Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) has launched a tender to select two new mobile network operators, Globes Online reports, with four potential bidders set to take part in the sale process. Bidding started at 10am local time on Monday morning, and the regulator is offering two 3G licences, although a number of alterations to the auction process have been made. Under the revised sale plans the starting bid amount has been lowered to ILS10 million (USD2.91 million), down from ILS100 million, with bids to be updated every ten minutes. The second alteration made to the sale was a change in the amount and timing of bids once the ILS100 million threshold is reached; bids will now increase by ILS5 million every ten minutes, instead of rising in ILS1 million increments per hour. Bidding will take place for both concessions simultaneously, and will run until just two would-be buyers remain.

See Press Release 
Source: Telegeography

The Thai Cabinet  approved a decisoon by state-owned CAT Telecom to cancel a plan to buy 100% of its Bangkok-based ‘Hutch’ branded CDMA mobile joint venture from partner Hutchinson Telecommunications International. The cancellation of the takeover of Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia (HCWM), currently 75% owned by HTI and 25% by CAT, could help clear the way for  True Move to complete a proposed purchase of HCWM.

See Article

Source: TeleGeography

According to Telegeography, Morocco’s Maroc Telecom is in a good position to bid for state-owned Benin Telecoms. The schedule for privatising the PSTN and broadband operator is unclear however. Maroc Telecom has expanded across several African nations and the group is looking at other markets outside the French speaking African countries.

See Article
Source: Telegeography

According to TMCnet.com, Alcatel-Lucent has reached agreements with China Mobile, China Telecom (News - Alert) and China Unicom to provide network and application solutions, and integration and maintenance services. In addition, the company has reached a major agreement with Verizon Wireless. The agreements with the Chinese companies will be signed on Nov. 5, in Paris, during the visit of Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, and witnessed by the key government officials of the two countries.  

See article

Source: TMCnet.com

Submissions made as part of Industry Canada’s public consultation on foreign investment restrictions in the telecommunications sector are now online at www.ic.gc.ca /telecominvestment. The consultations were announced by the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, on June 11, and ran until July 30, 2010. The consultation paper is also posted on the site. It outlines the current restrictions, describes how Canada compares with other countries and presents the following three options for consideration: Increase the limit for direct foreign investment in broadcasting and telecommunications common carriers to 49 percent; Lift restrictions on telecommunications common carriers with a 10-percent market share or less, by revenue; or Remove telecommunications restrictions completely.

See press release
See comments
Source: Government of Canada

The EU is investing in the future of the Internet to ensure it will be able to support increasing demands from citizens, businesses and governments. The European Commission today made available €90 million under the Future Internet Public-Private Partnership. Researchers from all parts of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector can apply for funding for projects in 2011. This research will focus on innovative internet applications to make infrastructures like health systems, energy grids or traffic management systems 'smart'.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone  announced its intention to acquire a South African Dimension Data Holdings PLC for  $3.2 billions. The  acquisition is regarded as a part of its strategy for global expansion.The company expects to complete the acquisition by the end of October 2010. NTT will pay 120 pence for every share of Dimension Data.

See article

Source: CRWE Newswire

The European Court of Justice  has  issued its ruling that the Portuguese government’s so-called ‘golden share’ in  PTO Portugal Telecom (PT) constitutes a violation of European Union rules.  The Court of Justice dismissed Lisbon’s arguments seeking to retain its special rights for PT.

See Article
Source: TeleGeography

A stand-off between the Kenyan government and France Telekom has been resolved after three months of disputes. France Telecom, which purchased 51% of the previously state-owned Telkom Kenya threatened to withdraw its investment after a failure to trace certain assets that were in the books at the time of purchase. The shareholders said they will now focus on enhancing their partnership, in order to make the company a world-class player for the benefit of its customers and other stakeholders.

See Article
Source: TeleGeography

A draft decree allowing foreign investors to hold up to 30% of local telecoms companies will be submitted to the Vietnamese government. At present, foreign companies are only allowed to enter the telecoms market via business cooperation contracts, which sanction overseas operators to invest in a state-run enterprise and receive a share of its profits for between five and 15 years, but which leaves control with the state.

See Article
Source:TeteGeography

The government of Botswana reaffirmed its intention to privatise Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). Presidential affairs minister Lesego Motsumi told the process was delayed because the government had to carry out lengthy consultation activities with stakeholders in a bid to minimise risks and maximise benefits. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, the privatisation of BTC was first mooted in June 2006, with initial plans envisaging the sale of between 40% and 49% of the telco to a strategic investor and a 5% share to employees.

See Article
Source : Telegeography

Africa is set to receive a significant broadband boost with  France Telecom (FT)  signing a construction agreement with Alcatel-Lucent for the new Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable.  The vendor said its share of the 17,000km fibre-optic link is worth USD500 million and will connect West African countries to the global broadband network.  The ACE consortium is a newly formed group of 20 telecom operators. The ACE cable relies on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). With WDM, cable capacity can be increased without additional submarine work.

See Article

Source: TeleGeography

The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry,  announced the launch of a public consultation on foreign investment restrictions in the telecommunications sector.

“Our goal is to encourage investment, innovation and competition in the telecommunications sector for the benefit of both businesses and consumers,” said Minister Clement. “We look forward to receiving Canadians’ views on this important issue.” In the Speech from the Throne and Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth, the Government of Canada committed to opening Canada’s doors further to venture capital and to foreign investment in key sectors, including telecommunications, in order to attract new capital and to encourage innovation and competition. The consultation will run until July 30, 2010. The consultation paper outlines the current restrictions, describes how Canada compares with other countries and presents the following three options for consideration:

• Increase the limit for direct foreign investment in broadcasting and telecommunications common carriers to 49 percent;
• Lift restrictions on telecommunications common carriers with a 10-percent market share or less, by revenue; or
• Remove telecommunications restrictions completely.

See Press Release
See page of consultation
Source: Industry Canada

Dr. / Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology welcomed, the offer of "France Telecom" and "Orascom Telecom Holding"  in a meeting with the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the major basis for a new comprehensive agreement regarding the settlement of disputes between them on Mobinil in Egypt. The Minister noted that the Egyptian government is glad to see the continued partnership between the two prominent Egyptian and French partners in Mobinil, and that this was always consistent position of the Government throughout the conflict, the Minister added, coordination is in progress with the Minister of Investment Dr. / Mahmoud Mohi Eldin. France Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding presented today the outline of a new and comprehensive agreement on Mobinil and ECMS to the Egyptian Minister of Communications & Information Technology, Dr. Tarek Kamel. The agreement, which has been signed  and will be finalized over the coming weeks, will effectively bring to an end all disputes in relation to their joint investment in Mobinil. The two groups will continue their partnership on a renewed basis going forward, implementing a revised shareholder agreement but with no change to the existing ownership structure or their shareholders’ voting rights. This agreement will allow the two telecoms operators to contribute their respective know-how and added value to the successful and profitable development of Mobinil and ECMS, the country’s leading mobile operator.

See Press Release
Source: France Telecom

Congo-Brazaville complained that it had not been informed of Bharti Airtel's nine billion dollar-deal to buy Kuwaiti telco Zain's African assets.  This might contravene Zain's licence. Telecoms Minister, Thierry Moungalla, said the parties had 30 days to remedy the situation or face sanctions. A Bharti Airtel spokesman in New Delhi declined comment.  Bharti is currently in the process of getting regulatory approval for the accord.

See Press Coverage

(Source: Balancing Act)

Vodacom Group Ltd., the African cellphone network operator majority owned by Vodafone Group,  said it would begin arbitration  after failing to resolve a dispute with the minority shareholder in its Congo operation. The shareholders failed to reach agreement  on a number of issues, including capital restructuring to support the continued growth of the business.
Vodacom Congo, which began operations in 2002, is 51% owned by Vodacom and the remainder by Congo Wireless Networks. Vodacom said its relationship with CWN remained "dysfunctional," and that it would defend a threatened legal action by CWN to force Vodacom to invest further in the Congo operation.

See Press Release
Source :  Total Telecom

The Government of Canada has varied a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision regarding Globalive Wireless Management Corp., a Canadian-owned and controlled company. The variance is effective immediately so that Globalive can enter the wireless telecommunications market without delay. In varying the CRTC decision, the Government is not removing, reducing, bending or creating an exception to Canadian ownership and control requirements in the telecommunications and broadcasting industries. The Government’s decision to vary is specific to the facts of this case.

See Press Release
Source: Industry Canada

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission  determined that Globalive Wireless Management (Globalive) does not meet the Canadian ownership requirements set out in the Telecommunications Act. Under the legislation, a telecommunications company is only eligible to operate in Canada if it is not at any time owned and controlled, in law and in fact, by non-Canadians. Today’s decision follows a public process that included a public hearing, which was held on September 23, September 24 and October 1, 2009.

 

See Decision

Source: CRTC

Egyptian judges rejected France Telecom’s (FT’s) appeal against a ruling that declined its offer to acquire more shares in MobiNil.  Egypt’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) rejected three offers from FT claiming the bid price was too low.  Despite the rejection, the matter is not over as FT  plans to challenge this decision in the  Supreme Court.

See More

Source: Telegeography

Burundi plans to privatise its main state-owned telecoms company Onatel this year to make it more competitive, government officials. Onatel runs a landline network, GSM and Internet services. It launched its mobile phone service in 2004.

