service shot up
by 64 per cent from March last year to March 2004 - a net increase of
100,000 new mobile phone connections. The number of post-paid subscribers
increased during the year by 140,000. At the end of March 2003, Qtel had
connected 128,221 new post-paid subscribers during that year.
The wire-line services of Qtel also experienced growth with Q1 revenues up
by 13 per cent compared to the same period last year, generating a revenue of QR 216mn. The Internet dial-up service
subscriber base grew by 40 per cent from March 2003 to March 31 this year,
to stand at 27,693 while the Asynchronized Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
Internet service, titled barQ, crossed the 4,000 subscriber mark during the
year.
According to figures disclosed by Qtel, the net profit for the first
quarter of 2004 grew to QR399m, reflecting an increase of 26 per cent over
the same period last year, when it stood at QR268m. The operating profit
for the first quarter grew from QR268m in 2003 to a new high of QR329m this
year. Expenses for the Q1 increased by 17 per cent to
stand at QR236m while income from other sources was QR10m as compared to
QR9m for the same period last year. Earnings per share for the
period grew to QR 3.39 per share compared to QR 2.68 at the end of March
2003, the results state.
Qtel's revenues up 18% in 2003 (March 8, 2004)
(MENAFN) - Qatar Telecom's
(Qtel) revenues grew by 18 percent in to reach QR2.026 billion ($560
million) in 2003, compared with QR1.720 billion ($470 million) a year
earlier, the Peninsula newspaper reported.
Qtel's net profits stood at QR1.149 billion ($320 million) last year, an
increase of 20 percent over the previous year.
The company's capital investments rose 45 percent to QR375 million ($103
million), compared with QR259 million ($71.1 million) in 2002, funding
developments such as the expansion of our Global System for Mobile network
and introduction of the Global Packet Radio Service and Asynchronised
Digital Subscriber Line Internet access.
Qtel revenues soar by 18pc to
QR2b in 2003 (From Khaleej Times, February 12, 2004)
DUBAI - Qtel announced yesterday that
its top line revenue grew by 18 per cent from QR1.72 billion in 2002 to
QR2.02 billion in 2003, while net profit amounted to QR 1.1 billion for the
year ended December
31, 2003, recording an increase of 20 per cent over the
previous year.
Announcing the results, Qtel's chairman, Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin
Saud Al Thani said that this was largely driven by an exceptional
performance in Wireless and Wireline, coupled with the introduction of new
products, service improvements, customer promotions and improvements in
operating efficiency.
Capital investment rose by 45 per cent to QR375 million during 2003,
funding developments such as the expansion of Qtel's Wireless network and
the introduction of advanced technologies.
Last year saw outstanding growth in wireless services with a 35 per cent
growth in overall revenue. Specifically, Qtel's Wireless postpaid service
grew by 17 per cent over the year from QR558 million to QR655 million,
while prepaid rose by 87 per cent from QR243 million to QR455 million.
Wireline services, which provides fixed line services and manages Qtel's
core network, also experienced growth with a five per cent revenue increase
to QR799 million in 2003. The increased revenue was principally the result
of high growth in leased line services and Internet due to attractive
promotions for dial up and barQ ADSL during the year.
By 31 December
2003, Qtel's share price stood at QR158.40, compared to
QR108.50 on 31
December 2002, an increase of 46 per cent from the end of 2002.
Shaikh Abdullah said: "This excellent performance demonstrates the
investment community's confidence in Qtel's management, our strategy and
prospects for continued profitable growth."
The Board of Qtel has recommended to the General Assembly a total dividend
payment of QR7.30 per share, the net of which is payable after deducting
the 33 per cent interim dividend payment of QR3.30 per share made in July
2003.
This will result in a total dividend payout of QR730m, representing 64 per
cent of net profit for the year. Shareholders will receive a final dividend
payment of QR4.00 per share after the General Assembly has approved the
recommendation.
Official: Qtel handled 54
million calls in four days (From The Peninsula, February 10, 2004)
DOHA - Qatar Telecom's (Qtel) mobile
phone network handled a whopping total of 54 million local and
international calls from February 1 to February 4, the Eid Al Adha
holidays, a senior official at the company,
disclosed yesterday.
