At last month's
GSM>3G Middle East conference in Dubai, at which I had the pleasure of moderating a number of the sessions, the panel of speakers included
Farid Lekhal, Chief Commercial Officer at Vodafone's Partner Markets business unit. I hope his comments on mobile broadband added a useful perspective for an audience largely representing
telcos headquartered in the
MENA region.
MENA operations in which the
Newbury, UK-based giant
cellco has equity currently only number two.
Vodafone Egypt is an established outpost of the company's global empire. Much newer is the operation in oil and gas-rich Qatar, where
I believe services are expected to be launched in March this year.
Notwithstanding
Vodafone's recent foray into Qatar, My guess is that across the Middle East the entry of a group with European roots to any market selling further licenses will be comparatively rare going forward. It looks far more likely that
MENA-based groups will continue to grow their footprints in the region. One recent example:
Saudi Telecom acquiring Bahrain's third mobile licence for
USD 230 million,
according to yesterday's report from Gulf News. The story indicates that three other firms had registered interest in the auction, something which
Global Mobile Daily told me only eleven days ago in a piece which led me to infer that the
Bahraini regulator was planning to launch a lengthier tender process. However, yesterday's Gulf News piece suggested that
STC's bid was the only one received. The story also reveals the previously unknown prospective bidders, indicating that
Mohammed al-Amer, Chairman of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain, had said these named Bahrain's
TwoConnect and
Mena Telecom as well as a consortium including
France Telecom subsidiaries
Orange and
Jordan Telecom.
Another major
intra-regional move was the recent win in Iran by the
Etisalat, where the
UAE-based
telco has snapped up the country's third national mobile licence. My colleague Matthew Reed, Editor of
our Middle East and Africa Wireless Analyst publication,
feels the deal was a bargain, noting that the license fee was only US$399 million, of which
Etisalat is paying 49%, in line with its 49% stake in the consortium that won the license.
Etisalat’s local partner is
Tameen Telecom, an Iranian public-sector investment fund. Matt notes that the new operator will reportedly pay 23.6% of revenues to the Iranian government, though
MCCI and
MTN Irancell pay 28%.
Matt feels that
Etisalat's new operation will enjoy - and exploit - the significant competitive advantage conferred by its licence, which confers the right to be the only 3G operator in Iran for two years. Matt notes that "perhaps more than any of its peers,
Etisalat has put new technology at the heart of its strategy, saying that in this way it can future-proof itself because it will be able to offer the most up-to-date services and because the latest systems are cheaper in the long run."
Matt points to the example of Egypt, where
Etisalat launched a 3.5G network on its debut in the country in May 2006, becoming the country’s first 3G operator. In Egypt,
Etisalat had the 3G market to itself only briefly, since
Vodafone launched its own 3G network within a couple of weeks, and Egyptian market leader
Mobinil launched a 3G network in September. In Iran,
Etisalat will look to make the most of a much longer period of 3G
exclusivity.
Matt notes that "when
Etisalat launches services - in six to nine months, according to company executives - it will most likely offer
HSDPA services from the outset, as it did in Egypt." Matt feels this will enable
Etisalat to offer data services such as mobile broadband and target Iran’s largely untapped broadband market, without any
meaningful competition.
The youth market was a focus of the panel discussion featuring Cell C and Orange as they detailed their strategies for targeting the 16 – 21 year old segment. What services will they pay for and what is truly relevant to them?
Speakers detailed clear trends on the need for higher speed, top quality networks to deliver the new, innovative content and apps, as well as the requirement for fair and accessible data pricing. Strong partnerships are paramount, and win-win business models essential.