"The government's wish is that the entire process of privatising the company ends in December 2009," Transport and Telecommunications Minister Philippe Njoni told reporters.

He said the aim was to make Onatel more competitive against other operators within Burundi and across east Africa. "The best way to achieve this ambitious goal is to give more space to private investors in the company," he said, adding the authorities had yet to decide how much of the firm to offload.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact-africa

On 4 November 2008, PCCW, a public listed company, announced that its two major shareholders, PCRD (which is connected with Mr Richard Li) and Netcom Group (which is connected with a Mainland state-owned enterprise), were proposing to buyout the public shareholding, resulting in Mr. Li’s connected interests holding 66.67% of PCCW and Netcom Group holding the remaining 33.33%.  PCCW is a telecommunications carrier licensee, and on 26 November 2008, it submitted a formal application for the Authority’s prior consent to the Transaction further to section 7P of the Ordinance. Public consultation on the application ended on 15 December 2008. On 22 December 2008 the Authority consented to the Transaction pursuant to section 7P(7) of the Ordinance, on the basis that the Transaction would not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in a telecommunications market in Hong Kong. Further to the 23 December 2008 announcement this report sets out the full reasons why consent was granted.
See Report
Source: OFTA

rp20090121.pdf (58,66 KB)

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today that it will support the initial public offering of Onatel, Burkina Faso’s incumbent telecom operator. The IPO, which was launched on December 22, 2008 and will remain open January 31, 2009, is the first by a Burkinabe company. It will attract private investment to the country and develop domestic and regional capital markets. IFC plans to purchase up to a five percent stake in Onatel at the public offering price. The investment will come after IFC earlier this year committed a €7.5 million ($10.5 million equivalent) loan to support the upgrade of Onatel’s fixed and mobile networks. The investments are part of IFC’s commitment to help develop a competitive telecommunications market, increase connectivity, and improve business efficiency in Burkina Faso.  

See press release

Source: IFC

In the context of the telecommunications sector reform, the Government of the Republic of Mali has decided to privatize Sotelma (Société des télécommunications du Mali) under the financial advice of the investment bank Linkstone Capital. The privatisation strategy is as follows : A 51% stake will be sold to a Strategic Partner that meets the prequalification criteria;  19% stake will be sold in a public offer ; 10% of the share capital will be reserved for the employees of Sotelma. The Government will hold a 20% share.

See Press Release

Source: Portail du Gouvernement de la République du Mali

The International Finance Corporation will support the upgrade of the fixed and mobile infrastructure of Onatel, Burkina Faso’s sole telecoms operator. The investment is part of a broader effort to develop a competitive telecoms market, to increase connectivity and improve business opportunities. In December 2006 the government sold a 51%-stake of Onatel to Maroc Telecom and an additional 20% is set to be sold off. 

Source: TeleGeography

According to Telegeography, the overhaul of the Chinese telecoms market has begun. The government revealed that China Telecom is going to buy China Unicom's CDMA network, and that the remainder of Unicom is to be merged with China Netcom. China Mobile Communications Corp announced that it will acquire China Tietong Telecommunications Corp. Finally, China Telecom will assume the basic telecom services unit of China Satcom. Experts estimate the restructuring may take four to six months.

Source: Telegeography

Deutsche Telekom has brought its negotiations with the Greek government concerning an investment in the Greek telecommunications company OTE to a successful conclusion. The Chairman of Deutsche Telekom's Board of Management René Obermann said, "We look forward to working together as partners, with OTE and its em¬ployees benefiting as much as Deutsche Telekom. With its highly motivated employees, OTE has built up a strong position in its Greek home market, as well as in Southern and Southeastern Europe in recent years and will therefore be an important partner in the Deutsche Telekom Group."As a result of the talks, a shareholders' agreement has been signed between the Greek government and Deutsche Telekom, pursuant to which Deutsche Telekom will assume management control of OTE and fully consolidate the company. The Greek Inter-Ministerial Privatization Committee and the Supervi¬sory Board of Deutsche Telekom AG have given the agreement their approval. The agreement is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and the agreement of the Greek parliament.

See Press release

Source: Deutsche Telekom

The State Property Fund of Ukraine has submitted its warnings regarding the issue on the approval of the conditions as to the competition on the sale of 67,79% "Ukrtelecom" OJSC's shares to the cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.  The Fund declares that before the conditions of the competition are approved, several rather important issues which can negatively influence the object value or bring to the set of negative social consequences will have to be solved. The Fund considers that undermentioned issues require solution before the approval on the conditions of the competition as to the sale of "Ukrtelecom" OJSC's shares so it has submitted the respective letter to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Fund hopes for the constructive consideration of the stated problems and considered approach to the privatization procedure of such strategically important object from the Government side.

See Press Release
Source: State Property Fund, Ukraine

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today approved, subject to certain conditions, the purchase of BCE Inc.'s (BCE) broadcasting assets by a group that includes the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') and three American private-equity firms, Providence Equity Partners L.P., Madison Dearborn Capital Partners L.P. and Merrill Lynch Global Partners Inc.

See Press Release
Source: CRTC

The IPO gives residents of East Africa a chance to own a small piece of the largest company in East Africa. President Mwai Kibaki, while launching the sale invited residents of the East African Community to share in the purchase, saying it would provide an ideal medium of distributing wealth.

This is the second time Kenya has invited East Africans to its capital market after the simultaneous budget readings last year.

See Press Release
Source: allAfrica.com

The Ministry of Communications and IT on March 18th,2008 released a Request for Expressions of Interest (REI) in the sale of 80% of the shares (the ‘Privatization’) of Afghan Telecom Corporation. The details are posted in the Latest Tenders section of the web site. Interested Parties have until the 4th of April to submit their expressions of interest. This ambitious project aims at strengthening this promising telecommunications operator through the involvement of the private sector, and represents one of the most ambitious privatization projects in Afghanistan to date.

See Press Release
Source: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology - MCIT

Deutsche Telekom announces that it has entered into a purchase agreement with Marfin Investment Group (MIG) by which Deutsche Telekom will acquire all shares held by MIG in the Greek telecommunications company Hellenic Telecom (OTE), representing just under 20% of the ordinary share capital of OTE for €26 per share or approx. €2.5bn in total.The execution of this agreement is conditional upon Deutsche Telekom Supervisory Board approval as well as Deutsche Telekom entering into a shareholder agreement with the Greek government and attaining approval from the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for Deutsche Telekom to increase its stake in implementation of its strategic objectives. Deutsche Telekom expects to initiate discussions with the Greek government with the aim to reach agreement in the very near future.

See Press Release

Source: Deutsche Telekom

Con esta medida el Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones (OSIPTEL), impulsa la competencia en el servicio de Internet y reducirá en más de 90% el costo fijo mensual de los operadores que deseen competir con Telefónica del Perú a nivel nacional en el servicio de Internet mediante el uso de los circuitos virtuales ATM con acceso ADSL.

Con respecto a la medida que incentivará el acceso a Internet el Regulador de las Telecomunicaciones emitirá pronto una norma que logrará que se reduzca el precio mensual y el fijo que pagan los operadores por conectarse a la red de Telefónica. De esta manera, los operadores distintos de Telefónica podrán ofrecer a sus clientes un servicio con tarifas más competitivas.

See Press Release
Source: Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones - OSIPTEL

The symposium organized by WTO on 20-21 February 2008 in Geneva commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the 4^th Protocol of the GATS, more commonly known as the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA). The two day event highlights the transformation of telecommunications over the past decade and the regulatory challenges governments have faced. It also explores the broader implications for the ICT sector, trade, economic development and growth, and prospects for the future.

The ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré gave opening remarks at the first day of the symposium. Ms. Susan Schor of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division of ITU-BDT gave a presentation on 10 Years Regulatory Trends. Ms. Vanessa Gray from the Market Information and Statistics Division, ITU-BDT presented ICT Market Trends, which have swept the sector over the last decade. Dr. Tim Kelly from the Standardization Policy Division, ITU-TSB provided an overview of Past and future regulatory challenges and their relevance for trade negotiators.   

Source: WTO and ITU

Vietnamese military-owned mobile operator Viettel  received approval from the Vietnam government to invest USD83.77 million to build a telecom network in  Laos. Viettel is the only Vietnamese operator so far to have received permission to invest in Laos. Viettel also holds a GSM licence in Cambodia.

Source: Telegeography

According to Telegeography, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has approved a new plan to privatise fixed line former monopoly Ukrtelecom, the country’s only 3G mobile operator. The state intends to sell its 67.8% stake to an investor via a tender, whilst retaining a ‘blocking’ shareholding of 25% plus one share.

See more

Source: Telegeography

Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Management of State Property has sold  government’s 50% stake in wireless-in-the-local loop operator CATEL for AZN5 million (USD5.9 million).

Source: TeleGeography

Commissioner Sheridan Scott of Canada's Competition Bureau has recommended in a submission to the Competition Policy Review panel that restrictions on foreign investment in the Canadian telecoms industry should be ended. The Commissioner has recommended the total elimination of foreign ownership restrictions that currently limit foreign companies' ownership to 46.67% of voting equity. Report of the Panel will be awaited at the end of June, after  the  AWS spectrum auction, scheduled for 27 May 2008.

