Oct to Nov 2010 - Teletimes

www.teletimesinternational.com

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The only tri-regional magazine 

focused towards the IT & Telecom sectors 

of The Middle East, Asia and Africa 

Volume: 05 - Issue: 10 15 Oct to 14 Nov 2010 

Chief Editor 

Khalid Athar 

Executive Editor 

Riaz Asher 

Associate Editor 

Izhar Ahmad 

Technical Editor 

Jeff Seal 

Sub Editor 

Gulraiz Khalid 

GM Marketing 

Muhammad Asif 

Legal Advisor 

Hashmat Habib 

(Advocate Supreme Court) 

Art Editor 

Khurram Shahzad 

Staff Photographer 

Ramzan Mughal 

Bureau Chiefs: 

Dubai: Azizullah Khan 

London: Moazzam Shahid 

Istanbul: Zümrüt Tanriöven 

Jeddah: Akram Asad 

Karachi: Imran Zakir 

Correspondents: 

Abu Dhabi: Bashir Anjum 

Paris: Aslam Ansari 

Brussels: Nadeem Ahmed 

Tokyo: Tanveer Qureshi 

Melborne: Javeria Hashmat 

Casablanca: Dr. Khadija Arabany 

Sole Distributors for UAE & Oman 

Malik News Agency 

P.O. Box. 5449, Dubai, Ph: 04 2659165-9 

5th year of publication 

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Middle East Communications 

SAMENA 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL 

Central Asian 

Cellular Forum 

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In this issue 

Interview 

11 

“The telecommunications sectors are 

developing at a relentless pace” - 

Mohammed H. Omran, Chairman - Etisalat 


Research & Analyses 

19 

33 

47 

Special Report 

15 

Security in Telecommunication Networks - 

A dire need of today’s critical ICT services 

Amir Malik 

Jordanian TV viewers prefer Syrian and 

Egyption drama series over Jordanian ones 

Dana Khatib (Arab Advisors Group) 

Transworld! 

Pakistan’s first and only private submarine cable operator 

Teletimes Special Report 

Articles 

36 

59 

62 

Lebanese bloggers: 

pioneers in the Arab world - by Tony Saghbini 

Digital Arms Dealer 

NSS Labs has a plan to secure the Internet: Build a Nasdaq 

for hackers - by Andy Greenberg 

Thousands of online banking customers 

had their accounts emptied by the ‘most dangerous 

Trojan virus ever created’ 

Success Story 

49 

The Next Web Phenom 

Christopher Steiner 

Reports & News 

37 

38 

52 

57 

61 

Grace under Fire! 

Sahil Aizaz Adeem 

Alcatel-Lucent and Blue Coat 

form global reseller agreement 

Colin Saldanha 

10th ITCN Asia 

Adeeb Aijaz 

NetSol Technologies 

regains full NASDAQ compliance 

Nawras leads with launch 

of exclusive Alafasy Quran service 

Julie Aman 

Dell Marketing’s finger 

on Pakistan’s pulse 

Rizwan Shah 

and much more .... 

15 www.teletimesinternational.com 

Interview 

24 

23 

“STC remains committed to the evolution of 

the Saudi telecom sector” 

Dr. Homoud M. Al Kussayer 

Vice President for Regulatory Affairs 

Khalid Athar 

Etisalat secures 

important arbitration victory in dispute with Planor Afrique 

Iyad Hasan Ahmad Al Zoubi 

15Oct - 14Nov 2010

Letter to readers 

Khalid Athar 

Chief Editor 

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to the new edition of Teletimes 

International. Last month I announced 

the commencement of the 

weekly online edition of Teletimes 

and today I am pleased to inform 

you that the weekly online edition 

has got a very warm welcome from 

our readers and stake holders in the 

industry. 

There are two very important events 

that are going to take place during 

this October. The first, is the GI- 

TEX Technology Week, comprising 

on Gulfcomms, Telecoms Executive 

Summit, GITEX Conferences, GITEX 

Business Solutions and Consumer 

Electronics, from the 17th to the 21st 

in Dubai World Trade Centre. Teletimes, 

as a media partner shall participate 

in GITEX Technology Week 

and cordially invites its supporters 

and other visitors to visit Teletimes’ 

stand (# Z-46) in Zabeel Hall. The 

second event is “Convergence to 

Casablanca”, organized by SAME- 

NA Telecommunications Council on 

26-28 October in Casablanca, the 

beautiful and historic city of Morocco. 

Teletimes is also the partner 

of SAMENA and will make its presence 

positive and effective in that 

summit. 

In regard to our objective of providing 

interviews with decision makers 

and those who matter in the industry, 

this time, exclusive interviews 

of Mr. Mohammad Hassan Omran, 

chairman Etisalat and Dr. Homoud 

Al Kussayer, vice president for regulatory 

affairs at Saudi Telecom Company 

are included in the magazine. 

Mr. Amir Malik and Sahil Aizaz 

Adeem has contributed to the content 

of this edition with their very 

interesting and informative articles; 

“Security in Telecommunications 

Networks – a dire need of today’s 

critical ICT services” and “Grace under 

Fire!”, respectively. We have also 

included a special report on Transworld 

- Pakistan’s first and only 

private submarine cable operator, in 

this issue. You will find a few other 

interesting stories; “The next web 

phenom”, “Digital arms dealer” and 

a story about thousands of online 

banking customers getting their accounts 

emptied by the most dangerous 

Trojan virus ever created. Many 

other news and reports about the industry 

are also given in this edition. 

We hope that you would find value 

in this edition of Teletimes and the 

content worth reading. Also, that 

you would continue to provide us 

with your invaluable feedback and 

suggestions, which have played a 

vital role in enabling Teletimes to receive 

recognition beyond borders. 

Thank you for choosing to read Teletimes. 

Enjoy this edition! 

15Oct - 14Nov 2010 

www.teletimesinternational.com 

07

Latest on VOIP and the need of new law 

Riaz Asher 

Executive Editor 

It looks from the growth of VOIP that 

Telecom and IT industry is coming out 

from economic crunch. Particularly 

VOIP which is mainly based on SIP, 

IP-PABX/IP Centrex and managed 

services will touch over $22 billion in 

next five to six year time. Operators 

are already in process to replace their 

traditional legacy systems and relaying 

on VOIP based services more. 

Large enterprises are even working to 

rent out their telephony to cut OPEX. 

Trend of outsourcing infrastructure is 

also on increase due to cost cutting 

even with compromise on features 

and functionality. This has resulted 

in bad quality of network in many 

cases. Regulator need to equip with 

right tools and resources to ensure 

good quality of service in the best 

interest of consumers. 

Second main matter under active 

discussion among world powers is to 

grow their rolling power. One of the 

main tool in recent and past world is 

effective control, monitoring of telephony 

traffic. This principal is true 

for any type of government globally. 

World super powers like US Russia 

china etc are looking at new laws requiring 

companies to build network 

to facilitate governments in this regards. 

Most resent development in VOIP 

for Law enforcement agencies is to 

access encrypted VOIP communications 

which include voice and data 

for surveillance purposes. Most of 

the people rely on Voice over IP to 

make calls and transfer of their confidential 

business data, whereas government 

wants to make sure it’s easy 

to monitor those VOIP data to catch 

the bad guys, such as grey traffic operators, 

terrorist and cyber crime culprits. 

There are established laws already 

about tapping and warrants, but in 

recent years we have experienced 

‘warrantless’ wire tapping and the 

like so any push to further empower 

governments to spy should worry 

consumers, businesses and other less 

acceptable elements alike. 

Last but not least, safety and security 

of consumer cannot be compromise 

at any cost in present global 

situation. This has made task of even 

more difficult for law making organizations. 



“The telecommunications sectors are 

developing at a relentless pace” - 

Mohammed H. Omran, Chairman - Etisalat 

was back in 1986–87. Etisalat 

Became number 19 among international 

operators worldwide 

to adopt the GSM technology 

back then. 

Today, Etisalat is among the 

top operators in the world operating 

in 18 countries across 

Asia, the Middle East and 

Africa, servicing over 107m 

customers out of a total population 

of approximately 2bn 

people. 

Over the years it became a 

comprehensive telecommunications 

provider offering a 

one-stop shop for mobile and 


fixed-line voice and data services 

and cable TV to individuals, 

enterprises and international 

telecommunications 

companies, ISPs, content providers 

and mobile operators. It, 

also offers a variety of hi-tech 

complimentary services to the 

telecommunications industry 

including managerial and technical 

training, SIM card manufacturing, 

payment solutions, 

clearing house services, peering, 

voice and data transit, and 

submarine, satellite and land 

cable services. 

Etisalat is also the major hub in 

Since the beginning of Etisalat, 

it has been keen to adopt new 

technologies and to adopt 

them fast - sometimes much 

faster than the rest of the 

world. 

The first mobile network in the 

UAE was totally new in 1982. 

At that time, Omran was involved 

in the initial forecasting 

in which Etisalat anticipated 

that gaining 5,000 customers 

would take three to five years. 

Etisalat met that goal in one 

year, even though the cost was 

very high and the mobile was 

not very portable—it was only 

used inside cars. 

In 1986–87, when GSM was 

first introduced in Europe, 

there was a special group for 

European countries that were 

looking to set up a mobile system 

for the European Union. 

There were 17 operators in Europe 

who were members. Etisalat 

immediately wanted to 

join seeking to be part of this 

new technology and bringing 

it to market it in the GCC. 

Because the GCC, also, has a 

small number of countries and 

they wanted to have one network 

that works for all. That 

Mohammed Omran leads Etisalat, which is now 

one of the largest telecommunications companies 

in the world with a market value of approximately 

$25 billion. 

Mr. Omran worked in Etisalat for three decades and 

served in many different positions until he became 

the Chairman of Etisalat in 2005. From his current 

position he has overseen many of the company’s 

major achievements and today, is considered one of 

the key decision makers in the telecommunications 

sector of the region. In 2010, Arabian Business 

named Omran in its Power 100 list of the ‘Most 

Influential Arabs in the Arab World’ and he is the 

only representative from the regional telecom sector 

to maintain their presence in the list in 2010. 

Omran joined Etisalat in 1977, one year after of its 

inception. In 1982 he was promoted to Area Manager 

in Ras Al Khaimah, and then appointed as 

Deputy General Manager of Etisalat in 1984. He 

held several managerial positions after this until he 

became the CEO of Etisalat in 2004. 

He led Etisalat into new markets through a set of 

expansions and global investments in Asia and Africa. 

Because of this, Etisalat is now rated among 

the list of largest international telecommunication 

operators. Many of Etisalat’s international expansions 

became models for hard work and success - 

most notably the Saudi and Egyptian markets. 



11

the region, for internet, voice, 

mobile broadband, broadcast, 

roaming and corporate data 

services, with an extensive 

regional and intercontinental 

network. It is the largest carrier 

of international voice traffic 

in the Middle East and Africa 

and the 12th largest voice 

carrier in the world. Etisalat 

is the largest comprehensive 

provider of carrier and wholesale 

services in the region with 

Points of Presence (PoP) in 

New York, London, Amsterdam, 

Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore 

providing a truly global 

reach. 

When asked about why keeping 

customers has became 

a real challenge for companies—operators 

and vendors 

alike, Omran said: “While competing 

for market share, telecoms 

operators need to meet 

high customer expectations 

and comply with ever-changing 

regulations. Meanwhile, 

technology’s next-generation 

infrastructure changes the nature 

and delivery of services. 

