Middle East business paper MEED, quoting a statement by Etisalat’s chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran, reports that the UAE incumbent will soon take a stake in Kurdish operator Korek Telecom. Last week it was reported that the firm was in the final stage of talks to buy a majority stake worth up to USD1 billion in a Middle East telecoms operator this year, and on Wednesday, Omran revealed the country was Iraq.

Korek was one of three companies to win a mobile phone licence in Iraq in August 2007. The Kurdish company, alongside Kuwait’s Zain and AsiaCell, partly backed by the Qatari operator Qtel, each bid USD1.2billion for a concession.

Back in February, Etisalat’s CEO Mohammad al-Qamzi told press that his company was close to forming a joint venture with a mobile operator in the Kurdish region of Iraq. ‘We are now looking at a joint venture with an existing licence holder…We are now just waiting for final agreement to get the deal done,’ he had said, without giving further details. With two of Iraq’s three mobile concessionaires already owned by Gulf-based groups (Zain Iraq [formerly Atheer] is part of Kuwait’s Zain Group and AsiaCell is part of a consortium led by Qtel), it was widely mooted that Korek Telecom was the most likely partner.

Alcatel-Lucent has announced in a press release that it has been contracted by Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), the largest telecoms service provider in Taiwan, to provide Ethernet/MPLS solutions for its nationwide fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) network expansion project. CHT’s Optical Era Project involves an investment of approximately USD1.8 billion to construct an island-wide fibre-optic network over five years. By 2010 it aims to provide direct fibre access to 2.4 million residential and business subscribers. Alcatel-Lucent will supply CHT with its 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS), which enables high bandwidth, high speed internet, video and voice services. The expansion will equip CHT with higher network capacity and offer FTTB subscribers data transfer at download speeds of 10Mbps, 50Mbps and 100Mbps for services including IPTV and virtual private networks (VPNs).

Thailand’s largest provincial fixed line telco TT&T has suspended a THB50 billion (USD1.5 billion) investment plan due to the global financial crisis, in line with recent announcements by cellcos AIS and DTAC to scale back rollouts, reports the Bangkok Post. Prasitchai Kritsanayunyong, executive vice-president of TT&T, said the company would have to indefinitely postpone 3G and other new business areas that required high investments, because of the difficulty in obtaining funds in the midst of the crisis. TT&T had scaled down its overall investment plan this year from THB2 billion to no more than THB800 million, after it filed a petition with the Central Bankruptcy Court in April to enter a business rehabilitation plan for debt restructuring. Mr Prasitchai said TT&T would still apply for a 3G licence once the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issues them, hopefully next year, and that the company would continue to seek prospective foreign partners, likely in Asia.

The South African government has approved an offer from Vodafone to buy a 15% stake in Vodacom from incumbent telco Telkom, to give the British group majority control of South Africa’s mobile market leader, reports Business Day. Vodacom is currently 50% owned by Vodafone and 50% by Telkom, but the partnership has not run smoothly, and long running negotiations culminated yesterday with Telkom’s board agreeing to sell a 15% stake to Vodafone for ZAR22.5 billion (USD2.47 billion) including approximately ZAR5 billion in net debt. Telkom will then distribute its remaining 35% to its own shareholders, including the government which holds a 39% stake in the incumbent. Vodacom will then be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The deal remains subject to the negotiation of final transaction documents, and shareholder and regulatory approvals. Vodafone did not push to acquire more than 65% of Vodacom, which would have led to it having to relinquish some shares under the state’s black empowerment programme (see below). Vodacom also has mobile operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.

In related news, Vodacom has announced that it raised ZAR946 million in a share offer exclusively open to the black public, black-controlled groups and the company’s black business partners through YeboYethu, a company set up solely for the purpose of buying and holding shares in the cellco. The YeboYethu offer was almost three times over-subscribed, attracting 102,531 valid applications. 86% of cash received came from individuals and 14% from companies. Vodacom said 49% of valid individual applications were from women.