See Submission
Source : Industry Canada

commissioner_competition_bureau.pdf (173,7 KB)

According to Telegeography, Slovenia’s Economy Ministry said  that two bidders remained in the race for a 49.13% stake of incumbent telco Telekom Slovenije, after Deutsche Telekom’s Hungarian subsidiary Magyar Telekom was excluded from the auction. The two remaining suitors are Skipti (owner of Icelandic incumbent telco Siminn), and a three-way partnership of US equity house Bain Capital (which has branches in Europe and Asia), Germany’s Axos Capital and the Slovenian unit of BT Global Services, a division of the UK’s BT Group.

The state privatisation committee is expected to choose a winner by the end of the month. ‘

See More

Source: Telegeography

Telegeography reports that, according to the Financial Times, Latvia’s new government is considering scrapping the buy-out of fixed line incumbent Lattelecom by a consortium led by Blackstone Group and opening up the company’s privatisation to other bidders. Prime minister Ivars Godmanis’ cabinet is reported to be planning to discusss other options for the privatisation, including keeping a majority stake or selling to the highest bidder.

See More
Source: Telegeography

Syria's remaining locally owned mobile phone company could pass into foreign hands, with Turkish telecommunications firm Turkcell announcing it was making a bid for a majority stake in Syriatel. Turkcell formally declared its interest in buying at least a 51% holding in Syriatel. If Turkcell  achieve its objective, both of Syria's mobile telecommunications networks will be under foreign control. In June of last year, South African firm MTN paid $1bn to acquire Areeba, Syria's second operator, rebranding it as MTN Syria.

See Full article
Source : Oxford Business Group

Comstar has announced that it has a deal with Intel to launch Russia's first mobile WiMAX network. The IEEE 802.16e network on the 2.5-2.7GHz range will initially be launched in the Moscow region. Comstar's drive  is the latest development in a fiercely competitive fight for broadband supremacy in Russia in general and Moscow in particular. The imminent dawn of 3G mobile services in Moscow is likely to provide competition for Comstar's mobile WiMAX offering in 2008 and Comstar may explore the potential of WiMAX-enabled mobile VoIP, although the company has not yet mentioned any such plans.  

See article
Source: Reuters

See Press Release

Source: France Telecom Group

Vietnam will be accessible from the AT&T global network through collaboration with one of the leading local telecommunication carriers, Viettel Corporation. The collaboration with Viettel, sealed against the backdrop of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit 2006 in Hanoi, paves the way for AT&T to extend advanced information and communications support to its growing number of multinational enterprises customers with sites in Vietnam. AT&T currently serves customers with sites in Vietnam through interconnection agreements with domestic telecom carriers. Viettel will provide services within Vietnam, while AT&T will provide service outside Vietnam. However, through this collaboration, Viettel and AT&T will connect Vietnam into the AT&T Global network and offer multinational enterprise customers in the country advanced networking services through Viettel. Initial services will include Virtual Private Network and Frame Relay services. There are plans to add more services in the future.

See Press Release

Source : AT&T

The government of Niger granted  a fourth telecommunications licence to France Telecom for CFA 30 billion (48 million Euro). The French operator outbid Morocco Telecoms, which proposed CFA 13 billion (20 million Euro).

See more

Source : APA

At the Connect Africa summit, the GSM Association announced that the mobile industry plans to invest more than $50 billion* in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years to provide more than 90% of the population with mobile coverage. The investment will be used to extend the reach of GSM mobile networks, enhanced with GPRS, EDGE and HSPA technologies, to provide a rich suite of mobile multimedia services, including Internet access.

Since sub-Saharan governments began liberalising their telecommunication sectors at the turn of the millennium, the GSMA estimates that the mobile industry has invested $35 billion, providing more than 500 million people (67% of the population) in sub-Saharan Africa with mobile coverage. “This surge in investment by the mobile industry has changed the lives of millions of Africans, catalysing economic development and strengthening social ties,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA.

See full press release

Source: GMS Association

Two companies have qualified to bid for a 70 percent stake in Rwandatel, a state-owned fixed and mobile phone operator, a government official told Reuters on Thursday. They are Libya's LapGreen Network and South Africa's Vodacom, according to Manasseh Twahirwa, the executive secretary in Rwanda's privatisation unit.

"We are now going to invite each one of these two companies separately for negotiations on both their technical and financial offers," Twahirwa said. "There's need to harmonise their offers with our government's vision. It's from that stage that we will come up with an overall winner." 

Six companies, including Kuwaiti-owned Celtel and Jordan's V-Tel, had shown interest in the operator in the tiny central African country where cellular services have become an indispensable communication tool. In July, Rwanda bought back Rwandatel for $12 million having previously sold it to Terracom for $20 million, saying the new owners had failed to deliver on contractual obligations such as rolling out a new mobile network.

Source: Reuters

Orascom Telecom will bid for Egypt's second fixed line telephony licence, which the government plans to sell next year. Minister of Communications Tarek Kamel said in late June that Egypt would offer a licence to operate a second fixed line network, ending years of monopoly by state-dominated Telecom Egypt. Orascom also received a licence on Sunday to build a submarine network for international phone calls.

See more

Source: Telegeography

Geneva, 4 September 2007 — ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. In its 8th edition, Trends reports on the evolution of circuit-switched telecommunication into "next-generation" networks, as operators around the world fight to remain competitive. The Report aims at enabling regulators and policy-makers in developing countries to better understand the changes transforming the ICT sector so they can evolve their policy and regulatory frameworks to leverage today’s technological and market developments.

What does NGN mean for regulators? They have many choices to make. Some view NGN as the intersection of the telecom and Internet worlds. If so, which regulatory regime should apply? The current heavily-regulated telecom regulatory model? The lightly-regulated Internet model? Or some new hybrid model? The migration to NGN affords an opportunity for regulators to analyze current practices and revise them in light of what makes sense going forward. This Trends report offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of measures that are needed to ensure that regulation keeps pace with technological and market developments so that the best of NGN is available to all of the world’s people.

The ITU press release is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

More information about the content of the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

Mid-August 2007, Romania’s Minister of Communications and IT has requested report on the privatisation options for stakes in national telco RomTelecom and two other state service providers, Posta Romana and Radiocomunicatii, local newspaper Nine o' Clock reports. The government retains a 46% stake in RomTelecom,  Greece’s OTE wielding majority control.

See more

Source: Telegeography

Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) would launch a probe into the deal that saw US insurance giant AIG acquire 90% in Bulgaria's dominant fixed-line telecom BTC last week. "The investigation aims to identify the companies that were party to the deal and ownership of the shares prior to its announcement," the FSC said in a statement. The probe does not mean the commission intends to invalidate the deal, the regulator added.

See more

Source: Novonite

Rwanda’s government intends to sell as much as 70% Rwandatel. Three weeks ago, Rwanda’s government bought back Rwandatel for US$ 12 million, having sold it to private firm Terracom for $20 million. Terracom was forced to sell due to poor management and failing to deliver on contractual obligations, including the roll-out of a new mobile network.

"Privatisation Secretariat invites internationally recognised and reputable telecommunications operators or consortia to acquire the bidding documents and submit their bids for the acquisition of a majority stake up to 70 percent in Rwandatel/Terracom SA," the bid document said.

Interested bidders are to submit technical and financial proposals by September 5. Bidders are also required to have the financial resources necessary to implement a plan to boost telecommunications in Rwanda.


Source: Reuters - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

Benin’s telecommunications regulator, the Transitional Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRPT), will open the country’s GSM mobile sector to interested investors.

An ATRPT statement said the government is calling on all interested investors to apply for licenses to commence operations immediately. This step was taken as a result of the situation created by the July 12 suspension of the operating licenses of Areeba and Telecel. The operators say that they simply changed their names while the government has maintained that the transactions conducted by the two companies involved the unlawful sale of operating licenses. According to laws governing the telecommunications sector in the country, such a move must be sanctioned by the ATRPT.


Source: WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

América Móvil (NYSE: AMX) unit Claro Perú and digital trunking operator Nextel Perú have won mobile concession licenses after presenting offers on Friday (Jul 27), Peru's state agency for promoting private investment ProInversión said in a statement.

According to the report Claro picked up the B band license, equating to 835-845MHz, 880-890MHz, 846.5-849MHz and 891.5-894MHz spectrum blocks, for US$22.2mn, which was US$20,000 more than the minimum bid, a ProInversión official told BNamericas.

The D and E bands were awarded to Nextel Perú, owned by US mobile holding company NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD), for US27mn, which was US$1.5mn more than the minimum bid, the official said. The D band covers the 1,865-1,870MHz and 1,945-1,950MHz blocks, and the E band covers 1,882.5-1,895MHz and 1,962.5-1,975Mhz. Full Press Release

Source: Business News Americas

La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, CONATEL, en ejecución de las políticas de universalización del servicio de telefonía móvil que promueve el Ministerio del Poder Popular para las Telecomunicaciones y la Informática, las cuales propician el aumento de la penetración, la mejora en los niveles de calidad de los servicios y la comercialización justa de los mismos, inició los procedimientos de oferta pública de las bandas 1700, 1800 y 1900 MHz para servicios de telefonía móvil.