Operators must offer increasingly 

innovative and high-value 

services. Traditional revenue 

streams are under increasing 

threat from competition and 

market saturation. Owning or 

buying infrastructure, creating 

value through managed 

services, winning the race for 

talent and creating more agile 

customer-centric organizations 

are key challenges for leaders 

across the telecom sector.” 

“In general increasing competition 

brings with it many 

challenges and one of those is 

in maintaining your customer 

base. Certainly when a new 

entrant comes to the market, 

your market share will automatically 

be impacted as they 

offer lower introductory prices 

to attract those easiest to 

shift. This segment of customers, 

which is a large segment, 

is not easy to maintain by any 

operator except by promotion 

of new packages and low 

prices. This makes promotional 

campaigns even more effective 

at this time than before and 

places challenges on maintaining 

loyalty of even your most 

stalwart customers. “Omran 

added. 

Talking about the present 

market conditions that operators 

are training themselves to 

grow accustomed to, Omran 

said: “Once again, competing 

for market share, delivering innovative 

solutions, and keeping 

pace with the technology, 

the telecommunications sectors 

are developing at a relentless 

pace. As global markets 

evolve, converge and grow, 

there is no escape for operators 

to be constantly updated 

with capabilities and talents in 

order to keep pace. 

“This talent could be a new 

breed of sales and technical 

people providing customers 

with innovative, high value 

propositions, or a pool of experts 

who can keep pace with 

technological advances and 

then apply these advances to 

business needs. Whatever the 

function is, recognizing, engaging, 

developing and valuing 

thought-leaders as well as 

people-leaders continues to 

be a challenge for many in the 

sector.” he added. 

Omran also pointed at the 

The number of Etisalat’s customers has increased from only 4 

million in 2004 to 107 million customers across 18 markets in 

Asia, Africa and the Middle East today. This means that the 

number has increased 2,500% in just five years. 

customer’s behavior today in 

which they are looking for 

ways to cut their expenditure. 

“Sales and marketing teams of 

the operators need to readjust 

their thinking to be closer to 

their customers. There is nolonger 

a call to launch ever 

new services, but rather to 

help customers on how telecom 

services save money and 

grow their business. Despite 

the fact that telecoms is part 

of the essential bag of goods 

customers continue to spend 



on in this time, Operators still 

need to ensure our portfolio is 

relevant to the conditions of 

today’s market and to be competitive. 

I am sure that this 

mindset change is essential at 

this period” he added. 

In regard to the IPTV content 

industry in UAE Omran said: 

“Many years ago we had foreseen 

the need to establish a 

cable TV system. Our system 

was the only one in the whole 

Arab region with real cable 

TV to the home. We used hybrid 

fiber coaxial, but now the 

FTTH network that we have 

implemented has opened a 

lot of potential for the home 

and for business and paves the 

road for the media industry to 

develop more high definition 

content. Abu Dhabi is now the 

first capital in the world to be 

wired up with fiber already. 

We have people who are willing 

to pay for good quality and 

good content.” 

Etisalat definitely was successful 

in diversifying its sources of 

revenue by improving and upgrading 

its networks and infrastructure 

with advanced technologies 

which enabled the 

telecom giant to introduce new 

products and services such as 

higher speed broadband packages, 

improved value added 

services and introducing the 

most advanced mobiles data 

packages like the iPhone, and 

Blackberry. Etisalat’s mobile 

internet users have crossed the 

‘one million customers benchmark’ 

in total. In addition to 

that, Etisalat has been able 

to achieve increase in internet 

revenues by AED 599m (9% 

of total revenue) while the 

data revenues increased by Dh 

486m (12% of total revenues) 

by the end of 2009. 

Omran also talked about the 

possible impact of the blackberry 

ban in the UAE, He said, 

“Although there will be some 

impact, we expect that this 

will be minimized. We will 

maintain our revenues since 

the attractive alternative 

packages and services that we 

are offering to our valued customers 

will be comparative or 

even better in terms of value 

and price.” 

With devotion and determination 

for over three decades 

Etisalat’s revenues increased at a compound annual growth 

rate of 24% between 2005 and 2009 to reach AED 30.8 billion. 

It’s net profits increased by 20% in the same period. And 

the total profit distributed by Etisalat in the last five years is 

equal to the total amount of profit distributed during the previous 

24 years. The amount of bonus shares the company distributed 

in the last five years is also approximately the same 

amount of bonus shares it has distributed since its inception. 

Etisalat transformed itself 

from a local operator into an 

international player operating 

in 18 countries following a selective 

expansion strategy and 

deploying international best 

practice. The number of Etisalat’s 

customers has increased 

from only 4 million in 2004 to 

107 million customers across 18 

markets in Asia, Africa and the 

Middle East today. This means 

that the number has increased 

2,500% in just five years. 

Etisalat was also keen to continually 

upgrade its networks 

making Abu Dhabi the first 

capital in the world to be fully 

connected with the advanced 

fiber to the home network. 

Etisalat has also received the 

Best Operator in the Middle 

East Award five times in the 

past three years. 

In addition to that, Etisalat’s 

revenues increased at a compound 

annual growth rate of 

24% between 2005 and 2009 

to reach AED 30.8 billion. It’s 

net profits increased by 20% in 

the same period. And the total 

profit distributed by Etisalat 

in the last five years is equal 

to the total amount of profit 

distributed during the previous 

24 years. The amount of 

bonus shares the company distributed 

in the last five years 

is also approximately the same 

amount of bonus shares it has 

distributed since its inception. 

All of these achievements accomplished 

by Etisalat would 

not have been possible without 

an experienced and visionary 

leadership and a professional 

team possessing the ability to 

implement an intelligent strategy 

and policies applied. This 

clearly reflected positively on 

Etisalat’s international expansion 

and gave the company the 

potential to extend its services 

to more than 2 billion people. T 



13

Teletimes Special Report 

The internet has fundamentally 

changed the way the 

world works, so much so that 

the governments of certain 

Scandinavian countries have 

labeled access to internet as 

the fundamental right of all 

human beings. Internet has 

also majorly changed the way 

Pakistan operates and since 

the year 2000, Pakistan has 

seen internet boom. With 

over 12 million dialup users 

and over 1 million broadband 

users, we are the 8th in the 

Asia region in terms of number 

of internet users beating 

progressive countries like Malaysia 

and Taiwan, in terms of 

number of users, and beating 

India in terms of broadband 

Pakistan’s first and only private 

submarine cable operator 

penetration. The bandwidth 

consumption of ISPs is doubling 

every year. Facebook and 

blogging has become a part of 

most companies’ strategy and 

websites like shophives.com, 

beliscity.com, etc. are making 

a dent in Pakistan’s commerce. 

In early 2005, Pakistan’s total 

broadband user base was 

a mere 15,000 users with the 

total bandwidth usage being 

15 Gbps. By the end of 2010, 

the number of total broadband 

users is expected to rise up to 

1.09 million consuming an impressive 

60.4 Gbps of bandwidth 

(www.pta.gov.pk). 

A major player behind this revolution 

is Transworld. Not as 

well known as its sister company, 

Mobilink, Transworld 

is that silent giant whose 

value is well known to its’ direct 

dependants but the rest 

of the country is alien to its’ 

significant footprint and strategic 

importance in Pakistan’s 

broadband growth. 

Only a few years back, in the 

mid 2000’s, Pakistan internet 

connectivity was dependant 

on a government owned monopoly 

with an antiquated infrastructure. 

There was a single 

international connectivity 

provider to the ISPs and voice 

operators of Pakistan, leading 

to unsatisfactory service levels 

and inflated pricing, thus making 

quality internet connectivity 

expensive and beyond the 

reach of most consumers. 

In the mid 2000’s, with the 

booming domestic telecom 

sector, and the advent of constantly 

increasing broadband 

connectivity in the developing 

world, a need for the provision 

of high quality and guaranteed 

uninterrupted availability 

of bandwidth was foreseen in 

Pakistan and a new competi- 



15

tive bandwidth market was 

created. This promise of a new 

competitive marketplace was 

a driving force behind Transworld’s 

formation. Granted a 

2nd landing license in 2003, 

Transworld is the cornerstone 

of Pakistan’s broadband revolution 

and the key service enabler 

behind market makers 

like Wateen, Mobilink, Worldcall, 

Wi-tribe, Augere etc that 

are largely responsible for 

Pakistan’s broadband growth 

and providing the consumer 

market with alternatives to 

PTCL. “TWA embarked on this 

project 

Diagram 

of key strategic 

showing 

nation- 

TWA cable 

Pakistan,” 

system and 

states 

connectivity 

Kamran 

to 

Ma- 

all major regions of the world 

al importance with a vision of 

bringing high-speed communications 

technology to fuel the 

growth of IT and Telecom in 

lik, President and Chief Operating 

Officer of Transworld Associates 

(Pvt.), Ltd. 

Transworld has built a state of 

the art submarine cable system 

that connects Pakistan 

to two major communication 

hubs in the Middle East and 

onwards through connectivity 

to the world’s major communication 

infrastructures and 

provides internet and international 

communication connectivity 

to Pakistan’s ISPs, telcos 

and selected corporates. Transworld 

Associates Private Limited 

(TWA) is a joint venture 

between Orascom Telecom of 

Egypt and the Saif Group of 

Pakistan. Transworld operates 

and owns its own undersea 

fiber optic cable system. According 

to Zulfiqar Qazilbash, 

TWA Director of Sales and 

Marketing, “Transworld’s business 

strategy is structured 

around offering quality, tailor 

made end-to-end international 

bandwidth solutions to 

customers in Pakistan. We are 

successful because we bend 

backwards to support our customers”. 

Transworld is Pakistan’s first 

Transworld has built a state of the art submarine 

cable system that connects Pakistan to two major 

communication hubs in the Middle East and onwards 

through connectivity to the world’s major communication 

infrastructures and provides internet and international 

communication connectivity to Pakistan’s ISPs, telcos 

and selected corporates. 

and only private submarine 

cable operator – the alternative 

carrier does not have a 

submarine cable system of its 

own but has acquired capacity 

in international cables passing 

through the region. The system, 

known as TW1, has a total capacity 

of 1.28 Tbps, which easily 

meets and far exceeds the 

needs of Pakistan currently 

and for the foreseeable future. 

Transworld’s state of the art, 

high quality network stretches 

1,274 Km in the Arabian Sea. 

As Syed Amiruddin TWA Director 

of Engineering puts it, 

“TW1 offers the much needed 

high value international bandwidth 

services to the recently 

deregulated and rapidly developing 

telecom and IT sectors 

of Pakistan” 

Through its submarine cable 



Transworld is not as visible to 

the public since it is an B2B 

infrastructure company.. However, 

its impact on the market is 

undeniable – no one can deny that 

Pakistan’s quality and price of 

internet connectivity has improved 

many fold since TWA’s addition. 

impact on the market can be 

understood by the fact that for 

an ISP, bandwidth is the single 

largest operating expense. The 

quality of the bandwidth an 

ISP receives and how it manages 

that bandwidth are the 

most important determinant 

of success after price and delivery. 

Transworld is not as visible to 

the public since it is an B2B infrastructure 

company.. However, 

its impact on the market is 

undeniable – no one can deny 

years. A comparative analysis 

shows that an STM 4 which 

costs US$ 150,000 in the UAE 

and US$ 70,000 in India, costs 

only US$ 60,000 in Pakistan, 

less than half the price 

of a similar circuit in Dubai 

and considerably lesser than 

neighboring India. On the usage 

front, bandwidth capacity 

needs of the market are doubling 

every year, the primary 

driver for which is broadband 

deployments. 

