Africa & Middle East Telecom weekly news

December 27th 2007 to January 3rd 2008

AFGHANISTAN:
Gul Ahmad Khan appointed as new Afghan Telecom CEO 

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST:
MENA telecom operators forecast to adopt infrastructure sharing 

ALGERIA:
New numbering plan to be operational from 22 February ’08 

BAHRAIN:
MPs discourage Batelco’s retirement plan 

BOTSWANA:
BTC on course for privatisation 

EGYPT:
Raya seeks second Egyptian fixed-line licence 

IRAN:
MTS to set up fourth mobile network 

ISRAEL:
Bezeq ends contract with Nortel
Sheba Medical Center selects 012 Smile.Communications for WiFi deployment 

KENYA:
Morgan Stanley values Safaricom at USD 3.45 billion 

KUWAIT:
MOC to reduce international call tariffs by 20 percent 

OMAN:
Wittkemper added to Omantel’s board 

QATAR:
Qtel considering participation in Lebanon telecom auction
Qtel’s yearly subscription offer hits the mark 

SAUDI ARABIA:
Mobily extends benefits of yearly post-paid subscription 

TANZANIA:
TCRA sets January end deadline for mobile carriers 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Etisalat introduces new broadband package 

ZAMBIA:
Cell Z forges ahead; outlines new plans
Zamtel to invest ZMK 5 billion in service upgrade