La oferta pública se realiza ante la necesidad de las operadoras móviles de ampliar su capacidad espectral en virtud del notable crecimiento experimentado por la telefonía móvil en los últimos años, y particularmente en el segundo trimestre de 2007, donde se incorporaron 1.572.413 nuevas líneas móviles. Full Press Release

Source: CONATEL, Venezuela

Costa Rican telecoms and IT chamber Camtic believes the highest priority in preparing the telecoms sector for liberalization is the creation of a suitable regulator, Camtic president Alexander Mora told BNamericas.

For the transition to a completely liberalized market to truly benefit consumers the changes that come have to go much further than just turning a state monopoly into a private monopoly, he said.

"The most important issue of the telecoms liberalization is the overall regulation... we need a regulator with teeth and claws," Mora said.

Source: Business News Americas

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Mexico's government IT promotion program, MexicoIT, has helped 10 Mexican companies find US outsourcing clients in under two years, Eduardo Ruiz, president of the country's electronics, telecom and IT association Canieti told BNamericas.

The program, which started in late 2005, has two objectives: to find foreign clients for Mexican IT companies and to attract foreign companies to set up operations in Mexico.

MexicoIT has helped Mexican IT companies establish relationships mainly with US and also some European customers, Ruiz said. The program, supported by the nation's economy ministry, is designed to boost Mexico's standing as an IT provider for other markets and an outsourcing location, taking advantage of the country's proximity to the US.

Canieti has promoted the program and plans to set up new Canieti offices in eight states between now and the end of 2008. The Canieti offices are important points of reference for company's interested in learning about MexicoIT, according to Ruiz.

"We want to include more states in this [program] and our organization has been able to capture their interest. If they want to be a part of it, they have to fulfill three requirements: have local government support; have a specific strategy; and establish alliances between the local government, academic institutions and industry," Ruiz Esparza said.

The states of Jalisco and Nuevo León are currently the main states of interest for foreign IT companies, however, in 2008 Canieti will be placing offices in the northern states of Coahuila, Sinaloa, Sonora and Chihuahua, as well as Aguas Calientes, Querétaro, Zacatecas and Yucatán.

"The Yucatán is close to Florida and can focus on the Miami market," he added.

BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER

Companies that have found clients through the program include Neoris, Softtek and Internacional de Sistemas, according to Ruiz.

"These are the three companies that have benefited most from the program. They all offer outsourcing of IT services and software development," he added.

In order to network and create such business ties across the US-Mexico border and in Europe, MexicoIT has held four events over the past year in Dallas, New York, Boston and Barcelona.

As an example of attracting new investments in Mexico, Ruiz points out that Indian IT firm Infosys Technologies (Nasdaq: INFY) decided to open its first Latin American offices in Monterrey due to the efforts of MexicoIT.

The software firm plans to employ 250-300 people at the new location with a view to increasing that to 900-1,000 within three years.

Ruiz believes the only obstacle that Mexican IT companies might face in the future is the limited source of certified engineers. As a remedy, both MexicoIT and the local governments are engaged in programs promoting IT studies and university-industry alliances.

Source: Business News Americas

Last Friday a high level delegation headed by his Excellency Minister Tarek Kamel minister of communications and information technology left Cairo on an official high level visit to Canada and the United States of America staying from the 9th till the 17th of June 2007.

The main purpose of this delegation is to further enhance areas of cooperation as well as to create a positive environment to increase foreign direct investment in Egypt especially in the Telecom sector.

Kamel is presiding the Canadian-Egyptian Business Council (CEBC) delegation that encompasses over 75 prominent Egyptian entrepreneurs, bank officials as well as top officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the Egyptian National Postal Organization (ENPO).

Dr Amr Badawi the Executive Director of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority will join the official mission as a member of the delegation. His presence in the delegation will add more value to its purposes as he will research further chances for mutual international cooperation in the area of regulation and new communication technologies. During his visit he will be conducting several meetings with a number of international companies such as Cisco and Intel- QUALACOMM.

Kamel and his accompanying delegation will explore venues of collaboration with the Canadian federal government in the area of ICT and technology development.  The minister’s schedule will include meetings with Canadian Parliamentary members, representatives of the Canadian ministries of Economic Development and Trade and Industry as well as key figures from multinational corporations with the objective of opening new markets in Egypt.

Kamel’s agenda includes holding meetings with the Egyptian expatriate community in Canada spread throughout three main Canadian cities namely Ottawa, the capital, Toronto considered the country’s largest city and Montreal in the Quebec province.  The Egyptian delegation aims at attracting investors interested in the field of ICT through opening collaboration venues in the activities of Nile University, one of Egypt’s promising academic institutions in the field of ICT.

Minister’s Kamel visit to the State likewise intends to highlight Egypt focal role in ICT investment which in turn indicates how the country could become a hub for ICT activities.  His Excellency is scheduled to hold talks with US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch  and US Assistant Secretary General for Internet Affairs Levy Grooth. 

The Egyptian Minister will also convene with U.S. Commercial Representative to discuss possibilities of liberalizing communications services. Another meeting  with World Bank’s representatives as well as 250 American businessmen will be convened in the context of the delegation’s meeting with members of American Chamber of Commerce. 
The meeting will include a brief on Egypt’s strategic position in providing offshore outsourcing services by AT Kearney Chairman Paul Laudicina. 

The mission will witness the inking of a number of cooperation agreements concerning Nile University, Telecom Egypt and a number of Egyptian companies operating in the ICT sector.

In the context of meetings convened with Egyptian expatriate community, Kamel and the accompanying delegation will be briefing the expats on the latest developments in Egypt’s ICT sector, besides presenting possible opportunities to invest in the sector, namely in the fields of Research and Development, Egyptian external labor markets, regulating frameworks for e-signature technology, Nile University and technology incubators project.

The mission is a byproduct of U.S. and Canadian growing interest to invest in Egypt’s promising ICT sector, together with the Egypt’s keenness to expand the scope of possible joint cooperation.

Source: NTRA

Pacific Century Group, an investment vehicle controlled by Richard Li, the chairman of Hong Kong’s incumbent fixed line telco PCCW, revealed last Thursday that it has joined a consortium led by US private equity group Cerberus which aims to launch a takeover bid for Canada’s largest telecoms group Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE). Pacific Century added in a statement that it offered to bring PCCW into the Cerberus group but the company declined. BCE, which provides fixed line services through Bell Canada and Bell Aliant, and nationwide mobile services as Bell Mobility, announced on 17 April that it was undergoing a strategic review which included looking at the possibility of a deal to take the firm private. It has also entered negotiations with a team formed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and US buyout specialist Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), and another consortium including the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and US equity firm Providence Equity Partners. Cerberus plans to launch a bid in partnership with a group of Canadian investors which is rumoured to include cableco Shaw Communications, CanWest Global Communications and the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan. BCE’s ownership is distributed, and its shares are listed in Canada, the USA and Europe; its largest single shareholder is the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (5.3%).

Source: TeleGeography

State-owned MobiFone, Vietnam's second-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, is seeking a foreign financial adviser to help its privatization, company Director Le Ngoc Minh said Wednesday.

"We will soon issue an official document to invite foreign companies to attend an international tender to provide consultation for our share-selling process in the coming months," Minh said.

Foreign companies have to send their applications to MobiFone by May 16, Minh told Dow Jones Newswires in Hanoi.

He gave no further details about the share sale. (…)

Source: cellular-news.com. 

�Ÿ Foreign equity limitation

Regarding limitations on shareholding by foreigners in facilities-based telecommunications service providers, Korea and the U.S. have agreed on maintaining the current 49% ceiling in direct investments, and allowing up to 100% in indirect investments by establishing a legal entity in Korea.

The Ministry of Information and Communication will conduct a public interest test on indirect investments, which will be permitted upon confirmation that the investment does not hinder national security. Relevant systems will be improved within two years after the date of entry of the agreement. However, KT and SKT are exceptions to this commitment, and thus investment limitation remains at 49%.

The U.S. limits foreign direct investment from telecommunications operators with radio stations to 20%, while indirect investment by establishing a legal entity in the U.S. is allowed up to 100%, once the investment passes the public interest test.

As a result of the KORUS FTA, both countries now have the same limitations on indirect investment. As for direct investment, the ceiling is 49% in Korea, compared to 20% in the U.S. for suppliers of telecommunications service with radio stations. However, balance has been achieved by making KT and SK Telecom exceptions in allowing up to 100% in indirect investment by foreigners.

�Ÿ Technical standard policies, IPTV, and convergence services

The existing framework for policies on technical standards will continue to be in place.
Initially, the U.S. requested that service providers be given flexibility in the choice of technology. Although Korea recognizes the need for flexibility, it also emphasized the need for policies on technical standards for public policy objectives. In the end, both sides came to acknowledge the government�fs authority to promote such policies, whilst agreeing to ensure a transparent and rational standard setting process, e.g., by giving various opportunities to foreign operators to convey their opinion on the matter.