Transworld has become an 

Landing Station 

and supporting infrastructure, 

Transworld can fulfill the requirements 

of Pakistan’s internet 

community to send emails 

to any internet destination, to 

browse content on any internet 

server and to establish and 

maintain voice or data circuits 

from any point in Pakistan 

to virtually any point on the 

globe. Transworld’s network is 

peered to all the major cables 

in the region like Sea-Me-We 

3, Sea-Me-We 4, Flag, Falcon 

and Fog, to major private 

and public internet traffic exchanges 

and the leading Tier- 

1 providers around the globe. 

Transworld’s fully resilient IP/ 

MPLS core network, with integrated 

high availability, built 

on state of the art routers, 

ensures access to high performance 

Internet connectivity 

with no traffic congestions and 

guaranteed performance with 

short-hop internet content delivery 

via low latency paths. 

Its strategic importance and 

that Pakistan’s quality and 

price of internet connectivity 

has improved many fold since 

TWA’s addition. 

With the advent of Transworld, 

bandwidth rates saw 

a steep decline; a decrease 

of more than 300% in just 4 

Transworld has become an industry 

leader in providing bandwidth 

services to mass market, business, 

government and wholesale 

customers. 

industry leader in providing 

bandwidth services to mass 

market, business, government 

and wholesale customers. Today, 

the company indirectly 

reaches almost all broadband 

and cellular users in Pakistan, 

serving across industries. After 

establishing such a strong 

foothold in the bandwidth industry 

does Transworld plans 

to grow and evolve further 

When asked this question, 

Kamran Malik smiles and says, 

“Our mission is to become the 

premier bandwidth source for 

transfer of information and entertainment 

across the country 

and around the world.” T 



17

Amir Malik 

Security in Telecommunication Networks - 

A dire need of today’s critical ICT services 

Security is a basic need of 

human beings, especially 

in the era of globalization, rising 

mobility and growing dependence 

on information and 

communication technology 

by nations, the need for security 

is becoming ever more pronounced. 

Together with telecommunication 

developments, 

new types of security threats 

have emerged. Increased vulnerability 

is augmenting the 

pressure to take action to prevent 

damage and minimize the 

residual risk through necessary 

telecommunication security 

measures. Restricted in the past 

to niche areas such as banking, 

aerospace or military applications, 

digital security is slowly 

but surely becoming everyone’s 

business. As computing and 

telecommunication services 

evolve as a part of daily life, 

ICT security is being talked 

about not only among digital 

security experts but also in 

governments, services providers, 

and by consumers. Across 

the globe, government and industry 

have become dependent 

on telecommunications networks 

to support business in all 

of the major economic sectors. 

At the same time, 

because of evolution 

in technology, 

policy, regulations, 

customer services, 

and rapid technology 

deployments 

to address market 

demands, the 

Public Switched 

Network (PSN) 

is becoming more 

vulnerable to security 

breaches. 

The most critical 

apparatus requiring 

security 

measures are the information 

pipelines laid across the globe 

in form of Telecommunication 

networks. Corporations and 

general consumers are typically 

connected to three public 

switched, untrusted networks: 

the Public Switched Telephone 

Network (PSTN), the Mobile 

Telephony Network; and 

Wide Area Networks (WANs) 

or the Internet. Traditional 

phones connect to the PSTN 

to enable voice calls, modem 

and fax communications, and 

video teleconferencing. Mobile 

handsets connect to Mobile 

Networks to enable ‘on the 

move’ voice and data communication. 

Computers connect to 

WANs or the Internet for data 

communications and access to 

information. Although nearly 

all enterprises secure their internal 

networks with firewalls 

and related technologies, however 

central liability of enabling 

secure public communication 

stands with the telecommunication 

operators. The more 

secure networks, more secure 

delivery of services resulting in 

more confidence for the subscribers. 

While planning security 

procedures, it is imperative 

that it be a well-thought process 

from network inception 

and design to network implementation, 

operation and use. 

While executing the process 

of new networks development, 

security must always be an element 

of initial work, and not 

an afterthought. 

It is widely believed that 

Telecommunication security 

safeguards demand high investment 

and that their implementation 

requires highly 

skilled personnel. However, 

this may not be the frequent 

case. The main ingredients of 

success are common sense, 

well thought out organizational 

procedures and guidelines, 

well informed staff who independently 

and expertly observe 

security requirements in 

a disciplined manner where everyone 

recognizes that security 

is not a static state but an ongoing 

process. The creation and 

implementation of an effective 

telecommunication security 

guideline therefore need not 

necessarily be expensive. Since 

telecommunications networks 

offer a wide range of communication 

services (packet switching, 

data transfer, voice, video, 

etc.) to customers. These networks 

are populated by a large 

and increasing number of Operation 

Components (OCs), 

Network Elements (NEs) and 

Mediation Devices (MDs). 

OCs tends to have centralized 

functionality, a span of control 

that covers a large portion 

of the network, and generally 

provide most of the operations 

functions. NEs are distributed 

components that provide telecommunications 

services, have 

a span of control generally limited 

to them, and have a relatively 

limited set of operations 

functionality. MDs provide 

functions such as upper layer 

protocol internetworking, filtering, 

format conversion, storage. 

While exploring the core principles 

behind security actions 

required protecting these components 

of a telecommunication 

network, the identified 

values of privacy, availability, 

integrity, communication security, 

confidentiality, non-repudiation, 

authentication and 

access control are defined as: 

Privacy & Confidentiality: the 

concept of privacy is a fundamental 

motivator for security. 

Privacy is commonly understood 

as the right of individuals 



19

Telecommunication Convergence Security Challenges 

to control or influence what information 

related to them may 

be collected and stored and by 

whom and to whom that information 

may be disclosed. 

Availability: ensures that there 

is no denial of authorized access 

to network elements, 

stored information, information 

flows, services and applications 

due to network interruption. 

Network restoration 

and disaster recovery solutions 

are included in this category. 

Integrity: data and information 

must be complete and 

unaltered. By extension, data 

integrity also ensures that information 

is protected against 

unauthorized modification, deletion, 

creation, and replication 

and provides an indication of 

these unauthorized activities. 

ticipating in audio and video 

conferences. 

Authentication: provision of 

proof that the claimed identity 

of an entity is true. Entities 

here include not only human 

users but also devices, services 

and applications. Authentication 

also provides for assurance 

that an entity is not attempting 

a masquerade or an 

unauthorized replay of a previous 

communication. 

Access Control: protects against 

unauthorized use of network 

resources. Access Control ensures 

that only authorized personnel 

or devices are allowed 

access to network elements, 

stored information, information 

flows, services and applications. 

A “security threat” is an intentional 

Communication Security: 

threat, whether mischie- 

means information flows vous or malicious, against network 

only between authorized end 

services and operations. 

points. This dimension deals 

with measures to control network 

traffic flows for prevention 

of traffic diversion and 

interception. 

Confidentiality: information 

that is confidential must be 

protected against unauthorized 

disclosure. 

Non-repudiation: ability to prevent 

users from denying later 

that they performed an action. 

These actions include content 

creation, origination, receipt, 

and delivery, such as sending 

or receiving messages, establishing 

or receiving calls, par- 

Core Security Values 

What are the top most security 

threats and what impact could 

they result to a Telecommunication 

network The answer 

to first part of the question is 

reasonably difficult keeping in 

view the unstoppable increase 

in security vulnerabilities with 

every passing day. According 

to Cisco security report 2009, 

overall numbers of disclosed 

vulnerabilities have augmented 

by 11.5 percent over the 

year. The report further reveals 

that threats in ICTs nearly tripled 

from 35 to 103 year over 

year and attacks are becoming 

increasingly blended crossvector 

and targeted. Internet 

threats grew by 1731% during 

2006-2009, that makes more 

than 26,000 new threats every 

hour. 

Some alarming statistics regarding 

information security 

revealed by renowned companies 

are; According to Bigfoot 

interactive, 55% of online 

users said they had been infected 

with spyware, and 82% 

believed it posed a threat to 

online privacy. According to 

Pew Internet and American 

Life Project, 53% of adult e- 

mail users in the United States 

now say they trust e-mail less 

because of spam, down from 

62% a year ago and about the 

same as a June 2007. In the 

second half of 2008, Symantec 

tracked the number of computers 

that have been compromised 

by malicious software. 

25.2% of all compromised computers 

the company discovered 

were based in the UK , with 

the US following closely behind 

with 24.6%, and China in third 

with 7.8%. Mi2g claims that 

Malware, including viruses, 

worms and Trojans, cost global 

businesses between $452 billion 

and $638 billion in 2008. 

According to an Anti-Phishing 

Working Group (APWG) report 

on January 2007 phishing 

activity, 32% of scammers 

websites were hosted in the 

United States. The integrated 

security appliance market is 

poised for explosive growth in 

the next four years, reaching 

$3.3 billion by 2009, according 

to Instat. 

Answering the second part 

of the question; Threats to 

the public switched networks 

could result in any of the following 

impacts. 

Service denial or disruption: 

Typically, the most thrashing 

impact could be service disruptions 

caused by intruders. 

Unauthorized monitoring and 

disclosure of sensitive information: 

The approaches like 

eavesdropping techniques, 

network monitoring tools, and 

intrusions into network databases 

containing customer information 

are used. 

Unauthorized modification of 

user or network information 

Contd. on page 21 



Narus and Arcsight partner 

Narus, Inc., the leader in 

real-time traffic intelligence 

for protecting governments, 

service providers 

and enterprises against cyber 

threats and doing business in 

cyber space has joined the Arc- 

Sight Common Event Format 

(CEF) program with the certification 

of its NarusInsight traffic 

intelligence system. Certified 

to work with the ArcSight Enterprise 

Threat and Risk Management 

(ETRM) platform, 

the Narus solution provides 

early detection of zero-day 

attacks, advanced persistent 

threats and other anomalous 

traffic, enabling greater visibility 

into alerts through a single 

interface. This new capability 

enables joint customers to 

manage their networks more 

efficiently and make faster 

and better decisions to protect 

their networks. 

“Comprehensive event capture 

at all levels in the network 

is critical to enabling effective 

enterprise threat and risk 

management,” said Jeff Scheel, 

senior vice president of Business 

Development at ArcSight. 

“The interoperability between 

ArcSight and Narus gives customers 

a more complete solution 

for detecting threats and 

protecting their IP networks in 

real time.” 

Narus provides real-time situational 

awareness for service 

providers’ and governments’ 

large-scale, distributed IP networks. 

As a member of the 

ArcSight CEF program, Narus 

will help ArcSight customers 

identify vulnerabilities such as 

zero-day threats and sophisticated 

cyber attacks early and 

quickly take the proper mitigation 

steps to resolve. Customers 

who use both NarusInsight 

and the ArcSight ETRM platform 

will have the option of 

using a single interface, with 

ArcSight managing all alert 

activity, and the Narus portal 

providing advanced visibility 

into the attack preparation, 

propagation and result of the 

attack. 

“Narus provides traffic intelligence 

in real time for cyber 

security and network monitoring,” 

said Greg Oslan, CEO 

of Narus. “When integrated 

with ArcSight’s market-leading 

ETRM platform, the combined 

solution enables our 

joint customers to detect traffic 

anomalies earlier, analyze 

these anomalies in detail, and 

respond to alerts about their 

networks more efficiently. Together, 

Narus and ArcSight enable 

our customers to see the 

changing behavior of their networks 

clearly and to take swift 

corrective actions against cyber 

attacks and other threats.” 

