Teletimes April 2011.pdf

Menatelecom subscriber numbers soar
Menatelecom, an
investment subsidiary
of Kuwait Finance House -
Bahrain and one of the most
advanced Internet service
providers in the region, has
announced that its subscriber
base has exceeded 60,000
customers.
Menatelecom’s WiMAX 16e
network has recently witnessed
a major network expansion to
100,000 subscription capacity,
enabling it to launch the most
powerful Internet packages
in the kingdom with a reliable
service and speeds of up to 18
Mb - wireless, nationwide.
‘Our WiMAX 16e network has
witnessed tremendous growth
with continued upgrades and
improvements to services
since its launch in 2008,’ said
Menatelecom vice-chairman
and managing director and
KFH-Bahrain executive
manager Abdul Razak
Lebanon goes 3G
Vendors Ericsson and Huawei are chosen
for 3G deployments in the country
Lebanese mobile
operators, Alfa
and MTC Touch, are to
upgrade their networks
to 3G.
Alfa, managed by
Orascom Telecom
Holding, has chosen
Ericsson to upgrade its
network to 3G/HSPA+
technology across the
country. Tarek Saadi,
president, Ericsson in
North Middle East, said:
“Mobile broadband has
transformed societies
around the globe and
has proven to improve
productivity as well
Jawahery.
‘This sustained progress is inline
with our business strategy
as education in effect
increasing national
wealth.”
The Chinese vendor,
Huawei Technologies,
has signed an agreement
with MTC Lebanon to
deploy 3G technology
for MTC Touch network,
on behalf of the
Lebanon’s ministry of
telecommunications.
Under the terms of the
agreement, Huawei will
integrate the end-toend
network solution
including the provision
of RAN and packet
switching, and provide
professional turnkey
services for the entire
MTC Touch network.
Setting the pace
for its operations in
Lebanon, last year in
June, Huawei carried
out the Middle East
LTE road show in the
country with live LTE
and mobile broadband
demonstrations in a
dedicated articulated
vehicle. The two week
road show was held
under the patronage
of Charbel Nahhas,
Lebanon’s minister of
telecommunications. T
to ensure that customers
benefit from the highest
quality standards, the fastest
speeds and the lowest prices in
the kingdom,’ he noted.
‘Our vision has always
been to improve the way
people communicate and we
are proud to see that has
become a reality,’ he added.
Menatelecom is also planning
to introduce more products
for business customers. With
the largest and most advanced
business portfolio in Bahrain,
Menatelecom’s corporate clients
will soon enjoy even greater
choices and more products that
aim to maximise the efficiency
of their operations however big
or small.
Menatelecom caters to
all forms of business
requirements, from secure
VPN links for banks, to remote
surveillance systems, and full
telecommunications solutions
for some of the largest
companies. T
Interest solicited for
GSM-1800 spectrum,
to be used for future 4G
Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority (TRA) has released an invitation for
expressions of interest in 30MHz of mobile
spectrum in the 1800MHz band to be available
for temporary release for a period of six months,
extendable for further periods of two months
duration. The available spectrum includes the
following band segments, which have been
packaged into three 2x5MHz paired subbands
(uplink, downlink): 1750MHz-1755MHz,
1845MHz-1850MHz; 1755MHz-1760MHz,
1850MHz-1855MHz; and 1780MHz-1785MHz,
1875MHz-1880MHz. It is intended that this
spectrum will be included in a future tender
for full mobile licences, which together with
additional spectrum (yet to be decided) should
be capable of facilitating advanced, fourthgeneration
mobile systems such as Long Term
Evolution (LTE). Therefore the current planned
release of unallocated spectrum will be on a
temporary basis only. T
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