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BlackBerry ban in the UAE would hit the estimated 750,000 users of the devices in the country
Schedule for implementation leaves time for RIM and the UAE authorities to reach agreement and avert a ban
The proposed ban on BlackBerry services in the UAE could prove to be disruptive and costly for the many users of the devices in the country, as well as for local telecom operators and BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM). BlackBerry devices and services are strikingly popular among both business and consumer users in the UAE, and Informa Telecoms & Media estimates that there are about 750,000 BlackBerrys in use in the country at present.
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New submarine cables bring change to East Africa
It was apparent at the East Africa Com conference, which was put on in the Kenyan capital Nairobi this week by Informa Telecoms & Media, that the East African telecom market is undergoing profound change.
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What does it take to succeed in Africa?
With Bharti’s acquisition of Zain Africa now agreed by the two parties, it’s a good moment to look at how to operate successfully in Africa.
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Bharti books its passage to Africa
One era ends and another begins.
Last night Zain agreed to sell its Zain Africa unit to India’s Bharti Airtel, marking Zain’s departure from sub-Saharan Africa and Bharti’s arrival on the continent.
Indian and Chinese investors are making their play for Africa
As the great and good of the mobile industry browsed the exhibits at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona this week, they may have overlooked a couple of watershed moments in emerging-market telecoms.
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The Middle East and Africa offer some of the best regional prospects for WiMAX
The prospects for WiMAX seemed to have dimmed somewhat in the past couple of years as a result of the strong growth of HSPA, which is often seen as a rival to WiMAX, and a recession that has reduced the appetite for the spending necessary to build networks.
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Middle East operators are seeking economies of scale
As the Middle East’s mobile markets mature, and with the impact of the recession still raw, many of the region’s operators are becoming more cost-conscious.
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African operators are focusing on data services
At Informa Telecoms & Media’s Africacom conference in Cape Town earlier this month, it was apparent that major operators across the continent are looking more to data and other value-added services to stimulate future expansion, as the strong growth in mobile subscription count seen in the past few years begins to slow.
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Saudi Arabia is feeling the heat of competition
Saudi Arabia remains the biggest prize in the Gulf region for telecoms operators and vendors.
Although the more-populous Iran has overtaken Saudi Arabia in terms of mobile subscription numbers, Saudi Arabia has the largest economy in the region and a substantial population, of 24.6 million.
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Confusion reigns over M&A in the Middle East and Africa
Progress on the region’s big M&A deals – the prospective sale of Zain Africa or a stake in Zain; and the cash and share-swap deal between Bharti and MTN – appears to have stalled.
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Analyst
Matthew Reed
Matthew Reed is editor of Informa's Mobile Middle East & Africa Intelligence Centre.
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