Lucia Mikasa 

to provide enhanced enterprise threat and risk management 

CEF certified solution provides early detection and alerts on zero-day attacks and anomalous IP 

traffic with deep analysis through a single portal 

Greg Oslan, CEO of Narus 

NarusInsight is built on patented 

real-time traffic intelligence, 

analytics and unique 

algorithms that see and understand 

the changing behavior or 

dynamic DNA of the network. 

It ensures real-time identification 

and mitigation of any unwanted, 

unwarranted or malicious 

traffic. Narus operates in 

a large ecosystem, and along 

with complementary products 

from its partners like ArcSight, 

can provide a comprehensive 

holistic approach to cyber protection. 

T 

Contd. from page 20 

and network services: Incidents 

have been reported where Intruders 

have changed user service 

profiles and affected billing 

and routing. This can result 

in unreliable service. 

Fraud: The typical approach is 

to build upon the previous attacks 

and masquerade as a legitimate 

customer to commit 

fraud related to voice and data 

services. 

Moving ahead with the last 

impact of ‘Fraud’, text message 

scams targeting users of handheld 

mobile devices, such as 

cell phones and smart phones, 

are becoming a common fraud 

tactic. At least two or three 

new campaigns have surfaced 

every week since the start of 

2009. The spike in frequency 

can be attributed partly to 

the economic downturn, but 

it’s also the massive—and still 

growing—size of the mobile 

device audience that is making 

this new frontier for fraud irresistible 

to criminals. 

Security requirements for telecommunication 

networks and 

services should preferably be 

based upon internationally 

agreed security standards, as 

it increases interoperability 

as well as avoids duplication 

of efforts and reinventing the 

wheel. The provisioning and 

usage of security services and 

mechanisms can be quite expensive 

relatively to the value 

of the transactions being protected. 

There is a balance to 

consider between the cost of 

security measures and the potential 

financial effects of security 

breaches. It is therefore 

important to have the ability 

to customize the security provided 

in relation to the services 

being protected. The security 

services and mechanisms that 

are used should be provided in 

a way that allows such customization. 

Due to the large number 

of possible combinations of 

security features, it is desirable 

to have security profiles that 

cover a broad range of telecommunication 

network services. T 



21

Telecommunications Sector 

continues to See Growth World Wide 

Etisalat Chairman, Mohammad Omran, addresses Forbes Global CEO Conference in Australia 

Etisalat’s chairman, Mohammad 

Omran, has predicted 

a new wave of mergers and acquisitions 

in the telecoms sector 

particularly in areas related 

to the provision of advanced 

services for consumers and developing 

vertical expertise in 

ICT provision for enterprises. 

He made his forecast at the 

10th annual Forbes Global CEO 

Conference which this year 

takes place in Sydney, Australia 

with an audience of approximately 

400 delegates. 

Mr Omran was participating 

in a panel discussion entitled 

“Broadening horizons with 

technology” and made his remarks 

in response to questions 

Aasem A Alali 

related to the state of the telecoms 

industry in the current 

economic climate. 

“The telecoms industry was 

last and least affected by the 

economic crash of 2008,” Mohammad 

Omran, Chairman of 

Etisalat explained. “Although 

global GDP and IT spending 

saw a dip in 2008-09, telecom 

company revenues continued 

to grow. This is because telecoms 

services have joined the 

bundle of critical services and 

have some resistance to recessionary 

pressures.” T 

Etisalat secures 

important arbitration victory in dispute with Planor Afrique 

An Arbitral Tribunal of the 

International Chamber 

of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, 

France rendered a final award 

in the dispute between Emirates 

Telecommunications Corporation 

(“Etisalat”) and Planor 

Afrique (“Planor”) relating 

to Etisalat’s Burkina Faso subsidiary, 

Telecel Faso. 

The Arbitral Tribunal upheld 

Etisalat’s claims that the 

Memorandum of Agreement 

(“MOA”) entered into by Etisalat 

and Planor in September 

2007 to settle their dispute regarding 

Telecel Faso was valid, 

binding and enforceable and 

that Planor had breached the 

MOA. 

The Arbitral Tribunal also ordered 

Planor to take the necessary 

steps to close the transaction 

contemplated by the MOA 

within 60 days as from 

the notification of the 

award, on penalty of 

a €10,000 per day in 

the way of non-compliance 

fine as from the 

61st day. In addition, 

the Arbitral Tribunal 

also awarded Etisalat 

monetary damages for 

the losses arising from 

breach of the MOA. 

The MOA was signed 

by Etisalat (as a substantial 

stakeholder in 

Atlantique Telelcom) 

and Planor in September 

2007 to provide a 

global settlement of the dispute 

relating to Telecel Faso 

(in which Planor Afrique was 

the minority shareholder). The 

MOA stipulates that Atlantique 

Telecom will own a 68% 

stake in Telecel Faso and that 

Planor Afrique will own a 32% 

stake. The MOA also provides 

for the definitive withdrawal 

of all pending claims between 

Planor Afrique and Atlantique 

Telecom relating to Telecel 

Iyad Hasan Ahmad Al Zoubi 

Faso. 

Mr. Ahmed Bin Ali, Group Senior 

Vice President, Corporate 

Communications of the Etisalat 

Group, said: “Etisalat notes 

with satisfaction that the ICC 

Tribunal has confirmed the 

binding nature of the settlement 

agreement reached with 

Planor Afrique. Etisalat intends 

to proceed quickly with the 

implementation of the MOA, 

so as to facilitate the Group’s 

plans for significant contributions 

to the advancement of 

the telecommunications sector 

in Burkina Faso. 

“We would like to take this 

opportunity to assure our customers 

in Burkina Faso that 

we will introduce world-class 

value added services to this 

fast growing nation”, Mr. Bin 

Ali said. T 



23

Interview: Khalid Athar 

“STC remains committed 

to the evolution of the Saudi telecom sector” 

Dr. Homoud M. Al Kussayer 

Vice President for Regulatory Affairs 



Dr. Homoud M. Alkussayer is the vice 

president for Regulatory Affairs in 

Saudi Telecom Company (STC). As the 

head of Regulatory affairs, he leads 

the company’s telecom policy and 

regulatory management activities 

including Legal counseling functions. 

He is also in charge of developing 

strong and effective relations 

with the Regulator, ministries and 

international institutions. 

Dr. Alkussayer has held several 

senior level management positions 

within STC and has more than 25 

years of leadership and professional 

experience in Telecommunication. He 

holds a Ph.D. in Telecom Engineering 

from Bradford University - UK. 

TT - How do you perceive 

the current telecom market 

in Saudi Arabia in light of 

the developing competition 

What role has STC played 

HK - The telecom market in 

Saudi Arabia witnessed exponential 

growth and development 

of the past decade. 

Total sector revenues grew 

four folds from around SR 15 

Billion in 2000 to around SR 

55 Billion in 2009. The reform 

of the telecom sector and the 

associated competition contributed 

to this growth thus 

far. 

Nonetheless, forecasts indicate 

that historical aggressive 

growth may well be fading in 

the context of a maturing market. 

In parallel, competition is 

The Saudi Regulatory Authority 

(CITC) has played a major role in 

stimulating competition in Saudi and 

developing the market accordingly. 

STC has over the years built a very 

good relationship with the CITC 

based on a solid foundation. 

continuously intensifying and 

may negatively impact all operators’ 

margins and ability to 

sustain previous investment 

levels. The Saudi market may 

well be witnessing some competitive 

value destruction to 

a certain extent. 

That being said, STC has been 

and will remain committed 

to the evolution of the Saudi 

telecom sector enabling a relentless 

wave of economic 

modernization through ICT; 

needless to say that consequently, 

STC contributed to 

economic diversity and overall 

growth. 

TT - How do you evaluate 

the regulatory regime that 

enabled the evolution of the 

Saudi telecom market What 

were the key drivers 

HK - The Saudi Regulatory 

Authority (CITC) has played 

a major role in stimulating 

competition in Saudi and developing 

the market accordingly. 

STC has over the years 

built a very good relationship 

with the CITC based on a solid 

foundation. STC try to play an 

active role with other operators 

in the market to regularly 

collaborate with the CITC in 

shaping the next generation 

of regulations in the market 

which is done through formal 

and informal channels (consultations, 

meetings, workshops, 

etc…). The recent examples 

of such collaborative 

exercises include the foreseen 

evolution of the retail regulation 

regime. 

With that in mind, STC maintains 

that the Saudi market 

tends to be overly regulated 

in comparison with other liberalized 

markets, more noticeably 

on the mobile front. This 

form of regulation might have 

been appropriate in the short 

period following the entry of 

the second mobile operator 

but can not be maintained 



25

now while competition is intensifies. 

With margins being eroded 

and competition intensifying, 

a clear and comprehensive 

shift in policy and regulatory 

focus is needed to enable the 

next wave of market growth. 

TT - Going forward, what development 

do you foresee in 

Saudi Arabia 

HK - In we should clearly focus 

on embracing the digital 

revolution with all the endless 

possibilities to improve 

productivity and social welfare. 

Yet, such a vision for a 

digital society should be met 

with a strategic investment 

in both supply and demand, 

where supply can be meet by 

implementing a future proof, 

high speed, and ubiquitous 

connectivity infrastructure 

and demand can be create by 

wide spectrum of initiatives 

to spurr the adoption of ICT 

across the different sectors 

(health, education, energy, 

government, ...). 

This is not a unique thinking, 

as you know many countries 

have already initiated a 

publicly financed rollout of a 

high speed connectivity including 

Australia, Malaysia 

and Singapore to name a few. 

Countries have also adopted 

new ICT policies that would 

attract needed investments 

to the sector while providing 

supportive foundations like 

needed laws and regulations. 

STC has already initiated 

the deployment of NGN high 

speed fiber-based infrastructure, 

and will be looking at 

means and solutions to accelerate 

this deployment. STC is 

also collaborating with various 

stakeholders to bring about 

the digital revolution by enabling 

and providing needed 

ICT solutions on the demand 

side. But with competitive and 

financial pressures looming, 

the sustainability of speeding 

and growing such initiatives is 

uncertain. 

TT - How can this growth vision 

for the next decade be 

engaged What is needed 

HK - I think first a shift in policy 

and regulations is needed 

to incentives the new investments 

in the infrastructure 

and also to create needed 

momentum for ICT innovation 

and usage. 

On one hand, policy should 

attempt to answer the following 

questions: 

How can the massive country 

wide future-proof infrastruc- 

The Saudi Regulatory Authority (CITC) has played a major 

role in stimulating competition in Saudi and developing the 

market accordingly. STC has over the years built a very good 

relationship with the CITC based on a solid foundation. 



STC is now improving its presence in multiple regional 

countries which increasingly fueling its ability to offer 

seamless connectivity and enterprise services to large 

businesses and governments when needs be. 

ture be funded 

How can we provide the 

needed investment certainty 

How can incremental demand 

be created How can we ensure 

a faster and more aggressive 

ICT adoption across the 

key sectors 

How to govern the new ICT 

with a complex set of stakeholders 

(services providers, 

regulators, ministries, vendors, 

etc...) 

On the other hand, the regulatory 

focus should evolve to 

enable needed convergence to 

take place with more regulatory 

certainty and less pressure. 

ICT and telecommunications 

are now enablers of multiple 

daily retail and enterprise services, 

and the boundaries between 

those different services 

are often blurry. Regulators 

should potentially elevate the 

layers at which they regulate 

to allow for those services to 

flourish freely. 