As for IPTV, because the domestic regulatory framework is yet to be agreed on, it was comprehensively reserved for future measures. foreign ownership limitation, regulation on contents scheduling, and commercial presence obligation have all been comprehensively reserved... see http://www.mic.go.kr/index.jsp

New Zealand's Minister of Communications has released a consultation document on the operational separation of Telecom NZ. The focus of the document is the planned three-way split of Telecom NZ into network, wholesale and retail divisions. Comments are requested by April 27, 2007. A final determination will be released in June, after which Telecom will have 20 days to prepare a draft separation plan. The split is expected to take effect in September. For more information, see http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/ContentTopicSummary____26310.aspx  The consultation document can be found here:http://www.med.govt.nz/upload/45545/operational-separation-consultation-document.pdf

Background documents that informed the consultation document:
Review of Equivalence Models and Their Potential Application in New Zealand: Report for MED  [ Published 04 April 2007 ] This report clarifies the definitions and potential applications of equivalence in New Zealand, with particular reference to Ofcom's experience with BT in the UK.
Operational Separation: Establishment of a Separate Access Network Services Unit  [ Published 15 February 2007 ] This paper develops and describes a model for the Access Network Services business unit.
Investigation of the BT Separation Model: Report for MED  [ Published 15 December 2006 ] This report provides detailed information on the British Telecom separation model.
Six Degrees of Separation: Operational Separation as a Remedy in European Telecommunications Regulation  [ Published 01 October 2006 ] This paper identifies the problem which separation is intended to tackle, lists a number of possible variants, and discusses the experience in the UK.

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A preliminary information memorandum has been released on the privatization of Telkom Kenya to obtain preliminary feedback on the proposed transaction, and Expressions of Interest from potential investors. Once preliminary feedback from the market is collected, GoK will finalize the transaction structure and issue draft bidding documents, including a Request for Proposal (RFP), an addendum to the Memorandum with updated TKL information, and access to recent transaction due diligence reports on TKL carried out by consultants retained by IFC, covering technical, legal, environmental, human resources and strategic/market issues. An indicative timetable containing the key steps in the transaction is provided later in this report. The indicative bid date is currently estimated to be September 14, 2007, Bid Award on September 25, 2007 and Closing and handover on October 17, 2007. Source: Telkom Kenya, see http://www.telkom.co.ke/Telkom_Privatisation.pdf

It will acquire 51% of the share capital for a total consideration of $3.7 billion. Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel) announced today that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire a controlling shareholding in Kuwait based, National Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC (Wataniya). Wataniya is one of the leading MENA telecom operators with mobile operations in seven countries in the region. Qtel will acquire 51% of the share capital of Wataniya from Kuwait Projects Company Holding KSC (KIPCO) and other related parties as well as further and additional direct investments in its Algeria and Iraq operations for a total consideration of $3.7 billion. Commenting on the investment, His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of Qtel said: “This deal is undoubtedly the most significant in the region and totally changes the face of mobile telecommunications in this part of the world. This is yet another critically important move in our aim to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020. The markets we are entering with this investment are ones with which we are culturally familiar but more importantly, where we can bring our expertise to bring real growth opportunities. We are delighted with this deal and we look forward to concluding this transaction and developing our plan for the business.” Following the acquisition, Qtel will have an equity interest in operations in 11 countries in MENA and Asia. These operations are in Qatar, Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives and Palestine. The Palestinian operation will commence operation later this year. Qtel's other international interests are in Oman (Qtel subsidiary Nawras), Singapore (StarHub) and Indonesia (IndoSat) (through the recently announced deal with ST Telemedia). Qtel’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Nasser Marafih said: “This investment represents another major step forward in Qtel’s growth strategy in achieving our stated objective of growing a significant business outside Qatar. For over two years now, we have stated that we would look for growth beyond our home shores and today is proof positive not only of our determination to succeed but also of our ability to thrive in a demanding, challenging but eminently rewarding sector. Wataniya’s footprint complements our Asian market presence, which was established through our recent strategic alliance with Singapore-based ST Telemedia. Today's deal, also builds on our successful Nawras business in Oman and other investments in the region. Our success with Nawras, made us confident that we did have the skills and management expertise to develop business outside of Qatar. Now we have a well established business in Kuwait which we are confident is capable of further expansion and development. Wataniya's joint ventures in the five other countries in the region will also be a source of learning for us and at the same time, we will share our technical and management skills to help these businesses grow. The Wataniya business falls centrally within our sphere of influence and offers Qtel operational opportunities which it is uniquely positioned to develop. The acquisition meets all of Qtel’s financial investment criteria. We are looking forward to concluding this transaction and developing our plan for the business and working with Wataniya’s management team to enhance service offerings to customers and delivering the benefits which we believe they will yield.” Source: www.qtel.com.qa

Dans le cadre de la privatisation de la Société GABON TELECOM S.A et sa filiale LIBERTIS, la conclusion officielle de l'accord portant cession de 51% des actions du capital des deux entités à MAROC TELECOM est effective depuis le 09 Février 2007. GABON TELECOM S.A et LIBERTIS deviennent: GROUPE GABON TELECOM Le Groupe GABON TELECOM est dirigé par: - M. Thomas SOUAH, Président du Conseil d'Administration et - M. Mostapha LAARABI, Directeur Général

The Brazilian government's growth acceleration program (PAC) includes tax breaks to stimulate the national digital TV and semiconductor industries, Brazil's development, industry and foreign trade ministry said in a statement.

Under the program, digital TV and semiconductor producers will be exempt from PIS and Cofins social security taxes as well as IPI industrial tax and Cide tax.

The government introduced the PAC program on January 22 with a goal of encouraging 504bn reais (US$236bn) in public and private investment over the next four years. The measures are divided into five groups: infrastructure (transport, sanitation and housing), credit stimulation, institutional development, tax exemption and long-term fiscal measures.

Until this announcement Brazil's ICT industry players were unsure whether they would be included in the program, but the software and services exporters' association Brasscom was at ease, recently highlighting alternative plans for gaining government support.

By including digital TV in the PAC program the government aims to create conditions that will enable the industry to start commercial transmissions by December this year, news service Agência Estado reported.

The first digital TV set-top boxes should arrive on the shelves of shops in October, Estado reported a government technical specialist as saying.

The federal development bank BNDES is also studying options to provide a line of credit related to digital TV investments.

"This is in the final stage," newspaper Valor Econômico reported BNDES president Demian Fiocca as saying.

Source: Business News

 

Colombian municipally owned utilities company Emcali will have to search for a private strategic partner in order to stay competitive in the telecoms market, the government said in a statement.

The statement was based on an assessment by the public services regulator, which concluded that Emcali needs added capital not only to offer new services and develop new business, but also to prevent the further loss of value for its owner, the city of Cali. The company provides telecoms, potable water, sewage and electricity services to some 600,000 clients, but its telecoms services, which include fixed line local telephony and internet, need to be developed further, the regulator said.

State-run telcos, such as EPM and ETB, have been hard pressed to stay competitive with the entry of foreign players, such as Spain's Telefónica (NYSE: TEF). Telefónica acquired Colombia Telecomunicaciones, now Telefónica Telecom, in April 2006. EPM and ETB struggled to operate mobile carrier Ola and in August 2006 sold 50% plus one share of the unit to Luxemburg-based mobile holdings group Millicom International Cellular (Nasdaq: MICC) in August 2006 for US$479mn. Millicom has renamed Ola as Tigo.

Emcali is well established in Cali department, but is going to face heightened pressure as competitors with national coverage ramp up their presence in the region, José Otero, president of telecoms consultancy Signals Telecoms Consulting told BNamericas.

Mexico's Telmex (NYSE: TMX), which plans to deploy triple play services through cable operators, Telefónica Telecom and EPM's operations in the region all dim Emcali's prospects if it continues to go it alone.

Otero sees Emcali only being of interest to operators already on the ground in Colombia.

"I can identify three main companies that could be interested in Emcali: Telmex, Telefónica Telecom and EPM," he said.

Emcali recently received a departmental WiMax license, which could prove attractive, but the future partner will need to invest a great deal in Emcali's network to bring it up to speed. The offering would likely be similar to the situation with Ola, offering 50% plus one share, Otero said.

It could easily be a slow process, so Emcali would benefit from starting its search quickly, Otero added. See http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?idioma=I&sector=2&noticia=379327

Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel has called a halt to the auction of a GSM licence in the greater São Paulo area to review a bid made by local phone company Unicel do Brasil Telecomunicações, writes BNamericas citing local newspaper Valor Econômico. The regulator suspended the auction on 16 January to study documents presented by Unicel in accordance with the auction’s licensing rules. If the carrier’s bid is approved, Unicel will become the fourth player in the São Paulo market alongside Vivo, TIM Brasil and América Móvil’s Claro.

It is not the first time Unicel has tried to secure the concession. Previously it was the sole applicant for the permit in February 2006, but its application was refused after it refused to provide the minimum 10% guarantee on the BRL93.8 million (USD43.5 million) licence fee, opting instead to offer just 1%.