The Qatarnet Global System for Mobile (GSM) network also handled over 3.1
million Short Messaging System (SMS) text messages during this period, he
added.
Speaking to The Peninsula yesterday, Ross Cormack, executive director,
wireless services at Qtel said, more than 19.5 million mobile phone calls,
both to local and international numbers, were made on February 1 itself,
the first day of the Eid.
On that day itself, the bulk of calls, over 1.25 million, were made between
6pm and 7pm, he added. On the eve
of the Eid Al Fitr festival in November last year, Qtel's GSM network had
also recorded a surge with 1.47 million calls made between 7pm and 8pm.
Ross said that during the four days of Eid holidays, the Qatarnet also
accounted for over 3.1 million SMS text messages, sent to mobile phone
users here and abroad. The peak for the SMS during that period was however
February 2, with the network handling over 1.4 million outgoing SMS
messages. He disclosed that the week before the Eid, the network had
handled only about half a million SMS text messages every day.
On eve of the Eid Al Fitr, Qatarnet had handled 368,000 such text messages
between 10pm and 11pm. Ross said that Qtel now has an estimated 370,000
mobile phone users connected to the network using either post-paid or Hala
pre-paid services.
"These figures indicate that we have very active customers and the
importance they attach to staying in touch during the Eid holidays,"
he added.
Despite the heavy load on Qtel's two mobile phone systems, the number of dropped (unsuccessful) calls were found to be
negligible. A few customers had complained that they were unable to make or
receive calls for short periods during the Eid holidays.
Qtel, as part of its Eid Al Adha celebrations, had offered its post-paid
mobile phone subscribers, the reduced, off-peak rates for calls made
throughout the day.
Qtel plans to offer 'barQ' in
remote areas (From The Peninsula,
February 8, 2004)
DOHA - Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has
launched a massive project to offer its Asynchronised Digital Subscriber
Line (ADSL) high-speed broadband Internet access service, called 'barQ'
(lightning) in remote areas of the country, a company spokesman said here
yesterday.
"Ever since barQ was introduced by Qtel for individual users around
six months ago, it has evoked an overwhelming response. The company has
more than 5,000 subscribers to the service", he added. This figure, he
said, was much larger than what the company had expected during the launch
period
"The popularity of the ADSL barQ service among subscribers here was
due to the wide range of benefits that it offers, such Internet access that
is five times speedier than the regular dial-up service and round-the-clock
connectivity at no extra cost. With the number of barQ subscribers growing
steadily, Qtel is committed to accommodating all the needs of Internet
users around Qatar,"
he said.
The spokesman pointed out that Qtel recently waived the restrictions
imposed on barQ, allowing them to download only one gigabyte capacity of
music, videos, games, software and other similar material from the
Internet. They can now enjoy unlimited downloads.
Khalil Ibrahim Al Emadi, executive director, wireline services at Qtel,
said: "The company is delighted that
thousands of customers have signed up for our barQ ADSL service. Since barQ
offers such an attractive package with the latest technology, it is an
ideal choice for home and individual users who have a very high use of the
Internet."
Khalil noted that the barQ service eliminates delays and disconnections
that were often experienced by dial-up connection users.
"With barQ, the subscriber's Personal Computer is transformed into an
ongoing source of communications, where multiple tasks can be performed
online with ease, such as checking e-mail, downloading files, browsing the World
Wide Web and watching high-quality streaming media, all at the same
time," he said.
The ADSL system shares the customer's telephone line and hence, they can
use both the Internet and their phones simultaneously.
The spokesman said that Qtel's customer service centers located across the
country have also been busy assisting potential customers in understanding
the benefits of the ADSL technology while guiding them to subscribe to
services that best suit their requirements.
Qtel official throws light on telecom marketing (From thepeninsulaqatar.com, January 14, 2004)
DOHA - The only Qatari speaker at the Gulf
Marketing Forum, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, senior manager, wireless
marketing at Qatar Telecom (Qtel), yesterday highlighted the mistakes made
in the past by telecom service providers and steps that his company had
taken to overcome problems posed by such errors.