TT - On the international 

front, trends of further regional 

economic integration 

are increasingly growing; can 

the telecom sector fuel this 

integration 

HK - That is indeed a very 

good question. Regional integration 

is somewhat coupled 

with some regional regulatory 

harmonization. Efforts are 

now limited to initiates a harmonize 

roaming services but 

much more can be done. 

Nonetheless, from a service 

offering perspective, STC is 

uniquely positioned today to 

support this economic integration. 

STC is now improving 

its presence in multiple 

regional countries which increasingly 

fueling its ability 

to offer seamless connectivity 

and enterprise services to 

large businesses and governments 

when needs be. STC 

regional footprint is ensured 

through affiliates, subsidiaries 

and Points of Presence. 

Combined, STC now offers 

services in seven countries 

in the Middle East and will 

surely play a catalyst role in 

the regional economic integration. 

T 

Dr. Homoud receiving awards for STC from Tom Wilson of SAMENA Telecommunications Council during “Convergence to Istanbul” 



27


Scope Information 

Systems to Showcase Expanded Distribution Line at Gitex 2010 

SCOPE to continue driving distribution and systems integration business 

through participation at Gitex Technology Week 

Scope Information Systems 

(SCOPE), a leading systems 

integrator and technology 

solutions provider in the 

Middle East, will unravel its 

expansion success story at 

Gitex Technology Week 2010. 

The company is looking to further 

grow its distribution line 

as well as add new technology 

capabilities and offerings to its 

systems integration business 

by using Gitex as a platform 

to meet vendors and sign potential 

partnerships. Through 

its participation in the Middle 

East’s premier ICT trade show 

which takes place between 

17-21 October 2010, SCOPE 

also intends showcasing its 

world class range of solutions 

ranging from IP Telephony, 

messaging solutions, network 

security, cabling services, internet 

and intranet solutions, 

to outsourcing, migration and 

relocation services. 

“Gitex offers a great venue for 

SCOPE to meet with existing 

and potential vendors, customers 

and resellers and expose 

our name and capabilities 

to the market. We have several 

key objectives this year which 

include meeting and consolidating 

our relationships with 

our major vendors like HP, Cisco, 

Microsoft, Blue Coat, Sharp 

and others, discussing strategic 

initiatives and plans with our 

channel partners, seeking project 

engagements with customers 

and very importantly tying 

up with new vendors especially 

in the technology areas of active 

data, datacentres, servers, 

virtualization and security”, 

says Mr. Fadi AbuEkab, CEO, 

SCOPE. 

SCOPE earlier this year outlined 

a roadmap and growth strategy 

which resulted in splitting 

its well established Distribution 

and Systems Integration 

(SI) business into two separate 

entities, allowing for more 

focused efforts – Scope Middle 

East for distribution and Scope 

Information Systems for its SI 

business. With a view to expanding 

its distribution line, it 

recently signed two distributorship 

agreements - with Legrand, 

specialists in wiring devices, 

cable management and 

structured cabling and Splicecom, 

the only British company 

to design, develop and manufacture 

“Pure IP” next-generation 

communication systems. 

This has strengthened its vendor 

base which includes well 

known leading global technology 

vendors like Cisco, HP, Microsoft, 

Blue Coat, Sharp and 

intranet technology specialist 

Adenin Technologies. Besides 

signing on new vendors, 

SCOPE has also been taking 

up new initiatives which have 

contributed to developing high 

Fadi AbuEkab, CEO - SCOPE 

levels of technical expertise 

and service excellence. One of 

these initiatives include being 

trained and certified as a 

Blue Coat ‘Blue Touch Services 

Partner (BTSP), a distinction 

which enables the company to 

provide value-added, partnerbranded 

professional services 

to Blue Coat customers, helping 

deepen customer relationships 

and build stronger customer 

loyalty. T 

I n t e r n a t i o n a l 

Visit us 

Booth # Z46 - Zabeel Hall (DWTC) 

Contact: (+971) 050 13050907 

28 www.teletimesinternational.com 15Oct - 14Nov 2010

Sandro Dionisi 

Gearing up 

for effective network operations 

Mobile networks are constantly evolving to meet customer demands. In order to manage effectively such 

evolution, operators need to enhance their operational efficiency. Sandro Dionisi, NGMN Board member and 

Head of the Telecom Italia Lab, outlines the key innovations that have boosted operational efficiency in next 

generation mobile networks. 

Challenges of network operations 

Operators are facing many 

challenges in network operations 

management. Complexity 

is one of the issues, due 

to the rollout of several radio 

access technologies from 

2G to LTE, in a multi-vendor 

environment and multi-deployment 

scenarios covering 

macro, micro, pico and femto. 

Network complexity and traffic 

increase require the ability 

of tuning network parameters 

dynamically to the pace and 

location of the traffic. In order 

to adapt network performance 

to time, location and 

volume of traffic, a real time 

monitoring of the network is 

required as well. 

The scope of network operations 

enhancement is manifold: 

optimizing manual operations 

in network maintenance 

and configuration, reducing 

cost, and enhancing monitoring 

capabilities for localized 

problems like hotspot and indoor 

coverage. Convergence is 

also needed to unify different 

services, technologies and domains. 

In detail, there are six major 

challenges facing operators 

in network operations: complexity 

management, dynamic 

configuration, real time performance, 

together with cost 

reduction, accuracy and convergence. 

Solving these challenges 

would help to improve 

procedural efficiency, increase 

network capacity and quality, 

and address new technological 

issues. 

The evolution of the operations 

framework is based on 

two evolutionary steps: self 

organizing network (SON) 

and evolved O&M. 

SON is bringing changes 

The key innovations for SON 

can be summarized in three 

main keywords: self, dynamic 

and decentralized. 

“Self” means that the network 

is able to configure 

and optimize configurations 

automatically. For instance, 

manual operation for simple 

but repetitive tasks such as 

installing new network nodes 

should require a minimal effort. 

“Dynamic” means having automatic 

reaction capabilities 

when problems occur. When 

a fault is reported, a dialog 

between the network and 

the operation & maintenance 

center would be initiated to 

automatically help solve the 

problem. 

“Decentralized” points to the 

fact that in a SON approach, 

network elements shall have 

the capability of optimizing 

operational parameters autonomously, 

without involving 

the rest of the network 



29

in local optimizations. Today 

upgrades usually require a 

physical presence at the site; 

in this case, it is not possible 

to adjust a network element 

as soon as it is installed on 

the cell, or remove a cell if it 

does not adapt or a failure occurs. 

SON can help addressing 

these issues with features like 

automatic neighbor relation, 

handover optimization and 

load balancing, which can also 

help in improving the major 

KPIs of operators. 

The SON framework changes 

the approach to operations 

where operators do not have 

to define specific parameter 

values any longer but have to 

define optimization criteria 

and control policies to steer 

local SON functions. 

Operators have to check and 

coordinate the correct behavior 

of the SON functions, by 

monitoring the aggregate SON 

performance and network 

KPIs. SON has the potentiality 

of making the operators’ lives 

easier, but operational processes 

have to be re-thought 

and enhanced internally. 

Self-organizing is not enough 

To improve operational efficiency, 

the self-organizing 

concept is not enough. In order 

to handle a SON network 

in an efficient way, operators 

should be able to apply the 

same process to different network 

technologies and implementations. 

Implementing 

the policy control functions 

can not work without a common 

definition of the policies 

for every case of SON usage. 

Also, centralized control functions 

should be realized at the 

network management level 

and multi-vendor support is 

required. To help solve these 

problems, 3GPP is defining 

the standard O&M functions 

to control SON. 

The traditional approach for 

KPIs and performance counters 

is no longer sufficient 

to control self-adapting networks 

in highly dynamic scenarios. 

The evolved performance 

monitoring shall be 

real time, relying on location 

information, independent 

from the implementation, and 

involving the user equipment 

as an alternative to drive 

tests. As an important part of 

these efforts, 3GPP and the 

Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) 

are standardizing the UE measurements 

for performance 

monitoring. 

Though a large effort is devoted 

in developing management 

functions, the operational 

efficiency can be reduced, if 

there is a low degree of integration 

with operators’ processes 

and tools. 

The definition of multi-vendor 

multi-technology control solutions 

requires the standardization 

of performance KPIs 

and O&M architecture, which 

includes the architectural solutions 

supporting the reuse 

of O&M functions for different 

OSS business processes. 

In addition, interoperability 

and flexible integration between 

the network element 

manager and the network 

management layer are also required. 

To improve the level of 

interoperability of the O&M 

interface and promote open 

management architecture, coeffort 

is required from different 

parties, including 3GPP, 

operators and vendors. 

NGMN plays an important 

role 

NGMN is playing an increasingly 

important role in enhancing 

the operational efficiency. 

NGMN activities are 

oriented to: 1) Identify the 

gaps and define the requirements 

based on an operator’ 

s business and user cases; 2) 

Analyze technical frameworks 

and the feasibility of relevant 

solutions; 3) Contribute to 

standardization fora, including 

3GPP, the OMA and the 

TM Forum; 4) Provide implementation 

requirements and 

guidelines. 

From the first quarter of 

2009 to early 2010, NGMN 

operators have started specific 

approach on operational 

efficiency, covering SON use 

cases and open O&M. Use 

cases have included currently 

standardized SON solutions 

like HO optimization, load 

balancing, optimization of 

common channels, etc. SON 

use cases also include energy 

savings, since this is a very 

important issue in managing 

traffic and energy consumption. 

The open O&M includes 

the standardized OSS architecture, 

as well as the standardized 

O&M supported by 

a standard 4G Itf-N interface 

and a specific use case. 

In this context, the short term 

target on operational efficiency 

is to improve procedural 

efficiency and evolve the operational 

processes. This also 

includes increasing network 

capacity and service quality, 

while addressing new technological 

issues. NGMN will be 

committed to elaborating on 

the operators’ vision of operational 

efficiency, providing 

use cases and requirements, 

and promoting coordinated 

activity in relevant standardization 

fora. T 



CTO and BroadGroup announce 

emerging markets global summit 

Facilitating ICT investment partnerships to transform societies 

The Commonwealth Telecommunications 

Organisation 

(CTO) and the international 

consultancy firm 

BroadGroup have announced 

a joint collaboration to organise 

the ICT Finance Emerging 

Markets Global Summit to take 

place on December 6-7, 2010 

at the BIS Conference Centre 

in London. Incorporating CTO’s 

annual conference, Investing in 

ICTs in Emerging Markets, and 

BroadGroup’s TMT Finance & 

Investment events, the much 

anticipated conference will 

be attended by ICT Government 

Ministers, CEOs of telecom 

operating companies, ICT 

regulators, high-level telecom 

finance executives, financiers 

and investors, law firms and 

management consultancy practices 

and will tackle the need 

to develop innovative international 

investment partnerships 

to stimulate ICT growth across 

emerging markets. 

“It is now very well known 

that ICTs are a critical enabler 

of national development. Indeed, 

in many countries the 

challenge is how to use ICTs 

as facilitational mechanisms 

to transform whole economies 

through e-commerce, e-governance, 

e-education and other 

e-applications. But ICTs cannot 

spread rapidly in any country 

without the necessary infrastructure 

of fibre, satellite and 

wireless backbones, networks, 

and systems. And all these 

need finance. Investing in ICTs 

in emerging markets is therefore 

very critical for developing 

countries to realise their fullest 

potential,” said Dr Ekwow 

Spio-Garbrah, CEO of CTO. 