Source: Telegeography

All Bermudian ownership in telecommunications would be wiped out within a year, if Government’s proposals for the industry were to be implemented.
That is the view of one of a group of local internet service providers (ISPs) who met Environment, Telecommunications and E-Commerce (METEC) Minister Neletha Butterfield yesterday.
The ISPs are concerned that the abandonment of restrictions on overseas ownership in the telecommunications industry – suggested in a Government consultation document – could result in large foreign-owned companies seizing the entire market.
If they become policy, the changes will also loosen licensing restrictions to allow companies to offer a full range of services.
METEC’s stated aim is to encourage competition and lower prices, but the local ISPs argue that the result will be the opposite.
North Rock Communications believe that the proposals would bring a return to the “bad old days” of duopoly and high prices.
And Fort Knox chief executive officer Troy Symonds had a dire warning.
“Our view remains that if this proposal is implemented the result would be to eliminate all Bermudian ownership and investment in the local telecommunications industry, and to do it within a twelve-month period,” Mr. Symonds said.
“It would hand over all of the industry to those who can invest the most within the shortest time period. It is clear that Bermudian-owned companies have started and prospered in recent years with support and encouragement from the current Government.
“However they have not yet had the opportunity to amass sufficient capital to compete with legendary foreign industry giants. Implementation of this proposal at this time would eliminate the Bermudian-owned companies.”
Mr. Symonds implied he was disappointed with the result of the consultation process, which involved discussions between Government officials and the industry over the past five months. See for more detail http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070118/BUSINESS/101180148

The government of Botswana has embarked on the first stage of its plan to partly privatise Botswana Telecommunications Corporation by requesting expressions of interest for advisory services. Joshua Galeforolwe, CEO of the country’s Public Enterprise Evaluation and Privatisation Agency, told Engineering News Online that the closing date for applications for the advisory service role is 15 January, and that the government hoped to select a strategic equity partner to take control of between 40% and 49% of the telco by the end of 2007.

Source: Telegeography

Over the Christmas holiday French media conglomerate Vivendi has headed south into Sub-Saharan Africa with the purchase of Onatel by its North African subsidiary Maroc Telecom. Maroc Telecom paid US$290 million for 51% of Burkina Faso’s fixed line and mobile operator Onatel. The rest of Onatel is owned by: the Government (23%), staff (6%) and others (20%). Onatel has 100,000 fixed line subscribers and and its mobile subsidiary Telmob 400,000 mobile customers (around 40% of the country’s mobile market). Burkina Faso had only a 0.8% fixed line teledensity and 8% mobile penetration at the end of 2006.
Source: Balancing Act, issue n°337.

The Malaysian government has granted Telenor an extra year to cut its 61% stake in mobile operator DiGi Telecommunications to comply with foreign direct investment (FDI) legislation. The Norwegian group has until 31 December 2007 to reduce its stake to less than 49%. It must also increase the DiGi equity held by the investors from the country’s indigenous ethnic population from 10% to 30%.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, DiGi entered the Malaysian telecoms market in May 1995. Originally known as Mutiara Telecommunications, it changed its name to DiGi in January 1999 and Norway's Telenor took a 30% stake in the company at the end of that year. After gradually upping its holding until it reached a level where a general offer could be made, in September 2001 Telenor increased its direct ownership to 61%. At the time of the deal, Malaysia's Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) gave Telenor a five-year waiver from the country's standard 49% FDI limit. Telenor spent much of 2006 attempting to negotiate a further year extension on the waiver, leading many to speculate that it would look to seal a long-rumoured tie-up between DiGi and fixed line operator TIME dotCom, reducing its stake to a permitted level in the process.

Source: Telegeography

Taiwan's flat-panel display (FPD) industry is expected to add three 7.5G plants and one 8G plant to volume production of TFT LCD panels by 2009, according to Shih Yen-Shiang, vice minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) will invest NT$400 billion (about US$12.4 billion) to build 7.5-generation (7.5G) and higher-generation TFT LCD plants by 2009, Shih said.

AUO's 7.5G plant, located in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) in Taichung, is scheduled to begin volume production, with a monthly capacity to process 10,000 substrates, by the end of 2006, AUO stated in early August, adding the plant is expected to reach full capacity of 60,000 units per month in the future.

CMO will begin first-stage equipment installation at its 7.5G plant in the fourth quarter of 2006, with volume production to commence in the second quarter of 2007, according to CMO.

CMO also plans to finish construction of an 8G plant by 2007, and volume production will kick off in 2008, according to the Kaohsiung Science Park (KSP) administration.

Taiwan's FPD industry will see investments of NT$337.3 billion in 2006, Shih indicated.

Regarding investments in front-end panel production in China, Shih emphasized the government has lifted a ban on companies that wish to invest in LCD module (LCM) and small-size (4 inches and below) panel cell process (mid-range) production in China. Currently, Taiwan-based panel makers have no urgent need to invest in front-end production in China, and it takes time for China's panel-industry supply chain to mature, he added.

Nevertheless, the government will keep grinding its policy on China-bound investments for Taiwan-based panel makers, adjusting it according to Taiwan's FPD industry development.

For industry mergers, Shih stressed that the government will not actively promote any mergers among Taiwan-based panel makers. See http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20061208PD211.html

Serbian state telecommunications company Telekom Serbia has bought Bosnian sister company Telekom Srpske for 646 million euros, the government of prime minister Vojislav Kostunica announced on Tuesday. Telekom Srpske has close to a million subscribers in its mobile and fixed telephony and recorded a net profit of 40 million euros last year. It is the main telecommunications operator in the Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska, but also has subscribers in the Muslim-Croat federation.

Apart from Telekom Serbia, the other bidder was Telekom Austria, which offered 476 million euros for 65 per cent of shares put up for tender. 

Telekom Serbia was founded in 1997 and is 80 per cent owned by the state and 20 per cent by Greek OTE. Initially, the Italian state telecommunications holding bought 29 per cent of shares, but later pulled out of the deal and sold it back to the state of Serbia for just 195 million euros.

With the acquisition of Telekom Srpske, Telekom Serbia is for the first time expanding its operations outside the country. Its profit last year was slightly below 35 million euros.

Source: AKI - adnkronosinternational.

Greek Finance Minister Giorgios Alogoskoufis said yesterday that the privatisation of national telco Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) will be a priority for the government in 2007. He told a conference: ‘For the next few months our basic priority is the privatisation of OTE and the search for a strategic investor for the organisation so that it is able to address both the economic and technological challenges of the future from a stronger position.’ Responding to a report in newspaper Vima On Sunday, quoting himself, that the government is planning to sell a 20% stake in OTE, Alogoskoufis said that no specific target has in fact been set. ‘We have not set a specific percentage,’ he said, adding that the 20% referred to in the press was an approximate amount. The state owns a 38.7% stake in OTE, and hopes to complete a partial stake sale by June next year as part of its EUR1.7 billion privatisation programme. Egypt’s Weather Investments has shown interest, whilst Deutsche Telekom, Telekom Austria, Russia's Sistema and a number of private equity houses are amongst the potential bidders.

Source: Telegeography

Chief of the State Property Fund Valentyna Semeniuk believes privatization of state enterprises, including the "UkrTelecom", the Odesa Port Works and the "TurboAtom" is inexpedient. This was disclosed by Valentyna Semeniuk live on Radio "Era", to comment the President's statements while his meeting with industrialists and entrepreneurs. These are profitable objects and they should contribute into development of Ukraine, Valentyna Semeniuk said. She also noted that the current state of the foreign market is not favorable, as prices for its shares have decreased. The enterprises are likely to be purchased by foreign companies. Before such an acquisition, a bill should be passed on prohibition of privatization of Ukrainian enterprises by foreign companies. According to Valentyna Semeniuk, the "UkrTelecom's" privatization is lobbied by certain business groups, which work into deliberate slash of enterprise's value. Bankruptcy of the "UkrTelecom" was initiated deliberately, in order to purchase it for a cheap price, Valentyna Semeniuk said. In 2005 the "UkrTelecom" paid 750 M UAH sanctions and 700 M. UAH dividends. This witnesses foreign companies bids to buy the "UkrTelecom", Valentyna Semeniuk stressed. [...]

 Source: Government Portal (Ukraine).

Denmark is helping with a fibre-optic deployment in Mozambique, signing an agreement for a EUR15 million grant to help finance the second phase of the country’s National Fibre-Optic Transmission Network. Mozambique’s Agencia de Informaçao reports that the rollout will begin in April or May 2007 and will connect the northern cities of Cuamba, Lichinga, Nampula and Pemba, and will also include a link between the central cities of Chimoio, Tete and Caia. The deployment is being carried out by national PTO Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM).

Source: Telegeography

Moldovan regulator the National Agency for Regulations of Telecommunications and Information has announced that the closing date for bids for the country’s third GSM licence will be 20 December 2006. The fee for the concession, which will cover the whole of Moldova and will be valid for 15 years, has already been set at USD8 million. Both domestic and foreign firms are invited to participate in the tender, which will take place in two stages.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, two cellcos, Voxtel and Moldcell, already operate in the country, serving 1.1million subscribers between them at June 2006. A third operator, Moldtelecom, was issued with a CDMA licence in June, and intends to launch services by the end of the year.

Source: Telegeography

Armenia’s national PTO ArmenTel has signed a contract with ZTE of China for the supply of the country’s first DSL broadband network, writes Telecompaper. In August this year ArmenTel selected ZTE to build it a CDMA450 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) network to complement its existing fixed line infrastructure, providing coverage in areas not presently served by the telco’s PSTN.