According to itWire, the board of Australian WiMAX provider BigAir has unanimously rejected a takeover offer from rival wireless operator Clever Communications; the latter offered one Clever share for each BigAir share on 2 October 2008. According to BigAir, ‘The negligible share premium, no cash payment, and the volatile performance and illiquid trading of CVA shares represents highly uncertain value that may not be realisable by accepting BigAir shareholder.’ BigAir’s directors reportedly hold just under 37% of the total share between them, and have confirmed they will not sell.

Alongside its rejection, BigAir updated shareholders on its current state of affairs, noting that at 30 June 2008 the company held more than AUD1.65 million (USD1.14 million) in cash and had no debt. BigAir’s WiMAX network currently covers Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and the operator is understood to be in the final stages of assessing plans for launch in Perth and Adelaide.

Additionally, it has also been reported that both BigAir and Clever are considering purchasing the iBurst mobile broadband network from Commander Communications, which went into receivership in August 2008. Responding to the rumour Clever issued a statement claiming it would not bid for the network as it ‘believes the mobile broadband sector’s growth will be dominated by HSDPA and evolving technologies delivered over Australia’s tier one carrier 3G networks.’

South Korean wireline and broadband provider LG Dacom has announced that it has signed up more than one million subscribers to its VoIP service, according to Telecoms Korea. The operator claimed that the service, launched in June 2007, has attracted customers despite the high level of saturation in the market as it offered the lowest call rates and additional benefits including free calls among subscribers. With mobile number portability (MNP) set to allow fixed line customers to switch to VoIP services while retaining their number next month, LG Dacom has also increased it sales targets for 2008 and 2009; the operator aims to reach 1.4 million subscribers by 31 December 2008, rising to 2.6 million by the end of next year.

Mexico’s state power company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) has signed twelve carrier-of-carriers contracts for telecommunications transport over its fibre-optic network since inking its first deal with Axtel in December 2007, BNamericas is reporting. By April 2008 CFE had signed agreements with Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica and Alestra, a partnership between Alfa and AT&T, and presently the state-run electricity company has contracts that include 300 connections in 31 states. Other customers include the Secretario de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Protel, B-Tel, Marcatel and Iusatel.

In April 2008 CFE director general Alfredo Elias Ayub claimed that the company’s fibre-optic renting venture was likely to ‘grow a lot’, although he stated it expected no more than USD100 million in annual revenues from agreements in this area. CFE also announced in April 2008 that it would begin tests of power line communications (PLC) in late 2008, starting with a trial in the northern industrial city of Ciudad Juarez; no further developments have been reported.

BNamericas is reporting that Dominican Republic start-up Espinal Technology Group (ETG) has launched its triple-play service, with the operator claiming that it is the first to offer internet services that are available through normal televisions. ‘Here each television is being converted into a computer screen allowing residents to access real time information from around the world,’ an ETG executive said. The service will initially be available in the remote community of Restauracion, with customers able to access 110 TV channels, videoconferencing and internet access. Indotel, the Dominican telecoms regulator, has revealed that ETG has invested USD7.5 million on the project. The newcomer is also planning to provide free internet to some schools in the town.

ETG has been awarded a licence by Indotel to begin services in 500 communities in 16 provinces across the country, with the proviso that the towns are isolated communities with zero or limited access to telephony and broadband internet services. A further 509 rural communities will benefit from a second broadband project that is also underway by incumbent Codetel.

Vodafone Australia’s AUD500 million (USD346 million) upgrade to its 3G network has been delayed after vendor Ericsson requested more time to finish the build, Australian IT is reporting. Vodafone had set a self-imposed deadline of December 2008 for the work to be completed but it is now expected that the upgrade will be finished in the first half of 2009. Approximately 50% of the expected new base stations have been built and the core network has been upgraded, and it is understood that the main cause of the delay is concern surrounding network integration; Vodafone’s chief technology officer, Andy Reeves, claimed, ‘The build itself is well on track it’s just the integration into the live network which is causing some issues. Our competitors have suffered a number of outages and so we’re very conscious that we want to keep our network clean of outages leading up to and through the Christmas period.’

