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Africa & Middle East Perspective, v5 i8
Pyramid Research, Inc, July 2005, Pages: 10
MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
Etisalat: Poor Data Uptake Dampens Another Record Year
After adding a record 735,000 subscribers in 2004, Etisalat remains on track to replicate last year’s success; the company ended May 2005 with an additional 300,000 net additions. However, poor GPRS and 3G uptake continues to be a source of frustration for the operator, which struggles to increase the share of revenues coming from data services. Senior Analyst Taha Rangwala looks at mobile growth in the UAE in light of the country’s exploding migrant population and lower-than-anticipated uptake of high-speed data services.
FIXED COMMUNICATIONS
Israel: Fixed-Line Incumbent in Foreign Hands
After months of negotiations, the government’s sale of a 30 percent stake in fixed-line incumbent Bezeq finally came to an end in July. In addition to the 30 percent stake the winning bidder, a consortium of UK’s Apax, US/Israeli Saban Holdings and Mori Arkin, has the option of acquiring another 10 percent within four years. However, as Senior Analyst Jonas Lindblad points out, the dominant position of Bezeq is under serious threat, on both the regulatory and commercial fronts.
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