Sheikh Fahad said that most telecommunication services providers worldwide,
in the past, had focused on providing high-technology products to their
customers, regardless of whether these customers actually had a use for it.
As a result, a large number of these companies ended up with massive losses
since consumers did not utilize that technology, on which millions of
dollars had been spent. Hence, it was essential that all service providers
first listen to what customers require and offer products that are user
friendly and meet their needs, while being cost-effective.
Sheikh Fahad pointed out how mobile phones, once considered a luxury, have
now become a daily necessity. He narrated an example from his days as a
student in Oxford,
UK,
when mobile phones were just launched. Since his family in Qatar
wanted to contact him daily, he found it very inconvenient to use the
land-line phone of the British family he was staying with. Hence, he
purchased a mobile phone and would talk with his friends and relatives
every evening. One morning, the landlady asked him whether he had the habit
of talking to himself, unaware that he owned a mobile phone, which was
extremely rare for students due to its cost - some GBP 800 in those days.
He said he showed his mobile phone to her, which surprised her.
Sheikh Fahad said telecommunication service providers now also needed to
evolve different packages and products to suit individual needs, rather
than offering a single service that was expected to suit the entire market.
Qtel, he said, had taken steps in that direction by providing an entire
range of mobile services and closely listening to the needs of its
customers.
Q-Tel’s net profits
down slightly in 1Q 2003 (From
menareport.com, May
19, 2003)
- Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) recorded a net
profit of 268 million Qatari riyals ($73.6 million) in the first quarter of
2003 compared with QR 269 million during the same period of 2002. The
company attributed the drop to a price reduction of major services in order
to be in line with market prices.
The company recorded an 11 percent revenue increase in the first quarter of
2003, reaching 470 million Qatari riyals compared to QR 423 million during
the same period in 2002.
Expenses for the first quarter of 2003 rose by 23 percent to QR 202
million. The most notable increase within this was General and
Administration expenses, which increased by 85 percent reflecting the
continued investment in the Q-Turn transformation program and also
promotional activities.
Q-Tel’s GSM subscriber base increased by 55 percent to 286,500, which
resulted in a 27 percent increase in wireless revenue compared with the
same period last year. Postpaid subscribers increased by 20 percent, over
the 12-month period between March 2002 and March 2003, a net increase of
21,000, whilst prepaid subscribers increased by 103 percent, a net increase
of 80,000. Internet expanded its subscriber base to 19,800, a 40 percent
increase over the 12-month period.
Q-Tel’s revenues up 12 percent in 2002 (From
menareport.com, February
18, 2003)
- Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) recorded a 12 percent
revenue increase in 2002 from 153.7 million Qatari riyals ($42.2 million)
in 2001 to QR 172 million, the highest revenue than any previous year. Net
Profit for the year rose to QR 956 million from QR 863 million, an increase
of over 11 percent.
According to the company, the increase was driven predominantly by Mobile and
that trend is expected to continue. Both Mobile
and Data enjoyed a lucrative year despite price cuts with Mobile increasing its subscriber
base by 50 percent. Existing customers continued to show high use of mobiles,
making Qatar
one of the countries in the world with the highest amount spent per
customer on mobile.
This year's capital investment exceeded last year's by 36 percent showing a
total of QR 259 million spent on Mobile and Fixed line infrastructure. Mobile
communications underwent growth and was the year's most important
development.
During the year, Q-Tel attracted 88,774 new mobile subscribers, expanding
its customer base to 266,703. The company attracted 907,300 new fixed-line
subscribers.
Q-Tel: A monopoly is a terrible
thing to waste (From menareport.com, September 3, 2002)
- While Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) is not an
operator to let a good monopoly go to waste, it is expected that consumers
will be better served when some level of liberalization settles into the
small and rich gulf state in and after 2005, asserts a newly released
report from the Arab Advisors Group.
