|
|
Qatar Telecom News
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."
back
to the News Center
|
|