Vodafone first announced plans to extend its 3G network footprint to 95% of the country in December 2007, with Vodafone CEO Russell Hewitt claiming at the time that it was the operator’s ‘number one priority for 2008’. The 3G infrastructure that is being built as part of the joint venture between Vodafone and Optus is believed to have been completed already, representing 63% of Vodafone’s total planned coverage in Australia.

Chile’s government has launched a plan to help subsidise the construction of internet infrastructure requiring investment of some USD100 million, reports BNamericas citing telecoms regulator Subtel. The infrastructure is designed to help provide broadband to rural areas where some three million Chileans live and give a major boost to agriculture and tourism. Telcos are free to present bids for the project, which will be awarded in December and must be completed by December 2009, a spokesperson for Subtel said. The government is expecting that the majority of connectivity will be provided via wireless technologies, most likely WiMAX.

According to the Financial Times, Johan Bohman the secretive Swiss billionaire and shareholder in one of Switzerland’s most exclusive private banks, is behind the investment vehicle, Treco, which will finance XG Technology’s plan to build a mobile network based on xMAX technology. XG’s plan aims to undercut the existing US mobile network operators with its newly invented technology which, in combination with VoIP, makes more efficient use of radio spectrum. As a result, it expects its technology will be cheaper for aspiring mobile operators than existing wide-area wireless technologies such as W-CDMA or WiMAX, as well as offering superior battery performance. The announcement followed on from an earlier deal in late September in which Treco placed an order from XG for 1,000 base stations for USD75 million with the option for an additional 4,000, with an additional value of USD300 million. XG expects to roll out its network next month, initally offering VoIP services in southern Florida, followed by other US states. Data and modem services will become available from early 2009.

The European Commission (EC) has given the go-ahead for a joint Anglo-Irish government project to provide up to EUR30 million (USD41 million) of public funding to help deploy an international submarine telecoms connection to the North West of Ireland. Telecompaper reports that the cable link is designed to lower the cost of international backhaul connectivity in the region. Ireland is currently served by direct links on its south and east coasts, but lacks direct connectivity in the north-west. The proposed cable would land on the north coast and terminate in Londonderry/Derry in Northern Ireland, while Letterkenny and Monagahn in the Republic of Ireland would also gain access to the new direct international link, it said. A tender for the supply contract will now be offered, with the winner selected jointly by the two governments involved.

Brazilian mobile start-up Unicel, which trades under the banner aeiou, has selected managed hosting firm Alog Data Centers to host its switching centre and services platform, according to BNamericas citing a company statement. The newcomer was successful in winning 2G spectrum for the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo in April 2007 and launched commercial operations last month over a network with capacity for one million users.

The Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel plans to hold a public consultation in Brasilia on 16 October to discuss proposed changes to the country’s telecoms law, BNamericas writes citing a statement by the regulator. The country is looking to push through a rule change which would allow telecoms operators to acquire rival telcos which hold concessions in different parts of the country. If passed, the new rules would allow for Oi (Telemar’s) BRL13 billion (USD5.61 billion) purchase of fellow fixed line firm Brasil Telecom (BrT). Anatel has already conducted a series of public discussions on the proposals in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Recife, Belem, and Porto Alegre.

French-US equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent says it has successfully deployed a broadband network for Hub Telecom, allowing the French operator to deliver high speed internet access and B2B services at major airports in France. Hub Telecom, a subsidiary of the Aeroports de Paris group, it involved in operating telecoms networks at airports and other similar sites. TMCnet reports that the Paris-based vendor is supplying Hub with an integrated solution including its high-bandwidth IP access solution, as well as a comprehensive set of services including consulting, project management, installation, commissioning and maintenance in support of Hub’s operation in the Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly and Paris-Le Bourget airports.