Q-Tel, Qatar’s publicly traded and
monopoly telecom operator, solely provides fixed,
mobile, internet and datacomm services to the small rich gulf state. By end
of year 2001, Q-Tel had 167,446 landlines and 177,929 Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) connections, translating into penetration rates
of 27 percent and 29 percent respectively.
The report indicates that despite regionally impressive penetration levels,
the Qatari market is below its true potential when compared to the
penetration levels in neighboring United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
“The average monthly revenue per user for Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN) service in Qatar
stood at $122 in 2001 with the bulk of it coming from international long
distance (ILD) service. GSM service’s monthly ARPU (Average Revenue Per
User) stood at $60 in the same year,” Sami Sunna’, author of the report,
noted. “The high ARPU’s and relatively high penetration rates reflect the
inherent price insensitivity of the rich market to essential telecom
services.”
“While Q-Tel did reduce ILD rates recently, the partially privatized
operator is savvy enough to fully leverage its monopoly status; its net
profit margin in 2001 was a full 56 percent of revenues. For example, GSM
prepaid service in Qatar
was only launched in 2000, six years after the launch of the GSM service in
the country. This manifests the comfort that the monopoly situation avails
to Q-Tel,” Sunna’added.
The report shows that that there is a strong potential in the Qatari market
when it comes to the GSM, internet and datacomm services. These services
will provide interested parties with an incentive to enter into the Qatari
telecommunication market once liberalization matures, which is expected to
materialize in 2005. With this in mind, the Arab Advisors Group projects
Qatar’s cellular subscribers to grow by a compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 21.4 percent between 2001 and 2006 to reach a penetration rate of
70 percent.
Siemens awarded Q-Tel expansion
contract (from
menareport.com, August
12, 2002)
- The Siemens Information and
Communication Mobile Group (IC Mobile) has won a new contract with Qatar
Telecom (Q-Tel). The contract includes expansion of the GSM (Global System
for Mobile Communications) core, introduction of the GPRS (General Packet
Radio Service) core and CAP II (Camel Phase II), which allows roaming
facilities for pre-paid subscribers. Installation of all these elements
will be complete by early 2003.
Q-Tel established GSM services in Qatar in 1994. The
organization is the only telecommunication service provider in the Qatari market.
Qas of June 2002, Q-Tel had 211,000 subscribers, including pre-paid and
post-paid customers.
Siemens IC Mobile offers mobile solutions including mobile devices,
infrastructure and applications. Devices include mobile phones, wireless
modules, mobile organizers and cordless phones as well as products for
wireless home networks. The infrastructure portfolio includes GSM, GPRS and
3G mobile network technologies from base stations and switching systems to
intelligent networks, e.g. for prepaid services.
Mobile Applications cover end-to-end solutions for Messaging, Location
Based Services or Mobile Payment. For the fiscal year 2001, which ended
September 30, IC Mobile recorded sales of €11.3 billion and employed 30,730
people worldwide
GSM expansion for QTel (from itp.net, July 15, 2002)
- Qatar Telecommunications has enlisted Motorola to expand its GSM
network in a deal valued at US$25 million.
The
GSM network, to be installed across Qatar’s countrywide
wireless system, includes Motorola’s Horizon macro GSM 900/1800 MHz base
stations. It will enable Qatar Telecommunications to provide its cellular
subscribers with enhanced coverage and features.
“As
Qatar Telecommunications continues to expand, we are delighted to be
working with Motorola. Motorola has a deep understanding of our specific
regional needs and is committed to providing us with the latest technology
so we may continually deliver the very highest network performance for our
customers,” said Dr. Nasser M. Marafih of Qatar Telecommunications.
“Motorola
has a long and successful relationship with Qatar Telecommunications. We
are looking forward to working with them as they expand their network, grow
their business, and consolidate their position as a leading operator in the
Middle East,” said Jeff Cherif, general manager of Motorola GTSS in the
Middle East and Africa.
Q-Tel inks deal with GTSS (from gulf-news.com, July 11, 2002)
- Qatar
Telecommunications (Q-Tel) has signed a Dh92 million ($25 million), global
system for mobile (GSM) communications network infrastructure expansion
deal with Motorola's Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS).