“This forum offers a unique 

platform for stakeholders in 

developing markets to network 

with fund owners, technology 

providers, investors and other 

specialist advisers.” 

The conference programme will 

highlight key opportunities 

and will include content rich 

keynotes, expert panels, and 

round table debates. Flagship 

sessions include the Ministerial 

Panel, Telecom Leadership 

Roundtable, Raising Finance 

for Emerging Markets, 

Infrastructure Investment 

for Emerging Markets, M&A 

Panel, Investing in Emerging 

Broadband, Connecting Rural 

Communities and will also host 

the ICT Leadership Debate. 

“The event is an exceptional 

opportunity for government, 

Rumana Bukht 

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah 

industry and finance players 

across emerging markets,” said 

Dominic Lowndes, Managing 

Director, BroadGroup TMT 

Ventures, and Editor of TMT 

Finance News Alert. “Developing 

investment partnerships 

between these parties is critical 

to the successful growth 

of communications services in 

emerging economies.” T 

Thuraya provides IP 

services in Turkey through TEKNOMOBIL 

Vertical market segments 

in Turkey such as government, 

maritime and industry 

users as well as private customers 

will now be able to 

take advantage of Thuraya’s 

satellite based high-speed data 

services, Thuraya IP, which is 

the most competitive broadband 

terminal in the market. 

This comes after the signing 

of a commercial agreement between 

Thuraya and the Turkish 

firm TEKNOMOBIL, whereby 

the latter was appointed as a 

service provider for Thuraya 

IP, the world’s smallest and 

most portable satellite broadband 

solution. 

Thuraya IP is a uniquely compact 

A-5 sized satellite broadband 

solution that meets the 

needs of target customers such 

as oil and gas , government, 

maritime, large corporate, Non- 

Government Organisations, 

defense, broadcast media and 

individual users. The solution 

offers full mobility with its 

broadband service and 

speeds up to 444 Kbps. 

It is the only terminal 

to reach streaming 

speeds of 384 

Kbps in its size 

category for reliable 

video transmission. Thuraya 

IP is based on a user-friendly 

plug and play system and is the 

only satellite broadband solution 

offering flexible asymmetric 

streaming where customers 

can select download and upload 

speeds making it efficient 

and cost-effective. 

“Our partnership with TEKNO- 

MOBIL combined 

w i t h 

T h u raya ’s 

blanket coverage 

over Turkey will extend our 

satellite broadband service to 

Ebrahim K. Ebrahim 

several industries in Turkey, 

especially those in remote 

areas where telecom access 

might not be convenient or 

sufficiently reliable. Our IP terminal 

is unprecedented in its 

size, portability and innovative 

features ensuring that key 

customer can utilise any 

high speed data service 

and streaming capabilities 

with full availability,” said 

Thuraya’s Chief Technology 

Officer, Mr. Ali Al Mazrooei. 

He also added that the advanced 

Thuraya network dynamically 

allocates resources 

in areas where there is very 

high demand so that multiple 

users of Thuraya IP are not affected 

by service quality. T 



31

FRiENDi GROUP wins the Award for Best MVNO 

FRiENDi GROUP, the leading 

MVNO/MVNE provider in 

the region is the proud recipient 

winner of the Best MVNO 

award revealed at the 4th Annual 

Telecoms World Middle 

East Awards ceremony. 

FRiENDi GROUP was the 

first to introduce the MVNO 

(Mobile Virtual Network Operator) 

concept in the Middle 

East, and is on track to deliver 

on the company vision of being 

the dominant regional 

MVNO player with operations 

in Jordan, where it was 

the first MVNO to launch in 

June 2010, and Oman where 

an impressive market share of 

4% was achieved within one 

year of launch and more than 

200,000 customers are served 

today. 

FRiENDi GROUP’s philosophy 

is based on helping customers 

with a piece of their heart 

abroad keep in touch with 

their loved ones internationally 

and locally. 

Upon receiving the award, 

Mikkel Vinter, CEO of FRiENDi 

GROUP said ‘We’re honoured 

and very proud to receive The 

Telecom World Middle East 

award for Best MVNO. To have 

Teletimes Report 

Telecoms World Middle East Awards 2010 

our efforts and commitment to 

the region and our customers 

recognized means a lot to all 

of us across the organization. 

We hope to continue bringing 

our friendly, customer focused 

and multi-cultural mobile services 

to customers across the 

region”. 

With 600 MVNOs operating 

across the world, mobile operators 

and telecom regulators 

are increasingly recognizing 

the fresh impetus and value 

MVNOs can bring to mobile 

markets across the region. It 

is expected that the regional 

telecommunications industry 

will be reshaped by a number 

of MVNO launches in Kuwait, 

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and 

several North African markets 

over the coming months and 

years. T 

Telecoms World Middle East 

2010 named Etisalat “Best 

Operator Award” and “Best 

Middle Eastern Wholesale Carrier” 

in a special awards ceremony 

held in Dubai. 

Etisalat was granted the 

awards for its innovative business 

model, successful partnering 

strategy and technology 

deployment that supports its 

thriving wholesale carrier business. 

Etisalat was also honored 

for its high score in values such 

as quality of service, reliability, 

customer service, strong service 

portfolio and technological 

innovation. 

Etisalat awarded 

“Best Middle Eastern Wholesale Carrier” and “Best Operator” 

“Congratulations to Etisalat on 

winning two of the most prestigious 

awards at the 4th Annual 

Telecoms World Awards 

Middle East Ceremony. This 

achievement is particularly 

impressive given the strength 

and quality of the finalists 

they were competing against. 

The awards highlighted that regional 

operators have become 

global brands and are firmly established 

as world class service 

providers. Etisalat’s success is 

further evidence that they are 

at the forefront of this”. Commented 

Matt Wallhead General 

Manager Terrapinn Middle 

East. 

Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale 

Service group established 

many services for regional 

ISPs, mobile operators and 

telecoms companies. These include 

global transit services for 

voice, data, MPLSs as well as 

many value added mobile and 

internet services effectively 

providing outsourcing services 

for other operators. T 



Grace under Fire! 

Its more than just an achievement that 

the telecom industry today enjoys a 

comfortable level of esteem attached with 

every one of its labels. Considering that its 

only less than 20 years that telecom was 

born in Pakistan, the level of grace and 

class that it stands for and projects openly 

asks for a very sensible and careful strategy 

rather than just any other strenuous 

routine. This esteem doesn’t come with a 

price tag since the annual turnovers of a 

lot of other industries are way more than 

telecommunications in Pakistan and this 

industry quite frankly doesn’t have enough 

juice in its very make to beat those figures, 

nor does it intend or claim to. The real battle 

is fought in the state dinners of ministries 

and locker rooms of corporate health clubs 

where the heads of the industries dine and 

steam it out. It becomes a matter only of 

what the industry actually holds within its 

claims. And it all boils down to who represents 

what in those fine moments which 

determine big decisions carving the very 

shape of the house holds of the people in 

its folds. Its only at times like these that 

you wonder where it all started and where 

it went right or wrong. 

Before I go ahead, please allow me to go 

back in the time just a little. The first generation 

of telecom professionals of Pakistan 

did what they thought was best for 

the industry, themselves and the people to 

come. Even if not in this order but it worked 

out close enough of being called a fine performance. 

When an industry emerges the 

first time on a map it faces more than just 

a competition from other totally different 

industries. The first thing any new product 

faces is the taboos that other product 

lines have created in the general behaviors 

driven by multiple impressions of the demographic. 

So the cell phone at the time 

had a lot of work to do to alter the behavior 

of the public. It naturally fought for 

its survival amongst the other industries 

which are passively working against the 

need on which the industry tries to make 

its inroads. 

When wireless telecommunication came, 

the local territory had a fair amount of 

grid stations lighting up the stretch of the 

country of a single landline operator like 

light houses guiding the other telecoms to 

Sahil Aizaz Adeem 

head this way. So cell phone was not a going 

to be a miracle. And with no set plan, 

the landline was the only thing working 

for the wireless communications in this 

country. It did the two things the wireless 

needed before its arrival in Pakistan. It had 

made everyone in the country given the 

proof of concept of Mr. Bell. So everyone 

knew that the Telephone works! Second 

and most important thing that the landline 

phone was doing was making everyone 

subliminally realize that its very difficult to 

make a call since most people travel a lot 

to go to the nearest exchange to make a 

call and its quite an achievement to own a 

telephone. This sense of achievement was 

the real sale’s pitch. 

All one had to do was to put the customer 

on the podium in a game that he is never 

going to lose. The course of nature helped 

by Uncle Sam followed more than our civics 

Professor theory who cries about driving 

the behavior of 95% mass buy driving 

the impressions of 5% (elite). Paktel 

was the first to come in and try this out. 

It didn’t come big but it definitely came 

good. With a local name the first thing it 

did was to clear the layer of emotional algae 

this demographic suffers from and it 

did not feel much resistance in the acceptance 

category. Instead it played more role 

in using the more efficient taboo which 

rules this demographic which was the ‘status 

quo’. The customer came really close to 

feeling that achievement which is a technical 

failure that the local landline suffered 

from. However the demographic was still 

a little emotionally tuned, so it did retract 

a little before laying its guns down to the 

inevitable momentum of mobility. 

Since it’s the past era, any sort of an event 

which lasted less than a certain substantial 

period cannot be mentioned here due 

to the Doppler’s effect and they didn’t last 

long enough to matter or change the shape 

of matter which the industry sits upon. 

By and far the first generation which started 

all of telecom operations are still running 

the show right in Pakistan. I cannot 

emphasize on how much I am indebted to 

their insight for developing the platform 

which enables me to realize the inherited 

grace that this industry comes with. Globally 

the cellular phone was an enchanting 

product line and a superlative service arena 

that complimented each other naturally 

and most beautifully. Any demographic 

would have been swept away by the literal 

appeal it carried in its core. Let me 

keep emphasizing the point before I start 

to become a little redundant since it’s the 

very basis of my case. The simplicity of 

the product made it look like something 

straight from the maslow’s triangle. Even 

though I remember reading a whole book 

on how the telephone satisfies the need to 

listen and to be heard. I don’t think that 

Maslow would agree as well because in my 

own humble opinion the telephone merely 

plays with the need to cover distances 



33

without moving. The need to 

keep your inertia intact and 

that’s what makes it so appealing. 

The simplicity of ‘The 

Achievement’ was so visible 

that it felt like cell phones were 

something that had to happen. 

Even with the local per-capita 

laughing at the industry overheads, 

the tide was ‘simply’ 

too strong. What started off as 

a toy for the rich, only took a 

decade for the writers to alter 

the script of sales strategy and 

made it feel like a basic necessity 

for the poor as well. And 

that’s when it actually happened! 

Lets come back to the present. 

If it was such a slow process I 

wouldn’t have blamed the first 

generation. I would have only 

linked it to the appendages 

of the course and put all the 

blame on Mr. Darwin. Since 

demographic inabilities don’t 

really matter in the long term 

strategies since we live in a 

world with a pattern of behavior 

which has an uncanny ability 

to come back and keep its 

level. 

The grace of the telecom industry 

with which it started in the 

country came as an inheritance 

to all of us. Lets face it, we 

didn’t do enough justice to the 

very essence of the philosophy 

we came with and brought it 

lower than the customer expectations 

for just about any 

other product. The business 

centers of GSM lost the crimson 

drive ways which gave this 

very esteem in question to the 

customer while he looked at the 

dollar store across the street 

getting the feel of the million 

dollars spent on our shops. 