According to TeleGeography's GlobalComms database, ArmenTel was established in March 1995 as a joint venture between the Ministry of Communications and US-owned Trans World Telecom. In 1997 the MTC launched the privatisation of the telco, and at the end of that year Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) won an international tender, paying USD143 million for a 90% stake in ArmenTel in March 1998. OTE has been looking to offload its holding however, and in October 2006 UAE-based operator Etisalat was reported to have won the tender for the stake, although it has since denied this.
Source: Telegeography

Telecom New Zealand has reportedly put Australia's third largest telco, AAPT, back up for sale despite failing to find a suitable buyer for the business earlier this year. According to The Australian, Telecom is believed to be in talks to sell AAPT’s consumer fixed line business to the SP Telemedia group whilst also considering a tie-up with broadband provider PowerTel. The New Zealand group is expected to retain AAPT’s profitable corporate services unit.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Telecom bought AAPT in 1999 for about AUD2.3 billion (USD1.77 billion), but in February 2006 it drastically reduced its book value to AUD628 million, following a review of the company's performance and assessment of its future prospects.

Source: Telegeography

The Australian government has sold AUD4 billion (USD3 billion) of shares in fixed line incumbent Telstra in the first stage of its planed sell-off of a third of its stake in the company. The government allocated half of the total 2.2 billion Telstra shares being offered to the financial community, and Finance Minister Nick Minchin said 1.1 billion shares were sold to brokers and financial planners who applied for the allocation on behalf of their clients. The other 1.1 billion shares will be sold to retail and institutional investors, with the offer open from today until 9 November. The shares are scheduled to make their debut on the Australian Stock Exchange on 20 November.

Source: Telegeography

Iran’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (MCIT) has confirmed that Irancell has finally launched its first services. The Gulf Times quotes ministry official Masoud Fateh, who said: ‘Distribution of 300,000 SIM cards by Irancell, the first private operator, has started in the cities of Tehran, Mashhad (northeast) and Tabriz (northwest) under the first phase.’ The cellco, which is 49%-owned by MTN of South Africa, was originally due to launch last year and now plans to have operations in 50 cities by the end of the first quarter of 2007.

Source: Telegeography

BNamericas, quoting Honduras daily La Prensa, reports that a bill to modify the country’s telecoms law is ready for submission to Congress. The changes include the partial privatisation of state-run incumbent telco Hondutel, to strengthen its position in a recently liberalised market. The incumbent, which according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database had 465,000 subscribers when the market was liberalised at the end of 2005, is also the subject of recommendations to be made next week by the World Bank, as part of its four-year plan for the Honduran economy.

Source: Telegeography

BNamericas, quoting Honduras daily La Prensa, reports that a bill to modify the country’s telecoms law is ready for submission to Congress. The changes include the partial privatisation of state-run incumbent telco Hondutel, to strengthen its position in a recently liberalised market. The incumbent, which according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database had 465,000 subscribers when the market was liberalised at the end of 2005, is also the subject of recommendations to be made next week by the World Bank, as part of its four-year plan for the Honduran economy.

Source: Telegeography

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has approved a Telecom Italia (TI) proposal to relinquish its rights to vote and veto in mobile operator Brasil Telecom Participacoes (BrT) as a means of undoing overlapping interests in the local wireless market. TI has also proposed to place its stake in BrT in blind trust, writes Dow Jones Newswires, after the regulator informed it to resolve an ownership overlap issue between TIM Participacoes, its Brazilian mobile unit, and BrT, which also offers mobile services, by 28 October. The Italian telco has a 38% stake in Solpart Participacoes, which controls Brasil Telecom. TI plans to transfer its stake in Solpart to a company called Brasilco, which will be administered by Credit Suisse Securities. Anatel’s approval is the final hurdle for the operation to go ahead.

Source: Telegeography

The Australian government has released the prospectus for the sale of one-third of its 51.8% controlling stake in Telstra. The sale is worth an estimated AUD8 billion (USD6 billion) and is the largest offering in a telco since a France Télécom share offer in 2004. The shares – to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 20 November – will be sold in two stages, the first being at AUD2 a share, and the second in May 2008 at a price that will be determined in an institutional offer to close on 17 November.

Source: Telegeography

Twenty-nine foreign companies have filed applications for licences to run value-added telecoms services in China, according to China Daily reports citing a ministry official. The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) issued a circular on 13 July this year, requiring all foreign companies operating value-added telecoms services to apply for licences, as many of them were running services without the proper paperwork. Wang Jianchao, head of the division of foreign economic and trade cooperation with the Department of Overall Planning under the MII, said that since July, 29 companies had applied for licences. Five companies, including MSN China, were successful; Wang added that another 14 firms had passed reviews.

Source: Global Insight.

The Transport and Communications Ministry is planning to open a tender next month for a rural telephony licence. The winner is expected to be announced by the end of this year and will be able to deploy infrastructure by January 2007. The licence tender is part of the government's rural broadband service implementation programme. The winner will also be required to train a minimum of 56,800 people in new technologies to help them administer the services.

Source: Global Insight.

Kenya’s government says it expects to have sold a further 9% stake in mobile operator Safaricom before April 2007. The government has a 60% interest in Safaricom which is held via the state-owned fixed line operator Telkom Kenya. It is selling off a 9% share in order to raise funds to help with Telkom’s restructuring. Nairobi-based newspaper The Nation reports that the government plans to split Telkom and Safaricom and then launch a privatisation of the country’s monopoly wireline provider. The remaining 40% of Safaricom is currently held by Vodafone, and the UK group has pre-emptive rights over any shares offered for sale. Safaricom had almost four million subscribers and two-thirds of Kenya’s mobile market at the end of March, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database.

Source: Telegeography

US-based Providence Equity Partners is in talks to acquire a third of India's Idea Cellular from Aditya Birla Group for more than INR30 billion (USD650 million), according to the Business Standard. Birla has been looking to offload 33.33% of Idea since acquiring Tata Group’s 48.14% stake in the cellco for USD969 million, raising its own indirect holding to 98.3%. Idea declined to comment on the story.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Idea launched GSM services in Gujurat in January 1997. Originally known as Birla Tata AT&T Communications after its three major investors, the cellco was renamed Idea in May 2002. Cingular Wireless of the US acquired a stake via its takeover of AT&T Wireless in late 2004 and put it up for sale. In November Telekom Malaysia and Singapore Technologies Telemedia (ST Telemedia) agreed to buy the shares, but the deal was spiked by the Indian government, citing infringements of regional cross-holding regulations. Finally, in July 2005, after months of negotiations, existing Idea shareholders Tata Group and Aditya Birla Group agreed to buy equal parts of Cingular's 32.91% stake for a total of USD300 million. The deal brought Tata’s holding in Idea to a little over 48% and Birla's to just over 50%, and included the provision for Birla to take the entire stake if Tata fell foul of the same regulations that halted the Singapore-Malaysian buyout bid due to its existing telecoms interests. Idea currently operates in nine of India’s 23 telecoms circles and is the fifth largest operator by subscribers.

Source: Telegeography

Zimbabwean state-run fixed line operator TelOne is looking for foreign strategic partners to fund investment in infrastructure. ‘We are looking mainly at foreigners for the alliances, as they will bring in foreign currency through equity investments which we need for our equipment and other day-to-day running of TelOne,’ said the company's chief executive officer, Wellington Makamure. TelOne is currently deploying CDMA technology to expand its services throughout the country, at a cost of at least USD15 million. Last month the telco announced it had earmarked USD46 million for network expansion in the border town of Beitbridge, with USD22 million for civil works and USD24 million to purchase copper cables; the expansion is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Source: Telegeography

Syria’s telecoms minister Amr Salem claims that the country has embarked on expansion plans for its telecoms networks to bring them up to speed after decades of underinvestment. There are currently two million fixed lines in service with a further two million people on the waiting list for a land line. Salem said a draft commerce law would make it easier for businesses to invest in the telecom sector, before adding that an independent regulator would be created. Also planned is a USD200 million project that is expected to increase the number of broadband subscribers from 10,000 today to a million by the end of 2007. Dial-up customers, currently standing at 350,000, will also receive better service. The overall cost of the network expansion is expected to be USD1 billion.

Source: Telegeography

Digital trunking provider Nextel Argentina has signed a preliminary deal to buy local broadband operator VeloCom, BNamericas reports. The deal has yet to be approved the regulator CNC. VeloCom, which launched commercial operations earlier this year in Cordoba, specialises in WiMAX technology. Nextel’s intentions are believed to be similar to those of Mexican giant Telmex, which last week signed a deal to buy another Argentine WiMAX specialist, Ertach.

Source: Telegeography

State-owned Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá SA (ETB) and public utility Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) are expected to announce the winner of a tender for a 50% plus one share stake in their Colombian wireless joint venture Ola tomorrow. Ola, Colombia's third-largest mobile telephone operator with 2.5 million subscribers at mid-2006, has spent just over USD650 million building out its infrastructure since it began operations in November 2003. Three firms are shortlisted from nine initial expressions of interest: Irish-owned Digicel, Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular (MIC) and Chile’s Entel.

Source: Telegeography

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced that the government will sell around a third of its remaining 51.8% in incumbent operator Telstra to retail and institutional investors in an AUD8 billion (USD6.1 billion) public offering. The state decided against offering its entire stake because Telstra’s share price of AUD3.50 is at a nine-year low. The government’s remaining shares, equal to around 30% of the company, will be held in a state pension fund for at least two further years. Existing Telstra shareholders will reportedly be offered preferential terms to buy into the sale, according to the Financial Times quoting bankers working on the offering. UBS, Goldman Sachs JBWere and ABN Amro Rothschild have been named joint global co-ordinators for the sale.