The GSM network to be installed across Qatar's countrywide wireless system, will enable Q-Tel to provide cellular
subscribers with enhanced coverage and features. Commercial deployment
began in June.
Bahrain bourse begins trading in Q-Tel shares (from the gulf-daily-news.com, November 8, 2001)
MANAMA - One of the
largest telecommunications companies in the GCC region, Qatar Telecomm
(Q-Tel), was listed yesterday on the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE).
The
company, which is listed on the Doha Stock Market (DSM), has a market
capitalization of Qatari Riyal 7.4 billion (BD740 million). However, not
all of the company's 100m shares are up for trading, either at the DSM or
BSE.
The
Qatari Government's 55 percent shareholding in the company is excluded from
trading.
The
remaining 45pc shareholding, held by the public, is available for trading.
Of the public shareholding, it has, however, been left to individual
shareholders whether they want to list their shareholding on the BSE or
not, said DSM general manager Ghanim Al Hammadi.
He was
speaking following the signing of three agreements yesterday between the
BSE, DSM and Q-Tel. Also present at the signing was Q-Tel deputy chairman
Shaikh Mohammed Bin Suhaim Al Thani.
The
agreements were related to the cross listing of Q-Tel shares at the BSE and
one related to facilitating sale and purchase of Q-Tel shares. A third pact
was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the BSE and DSM.
"The MoU is aimed at facilitating further co-operation between our two
stock markets," said BSE acting director Ali Thamer.
He
said the two bourses are discussing many areas of co-operation and the
cross listing of Q-Tel was the first step in that direction.
Mr Al
Hammadi said the BSE was the first exchange outside Qatar where Q-Tel has
been listed. "We chose Bahrain because we have a close
relationship with the BSE," he said.
It is
planned to list Q-Tel on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market also, a move that
should take place by the year-end, he said.
The BSE is actively working on
attracting regional companies, to develop the stock market as a regional
bourse, said Mr Thamer.
Q-Tel to be listed
soon by ADSM (November 1, 2001)
- Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) will soon be listed on the Abu
Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM), the first non-UAE company to secure such a
listing, a top bourse official confirmed. "The process for Q-Tel's listing has begun and a few
other non-UAE companies may also be listed later," said Ahmed Humaid
Al Mazrouie, director general of ADSM.
For Q-Tel, this is the first time it will be listed
outside of Doha.
Its shares can be traded over Dubai Financial Market (DFM) too as it is
linked electronically to ADSM.
Meanwhile, higher authorities have been approached
to discontinue the system for licensed brokers to provide bank guarantees
at ADSM as well as DFM, the official said.
"Now, brokers have to provide the bank
guarantee at both places. But we are trying to convince the authorities to
limit it to any one place or requesting them to provide for a break-up of
Dh5 million each," said Mazrouie.
Currently, 15 companies are listed in Abu Dhabi,
which has 11 registered brokers. More listings as well as brokers will
follow.
Future plans include introducing more instruments
that suit the UAE market to provide investors more options, developing
policies, procedures, rules and regulations and create a greater public
awareness through seminars. "We
are at the beginning, we can do more."
Mazrouie said ADSM's market capitalization stood at
Dh18.4 billion as of September 2001, of which banks account for 68 per
cent, hotels 14 per cent, service companies 9 per cent, insurance 8 per
cent and industries 1 per cent.
"For a new market we have seen very good growth
in capitalization. From November 2000 upto September 2001, we have seen a
general growth of 585.29 per cent and per month growth of 53.21 per
cent."
The Abu Dhabi Index follows the weighted average
formula and is trading above the trend line and is likely to continue in
the same direction, he added.
To ensure greater transparency, ADSM will make it
mandatory soon for listed companies to make available their quarterly
financial results one month after the end of the quarter and annual results
not later than three months after the end of the year, the official said.
Mazrouie clarified that although Web-based trading
is legal and infrastructure is ready, it is too early to start real time
trading. "Trading volumes are still low. But ADSM will soon have a
sophisticated Web site that will contain all information regarding the
market, companies, brokers etc."
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