And the current marketing 

frenzy settled right in the philosophy 

of push sales strategy. 

I remember when Pepsi started 

fighting with coke, and Chrysler 

fights with Benz. They do 

everything but sell the grace 

of the industry since they 

share the same boat and are 

well aware by the principles of 

leadership alone that the day 

anyone burns the deck everyone 

will be selling life preservers 

instead of ocean liners. The 

question is how And when 

and where did it all start to 

occur The price war hit the industry 

just like a civil war goes 

through all the foundations of 

the country. The worst part is 

that even being so close to the 

picture its still not so blurry 

to everyone of the Pakistanis. 

Because the efforts done by 

everyone responsible are so 

blatant and repercussive that 

even a newly qualified member 

of the cell phone club has 

lost that sense of achievement 

amazingly in all layers of the 

demographic. 

It doesn’t take a professor to 

predict that even before the 

beginning of the next age, that 

with the purchase of a new cellular 

subscription, the customer 

wont be left even with the 

‘new shoes effect’ let alone the 

anything close to what Mr. Bell 

can relate to let alone call it a 

sense of achievement. And it 

definitely doesn’t take the seven 

vows of CEOs to realize this. 

Its something innate, the very 

difference of sense between 

any other person and a CEO, 

or any decision maker for that 

matter. Its a curse that comes 

with the package of carrying a 

burden of running a company 

or being part of an industry, 

or in simple words, making an 

impression. 

Telecom went to war in Pakistan 

no more than 5 years ago. 

Apparently it was too sudden 

and that is why its rocked the 

very ship the industry sailed 

in. Every company brought 

the kitchen sink with it just to 

prove a point to the competitor 

instead of the customer. There 

was a school of thought saying 

the Pakistani demographic was 

never ready for such a war of 

the realms. The Pakistani demographic 

was not even accustomed 

to gaining any intelligence 

on marketing mechanics 

or industry dynamics, this was 

the ‘Official republic of hearsay’ 

and could have been driven 

Telecom went to war in Pakistan no more 

than 5 years ago. Apparently it was too 

sudden and that is why its rocked the very 

ship the industry sailed in. Every company 

brought the kitchen sink with it just to 

prove a point to the competitor instead of 

the customer. 

easier than most case studies 

the officials blow up on a 6 by 

6 screen in front of their managements 

on Monday mornings 

in their mahogany conference 

rooms. But someone out there 

tried to introduce a highly potent 

medicine right out of the 

lab and gave it directly to the 

‘therapy ward’ instead. Now 

the side effects have forced 

the telecom companies themselves 

to vacate critical niche 

in the folds of downsizing and 

cost effectiveness. Even though 

Mr. Kotler would call it a ‘diminished 

capacity’ rather than 

anything close to being effective 

at any level and the term 

‘bad rhythm’ is more appropriate 

than calling it merely a vicious 

circle. The choice to buy 

a better product was never in 

the hands of a customer. It can 

never be, cause lets face it, customers 

don’t make the product. 

If managed well, he cant even 

make a intended impression of 

a product until forcefully driven 

towards it. It is always only led 

to believe that he has a choice. 

Or at times only something 

close to a choice of buying only 

a relatively better product is 

the best a customer shall ever 

have. These are the fundamentals 

of a market not an industry. 

This was a rookie mistake 

made by a magnificently overwhelming 

number of decision 

makers in these times over and 

over again. And no one seems 

to have any intent of coming 

out of this cycle. Its as if 

the paradigm was set in a bad 

rhythm and no one came for 

the rescue. This rhythm actually 

took its toll in shaking the 

very soul of the industry and in 

simpler words, stole the actual 

grace and plummeted it down 

to the depths of the lowest expectations 

of the customer for 

any other product there ever 

already was. In other words, no 

one would remember what Mr. 

Bell actually gave this world. 

Where the SIM was a symbol 

of esteem now is a just another 

plastic toy sitting on a rack, 

with a shelf life of a little more 

than 88 seconds on prime time 

television. 

One by one every company will 

beat each other, until there 

won’t be left a company to 

beaten and the ‘For Sale’ board 

would be worth more than the 

product itself. The value added 

service will add no more value 

then a mere bubble that will 

burst with a laughter. And a 

million dollar advertisement 

will fall wanting for a laughter 

cracked hard on the competitor 

which are dime a dozen rather 

than bringing out that age old 

smile of achievement which is 

priceless value of everyone who 

represents this industry. T 



Etisalat Recognised 

five times at the interational business Awards (‘Stevies’) 

Best Chairman and Best Multinational Company amongst haul of trophies and medals 

Etisalat has received five 

awards, at the International 

Business Awards (‘Stevies’), 

which took place in Istanbul, 

recently. The haul marks the 

largest number of accolades 

won by Etisalat at a single 

event, reflecting the company’s 

increasing stature as a global 

player in telecommunications 

and services. The recognitions 

included Best Chairman. 

The International Business 

Awards, also known as the ‘Stevies’ 

- which means crowned in 

Greek - were created to honor 

and generate public recognition 

of the achievements and 

positive contributions of organizations 

and working people 

worldwide. This year’s event 

was attended by a large number 

of industry leaders from 

around the world. 

Etisalat received two ‘Stevie’ 

awards - for Best Multinational 

Company in the Middle East 

and Africa, and Chairman of 

the year2010 . This is the highest 

award possible and reflects 

excellence and high performance 

across various areas of 

operations. 

Mohammad Omran, Chairman 

at Etisalat said: “We are proud 

for this recognition, which is 

just reward for all the hard effort 

from each of our 80,000 

employees in eighteen countries 

and I wish to convey their 

appreciation for this recognition 

and also to applaud their 

efforts.” 

Etisalat won these awards for 

its continuous investment in 

new technologies in each of the 

markets in which it operates. It 

cited success in mobile broadband 

in the UAE, Saudi Arabia 

and Egypt where HSPA+ and 

LTE are being deployed. Etisalat 

is also making ground in 

terms of fixed-line broadband 

in countries such as Sudan, 

Pakistan and also the UAE, 

which will shortly house the 

first capital city in the world to 

be fully connected with fiber 

optics. 

Etisalat also received three 

honourable mentions at the 

ceremony honoring its exemplary 

level of performance. 

Two of Etisalat’s senior executives 

were ‘honoured’ as Ahmad 

Abdulkarim Julfar, Group Chief 

Operating Officer, received an 

acknowledgement in the Best 

Executive in the Middle East 

and Africa category, and Salem 

AlSharhan, Group Chief 

Finance Officer was awarded 

in the Best Chief Finance Officer 

category. Etisalat was also 

honoured for its environmental 

programme. 

Mohammad Omran continued: 

“Etisalat’s success formula is 

a combination of elements 

including strong leadership, 

innovation, excellence in customer 

service and operating in 

a responsible manner. These 

awards reflect the success of 

our various efforts in achieving 

these goals as well as the 

individual performance of our 

senior management.” 

Etisalat’s environmental programme 

has seen the company 

establish electronic waste collection 

depots at each of its 

business centers and people 

are invited to visit and safely 

dispose of their unwanted 

electronic device. 

Etisalat has also invested in 

nationwide fiber optic infrastructure 

which greatly reduces 

Aasem A Alali 

Mohammad Omran 

both the electricity required 

to fuel the network and the 

emissions it gives off. MrJulfar 

has overseen the engineering 

innovations of Etisalat including 

the deployment of the fiber 

optic network, and has been 

celebrated for his leadership 

and vision. 

Mr. AlSharhan has managed 

Etisalat’s finances through one 

of the most difficult economic 

environments the world has 

known and has ensured the 

company remains both financially 

sound and capable to 

take any new merger and acquisition 

opportunity that may 

arise. T 

Holding Statement 

Regarding the overseas investments 

of Etisalat, and 

the media circulations about 

Etisalat investment in the 

Mobile Telecommunications 

Company (Zain) and in line 

with the Corporation’s commitment 

to transparency with 

its shareholders as well as its 

commitment to disclosure of 

its decisions as per Abu Dhabi 

Securities Market regulations, 

Ahmed bin Ali, Group Senior 

Vice President, Corporate 

Communication said “ Emirates 

Telecommunications Corporation 

- “Etisalat” has submitted 

a preliminary conditional offer 

to buy a 46% stake of Mobile 

Telecommunications Company 

George Youssef 

(Zain) for an amount of 1.70 

Kuwaiti Dinars per share. We 

would like to emphasize that 

no final agreement has been 

reached at this point in time 

as this offer depends on the 

fulfillment of specific requirements 

and conditions that 

must be met to finalize the 

deal.” T 

Ahmed bin Ali 



35

Tony Saghbini 

Lebanese bloggers: 

pioneers in the Arab world 

A 

recent survey of readers 

of the more than 400 

blogs in Lebanon shows that 

their numbers are close to the 

online readership of the most 

well-known Lebanese newspapers: 

both averaging 14,000 

visitors daily. This is a clear 

indication that blogs have become 

one of the main media 

sources for Lebanese youth to 

access diverse information and 

various opinions. 

But do their high readership 

rates mean that blogs can be a 

tool for real social and political 

change 

It is difficult to answer this 

question in a country in which 

the future of blogging is closely 

connected to conditions that 

frequently change, such as internet 

connectivity, internet 

publication laws and censorship. 

The blogosphere in Lebanon 

has recently witnessed several 

changes: the migration of 

some bloggers to newspapers, 

the publication of books containing 

material collected from 

electronic media, the launch 

of blogs by radio stations, and 

the birth of civil movements 

and new organizations that 

show the impact of blogs on 

the ground. 

In this way, the Lebanese 

blogosphere is breaking down 

the barriers that separate traditional 

media from electronic 

media. It has become an alternative 

media source on many 

issues, particularly the environment 

which isn’t routinely 

covered by traditional media. 

One example is coverage in the 

blogosphere of a young Lebanese 

man, Rami Eid, who spent 

three days and nights in a glass 

cube in the Ain el Mreisseh 

neighborhood in Beirut last 

October, representing the last 

man on earth in a hopeless future 

as a result of humankind’s 

failure to act against climate 

change. His stunt alerted the 

public about the need to face 

these changes. 

The media campaign for this 

experiment focused on electronic 

media, beginning with 

Eid’s personal blog which was 

read by thousands in just the 

first few days of the campaign. 

In addition, Twitter and Facebook 

sites reported on developments 

in real time. This 

coverage succeeded in galvanizing 

public opinion, the media 

and various environmental 

research centers, which culminated 

in the Lebanese government 

deciding to participate 

in international negotiations 

on combating climate change 

in Copenhagen in December 

2009. 

Lebanese blogs have also 

served as key political mobilization 

and organization tools 

on many occasions, especially 

in preparing for the March 

for Secularism in April of this 

year. The march started with 

a Facebook invitation, as well 

as a few blog posts. It eventually 

developed into a march 

in which thousands of people 

participated, without the need 

for a central organizing committee. 

And during the last municipal 

elections in Lebanon, in May 

2010, bloggers turned into a 

makeshift independent elections 

monitoring agency. Some 

of these bloggers – in partnership 

with a Beirut-based organization 

specializing in new 

media training called Social 

Media Exchange – were given 

a license by the Ministry of 

Interior to enter election stations, 

observe voting and submit 

their own reports to media 

and constitutional bodies 

about the voting process. This 

was the first experience of its 

kind in the Arab world and was 

seen as being quite successful, 

with more than 60,000 hits on 

the site where bloggers published 

their live reports, lebloggers.org. 

One incident in particular perhaps 

best demonstrates how 

influential bloggers can be. 