Source: Telegeography

The government of Ghana has approved the privatisation of Ghana Telecom, the ministry of communications announced. An advisor has been appointed to lead the process, which is expected to include a stock listing for the company and capital-raising to help expand its operations. The government owns 100 percent of Ghana Telecom, although the company is under a Norwegian management contract which ends this year. Ghana Telecom hopes to expand its broadband service launched early this year, with currently has 4,000 subscribers and is expected to reach 10,000 by year-end. The mobile unit One-Touch aims to reach 1 million customers by the end of the year, versus around 700,000 currently.

Source: Wireless Federation.

The Nigerian Federal Government last week sold 75 per cent of national carrier, Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, MTel to Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) for $750 million (N1.1 billion) through negotiated sale process. Source: Balancing Act (Issue No 313)

France Telecom announced today the signature of an agreement with the Jordanian Government in Amman for the acquisition of 10% plus one share in the capital of Jordan Telecom, for a total of 129 million Jordanian dinars, representing approximately 145 million euros. This acquisition will be made through JITCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of France Telecom, which has already held a 40% stake in Jordan Telecom since January 2000. Following this transaction, which is expected to be finalized by the beginning of July 2006, France Telecom will hold a majority interest in Jordan Telecom as well as an option to purchase a further 1% in Jordan Telecom's capital, for a maximum amount of 12,9 million dinars representing approximately 14,5 million euros.

Source: France Telecom (Press Release, 30 June 2006)

AUSTRALIA'S government may have to dramatically reshape its long-planned A$24 billion (US$17.56 billion) privatization of Telstra Corp. later this year, because of an uncertain regulatory environment and wary investors. Prime Minister John Howard is acutely aware that his government can't afford the political backlash if the Telstra sale bombs. His conservative coalition will head to the polls sometime next year. With Telstra shares at roughly half of where they were at the last sale, while the company's investment plans are in limbo and the outlook for the telecommunications industry seems increasingly grim, officials are scrambling for ways to make the sale come off without big problems. (...)

Source: The Wall Street Journal Asia.

The government of the Russian republic of Sakha is ready to sell its 100% stake in incumbent telecoms operator Sakhatelecom, according to press reports. The regional government recently attempted to auction a 51% stake for around 2.8 billion roubles (US$100.9 million), but failed to attract any bids. Consequently, the entire stake is now likely to be put up for sale, for around 4.5 billion roubles.

Source: Global Insight.

Austria's state privatisation agency, Oesterreichische Industrieholding AG (OIAG), said in a statement on Friday (23 June) that it had reduced its stake in Telekom Austria from 30.2% to 25.4%. Dow Jones reports that of the 325 million euro (US$408.45 million) of bonds issued in 2003, which were exchangeable for 25 million Telekom Austria shares, around 24 million shares were exchanged on 14 June. OIAG said that it plans to sell the remaining 1 million shares on the stock exchange, further reducing its stake to 25.2%.

Source: Global Insight.

The government of Botswana announced its decision to further liberalize the telecom industry in order to increase competition with enhanced quality of service at reduced costs. The following measures will be instituted: - lift the restriction on the provision of VoIP by value-added network service providers (Aug. 2006); - mobile operators start self providing (transmission links) (Aug 2006); - current fixed line and cellular operators may apply for service-neutral licenses (Sept. 2006); - new entrants may tender for service-neutral rural/district level licenses (Sept. 2006) - liberalization of the international voice gateway (Oct. 2006) - BTC attains a satisfactory level of tariff rebalancing (Dec. 2007) - new entrants may tender for service-neutral national licenses (Dec. 2009) A decision has also been taken to privatize Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). This will be done by selling off a portion of about 40% of the equity to a strategic equity partner, 5% of the shares would be allotted to citizen employees of BTC, another portion of shares in a privatization trust fund (15-20%), and 25-30% would be retained for a future stock market listing.

Source: Press statement by Minister of Communications, Science and Technology

Albanian Economy Minister Genc Ruli has revealed that the privatisation of up to 80% of Albtelecom will begin by the end of 2006; the shares will placed on the market through an international tender. The move signals a change of direction from the Albanian government, and follows a failed takeover of the company last year. Calik Eneriji Telekom, a joint venture between a Turkish power utility company and Turk Telekom, agreed to pay USD144 million for a 76% stake, only for the sale to be cancelled in October 2005 when the government claimed the process was against national legislation and not in the interest of the country. Source: TeleGeography.

Uganda's Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications has issued new guidelines to bring the duopoly of MTN Uganda and Uganda Telecom to an end. John Nasasira, the relevant minister, told reporters that other operators would be allowed to apply for licences to provide the whole range of telecommunications services such as VoIP, long-distance services, and international gateway services. The government is particularly keen on operators investing in the internet backbone infrastructure to bring such connectivity to a greater part of the country.

The new regulations should allow, amongst other things, Uganda's third mobile operator Celtel to broaden the range of services, including internet, it offers to end-users. The government has also indicated that it will offer a fourth mobile licence and a unified licence. Source: Global Insight.

Arab News reports that Saudi Arabia plans to issue one or more fixed-line and mobile licences by the end of 2006. According to Ibrahim A. Kadi, a senior advisor to the CITC, the telecoms regulator, a schedule for the issuance of licences has been prepared. A number of public consultations on general policy issues, as well as licensing criteria, have yet to be finalised, but the CITC plans to publish the schedule and invite applications in the second half of 2006. The CITC aims to evaluate the licences in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Although the Saudi government has expressed a general intention to liberalise the telecoms sector, it has yet to publish specific details. Currently the market has two mobile players, the fixed-line incumbent STC and the Etisalat-owned Mobily, which launched commercial services in May last year. The country's fixed voice segment is monopolised by STC. Given that the CITC is said to be investing international experience in the licensing process, it appears likely that Saudi Arabia will consider issuing unified licences as a way of stimulating investment in the fixed-line sector.

Source: Global Insight.

Nigeria's telecoms regulator has awarded so-called ‘unified’ telecoms licences to four local telcos, under a new system designed to further open up the sector to competition. According to a statement by the Nigerian Communications Commission it has awarded the unified licences to Multilinks, Starcomms, Intercellular, Prest Cable and Satellite Communications. The four operators will each pay NGN260 million (USD2.11 million) for the ten-year licences.

The unified licence system was introduced in February 2006 at the end of a five-year exclusivity deal given to GSM firms to operate nationwide mobile networks for which they paid $285 million. Under the new regime, operators providing CDMA services, which were previously limited by their concessions to operating in specific geographic areas, will be able to offer roaming facilities across regions. The new licences were introduced despite fierce opposition by the GSM companies, who had wanted to protect their shared exclusivity. Source: TeleGeography.

América Móvil (CTI Móvil) and Telmex Argentina, both owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, are planning to invest US$75 million in 2006-2008, in order to deploy their own fibre-optic network, according to reports from Latin America News Digest. The fibre-optic network is part of both companies’ budget investment.

Global Insight believes that both operators are focusing on increasing their data services. In addition, in order to reduce operational costs and become a full telecoms provider, they have decided to build their own fibre-optic network. Meanwhile, Telmex Argentina had 400,000 customers at the end of the first quarter of 2006, while CTI Móvil had 15.9 million mobile customers.

Source: Global Insight.

The Macedonian government is planning to dispose of its remaining 45.1% stake in the country's fixed-line incumbent Maktel at the beginning of July this year. The sale will involve listing Maktel's share on the stock market. The IPO (initial public offering) could amount to 275 million euro (US$354.4 million).

Maktel is currently 51%-owned by Hungarian incumbent Magyar Telekom, part of Deutsche Telekom Group. The Macedonian government, which currently controls 47.1% of the operator plus one golden share, will retain a 2% stake. The World Bank's private investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), currently owns the remaining 1.9%. The country's telecoms market was liberalised in February 2005, but Maktel still has a monopoly in the fixed-line sector.

Source: Global Insight.

The government of Honduras is looking to privatise its state-run national telecoms operator Hondutel, and to that end hopes to attract an international partner to take a strategic interest in the venture, according to Reuters quoting the country’s finance minister Hugo No. The government hopes such a move would increase Hondutel’s competitiveness in the newly-liberalised telecoms market. The Honduran authorities attempted to privatise Hondutel in 2001, but at the time, received just one offer of USD106 million for the 51% stake, from Telmex, which was rejected as too low. This time around, the government is offering slightly less of the company to potential investors. ‘We're looking for an international strategic partner, but a minority one, so that the government will maintain control of a majority of [Hondutel's] shares,’ said No. Source: TeleGeography.

The government of Macedonia plans to sell a 45.1% stake in national fixed line operator Makedonski Telekomunikacii (MT) on the local stock exchange and hopes to raise EUR275 million (USD346.7 million) in the process. The state will offer four different share price packages targeted at financial investors and individual buyers. The initial price of one share will be EUR6.35, valuing MT at EUR609 million. Although the government plans to retain a shareholding in the operator it is reducing its interest to concentrate on its primary task of regulating the market and nurturing competition. Source: TeleGeography.