Africa & Middle East Telecom weekly news

January 29th to February 05th 2009

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST:
Bintel outlines investment of USD 250 million for expansion in Africa

ALGERIA:
ARPT brings order to promotional free-for-all
VTEL Holdings to acquire Lacom

BAHRAIN:
2Connect joins BT Alliance programme

CAMEROON:
Camtel subscription charges reduced

EGYPT:
Mobinil posts improved 4Q 2008 results

ETHIOPIA:
More work for ZTE

GHANA:
Iddrisu favours review of Ghana Telecom stake sale
MTN introduces 3.5G technology

ISRAEL:
BPL Mobile signs mobile Internet agreement with InfoGin
Israel allows introduction of MVNOs in the market
Pelephone installs 3.75G network

JORDAN:
Roamers to enjoy Feel@Home roaming solution services

KENYA:
CBK to meet Zain, Standard Chartered to discuss Zap Launch

KUWAIT:
Zain to acquire strategic stake in Paltel

LEBANON:
Cellular tariffs to reduce from April 2009

MOZAMBIQUE:
mCel in third place says consultants

NAMIBIA:
Telecel to expand Cell One’s coverage to 95 percent

NIGERIA:
CGWIC to develop NigComSat-1 replacement satellite
SAT-3 operations ceded due to non-fulfilment of workers’ demand

SENEGAL:
New telco tax challenged

SIERRA LEONE:
NSN softswitching promises immediate results

SOUTH AFRICA:
ICASA grants i-ECS, i-ECNS licenses to BT
MWEB connects to eThekwini MetroConnect network
Vodacom mobile broadband customers to get free HSUPA access

TURKEY:
Turkcell, Turk Telecom outline investment plans for 2009

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
du joins Vodafone’s Partner Market programme

ZAMBIA:
CAZ seeks increased security measures from ISPs
International call tariffs to drop

ZIMBABWE:
Finance minister advocates VAT reduction on mobile phone airtime