After a far-reaching electronic 

campaign, bloggers were able 

to stop a proposed law in the 

Lebanese parliament to organize 

the blogosphere, a law 

that they decided would curtail 

freedom of expression on the 

Internet. This incident proved 

that when organized, blogs are 

not only an alternative media 

source or a tool to mobilize the 

public in support of specific 

causes, but they can also influence 

the legislative process. 

Well on their way to becoming 

pioneers in the Arab world, 

bloggers in Lebanon comprise 

a fledgling movement that has 

just begun to assume its role in 

the field of information media, 

benefiting from relative media 

freedom and the achievements 

realized thus far. T 



Alcatel-Lucent and Blue Coat 

form global reseller agreement and collaborate to help service 

providers deliver better video experience for customers 

Blue Coat Systems, Inc. 

and Alcatel-Lucent, announced 

a multi-year, global 

strategic reseller agreement 

to bring industry-leading web 

caching and content delivery 

solutions to service providers 

worldwide. Under the terms of 

the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent 

will sell Blue Coat products, including 

Blue Coat® ProxySG® 

and CacheFlow® appliances, 

to Alcatel-Lucent customers 

worldwide – including tierone 

telcos, managed service 

providers, regional ISPs and 

mobile operators. The products 

are available immediately. 

Alcatel-Lucent will specifically 

leverage the CacheFlow 

appliance as a complement to 

Alcatel-Lucent’s Velocix Content 

Delivery Network solution. 

The Velocix Digital Media 

Delivery Platform manages the 

distribution of digital content 

and is based on open Internet 

based video standards. The 

CacheFlow appliance reduces 

the strain of bandwidth-consuming 

dynamic Web 2.0 and 

video content by transparently 

caching such “over-the-top” 

content, providing bandwidth 

savings for carriers and a better 

experience for users. The 

CacheFlow appliance also 

helps service providers manage 

traffic “spikes” due to unusually 

high demand for content 

on breaking news or special 

events. Working together, Alcatel-Lucent 

and Blue Coat 

will exploit innovative content 

delivery technologies, including 

a new generation of Web 

and video caching, to enable 

service providers to enhance 

their customers’ video and web 

experience while offering reduced 

overall costs associated 

with bandwidth delivery and 

backhaul. Multimedia caching 

technology allows operators 

to store some content locally 

closer to the user to improve 

delivery performance across 

the network and user experience. 

In addition, Blue Coat 

ProxySG and PacketShaper® 

appliances can provide service 

providers with a range of security, 

application acceleration 

and visibility capabilities to 

further improve the user experience, 

add value in content 

and application delivery and 

provide protection from malicious 

threats and phishing. 

“With this relationship we see 

significant opportunity to help 

service providers capitalize on 

growing consumer demand for 

access to high-speed video over 

the Internet by leveraging their 

existing infrastructure investments,” 

said Paul Larbey, vice 

president of Alcatel-Lucent’s 

Velocix Content Delivery Network 

solutions. “The Blue Coat 

platform is proven in some of 

the largest service provider and 

enterprise environments in the 

world, and it complements our 

existing products and services, 

giving service providers another 

tool to improve and simplify 

video delivery.” 

The Alcatel-Lucent Services 

team will play an integral role 

in assisting customers 

to take full 

advantage of intelligent 

application 

delivery using Blue 

Coat solutions. Expanded 

services include 

deployment 

and configuration 

support, capacity 

planning, custom 

security and compliance 

policy definition 

and implementation, 

as well 

as other consulting 

and technical integration 

services. 

With more than 100,000 appliances 

deployed globally, 

Blue Coat delivers proven, service 

provider-class solutions 

– with the ProxySG and Cache- 

Flow appliances – for accelerating, 

optimizing and securing 

Web content and applications 

and reducing costs. 

“With Alcatel-Lucent’s marketleading 

position in networking 

infrastructure solutions and its 

well-earned reputation among 

service providers, Blue Coat 

sees tremendous opportunity 

with this strategic relationship 

to expand its already established 

global footprint with 

service providers,” said Mike 

Borman, president and chief 

executive officer, Blue Coat 

Systems. “Alcatel-Lucent’s 

selection of Blue Coat also 

highlights the strong synergies 

between the two companies 

around application delivery 

and next-generation service 

Michael Borman 

enablement.” 


Companies will leverage Velocix delivery platform with Blue Coat CacheFlow appliances to manage highbandwidth 

video and Web 2.0 content 

Alcatel-Lucent brings together 

the unique experience as a 

CDN platform provider and a 

prior provider of CDN services, 

along with the focus on bringing 

technologies that provide 

intelligent delivery for large 

Multi-gigabyte media assets. 

The Velocix Digital Media Delivery 

platform is enabling operators 

today to dramatically 

improve their subscribers’ experience 

and become part of 

the digital media value chain. 

It’s also a key element of Alcatel-Lucent’s 

High Leverage 

Network (HLN) architecture 

which addresses the dual challenge 

of simultaneously scaling 

and managing network capacity 

to meet increasing bandwidth 

demand while delivering 

differentiated, revenue generating 

services. T 



37

Adeeb Aijaz 

10th ITCN Asia 

Concluded as a successful platform for business and networking. 

10th ITCN Asia concluded 

as a successful platform for 

business and networking. Sindh 

IT Minister Raza Haroon visited 

the Exhibition. Pakistan’s 

biggest & the Only UFI (Paris) 

approved IT & Telecom Event, 

ITCN Asia 2010 Int’l Exhibition 

& Conference concluded as 

a successful platform for business 

and networking. With one 

day extension, the Event continue 

till 6th August at Karachi 

Expo Centre. 

More than 150 exhibitors from 

300 stalls covering telecom, 

hardware & software industry 

promoted their products 

and services at the Exhibition. 

Different Pavilions were also 

established at the Exhibition 

including PTA & Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Pavilion; 

Pakistan Software Export 

Board Pavilion; Sindh IT Department 

Pavilion and Khyber 

Pakhtunkhwah IT Department 

Pavilion. 

Registered by the unique computerized 

visitor registration 

system; more than 37,000 

trade/ corporate visitors attended 

the Event in four days. 

Besides the domestic participation, 

approx 77 foreign delegates 

from 12 countries also 

attended the Event, including 

China, Germany, Hong Kong, 

Iran, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA. 

Sindh IT Minister, Raza Haroon; 

Speaker Sindh Assembly, 

Nisar Ahmed Khoro; Chairman 

Suparco, Maj Gen (R) Raza 

Hussain; Commander Karachi, 

Syed Khawar Ali; EDO IT CDGK 

and many other dignitaries also 

visited the Event. 

A number of MOU’s signed 

during the exhibition, including 

the MOU between CMW Info 

(China) Limited and Ecommerce 

Gateway for joint efforts 

to enhance the bilateral trade 

between China & Pakistan. 

Several unique products & services 

were introduced at ITCN 

Asia, among which a foot 

mouse for handicapped people 

was also the center of interest. 

10th ITCN Asia 2010 Int’l Exhibition 

& Conferences is organized 

annually by Ecommerce 

Gateway Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. 

with the support of Ministry 

of IT & Telecom, Govt. of Pakistan; 

Pakistan Telecommunication 

Authority (PTA); Pakistan 

Software Export Board (PSEB) 

and Ministry of IT, Government 

of Sindh at Karachi Expo 

Centre. The 11th ITCN Asia 

2011 will be held from 20-22 

September 2011 at Karachi 

Expo Centre. T 



AMS-IX, One of the World’s Largest Internet 

Exchange Points, Doubles Network Capacity and Paves Way 

to 100 GbE with Brocade 

New Brocade MLXe Core Router helps leading Internet Exchange Point cope with close to a 

Terabit per second (Tbps) of Internet traffic, providing a seamless upgrade path to 100 Gigabit 

Ethernet (GbE) and future-proofing the network 

To cope with the surging 

appetite for bandwidth 

and today’s 24/7 Internet culture, 

the Amsterdam Internet 

Exchange (AMS-IX), one of 

the world’s largest Internet 

Exchange Points (IXPs), has 

doubled its network capacity 

by deploying new Brocade® 

MLXe Core Routers (see separate 

press release) as part of 

a core infrastructure upgrade. 

This effort future-proofs the 

network while enhancing operational 

stability and providing 

a seamless, cost-effective 

path for high-density deployment 

of 100 Gigabit Ethernet 

(GbE) technology. 

AMS-IX is one of the largest 

Internet Exchange Points 

worldwide, where global service 

providers and other large 

IP networks come together. 

With 365 members – consisting 

of carriers, ISPs, telcos, 

content providers, CDNs, hosting 

and application providers 

as well as mobile networks 

– generating close to a Terabit 

per second (Tbps) of Internet 

traffic, the AMS-IX 

platform provides high-quality, 

non-blocking professional 

IP Interconnection and peering 

services for all types of IP 

traffic (whether regular data, 

video or VoIP). AMS-IX additionally 

hosts the first mobile 

peering points worldwide, 

the Global GPRS Roaming Exchange 

(GRX) and the Mobile 

Data Exchange (MDX), as well 

as solutions for broadcasting 

with a multicast peering service. 

According to Gartner, the 

emergence of more online 

video and bandwidth-consuming 

mobile applications will 

cause Internet traffic to grow 

approximately five-fold in 

the next three to four years. 

In the last ten years, Internet 

penetration across Europe has 

grown more than 257 percent 

with over two-thirds of the 

population connected to the 

Web1. Within the AMS-IX environment 

alone, traffic peaks 

are close to a Terabit per second. 

There are over 340 10 

GbE member ports, many of 

which have aggregated two, 

four or even eight 10 GbE 

ports to cope with demand. In 

order to sustain this port density 

and enable the transition 

to higher-density 100 GbE deployments, 

AMS-IX needed to 

significantly increase its network 

capacity. 

“The amount of traffic we have 

to deal with doubles every 18 

months, and we have a duty 

of service to our members to 

ensure that the network infrastructure 

is able to cope with 

today’s demands and those 

yet to come,” commented 

Henk Steenman, chief technology 

officer (CTO) at AMS-IX. 

“Our existing infrastructure 

was reaching capacity, so we 

urgently needed to increase 

port density. In addition, we 

needed to look to the future 

and develop a migration path 

to 100 GbE technology. We 

needed an architecture that 

could scale with demand, at 

an attractive price point, while 

protecting the investment 

we had made in our existing 

MPLS/VPLS environment. 

Thanks to Brocade, we have 

done this.” 

The organisation decided to 

tackle both challenges simultaneously. 

As part of a single 

project, AMS-IX deployed seven 

Brocade MLXe-32 routers 

(leveraging new high-performance 

switch fabric modules) 

to complement the existing infrastructure 

of Brocade MLX- 

8, MLX-16 and MLX-32 routers. 

The Brocade MLXe delivers 

massive scalability, astounding 

100 GbE price point advantages 

and breakthrough performance. 

This approach enables 

next-generation virtualised 

data centres to support rising 

traffic demands and deliver 

cloud-based services using less 

infrastructure – vastly improving 

operational efficiency and 

reducing costs. In addition, the 

chassis delivers full, standardbased 

routing capabilities and 

support all existing Brocade 

MLX and Brocade NetIron® 

XMR modules, providing extraordinary 

investment protection. 

For AMS-IX, the Brocade 

MLXe was the only solution 

that could fulfil its demand for 

capacity growth while providing 

a migration path to higher 

densities of both 10 GbE and 

100 GbE ports. 

Alberto Sotoz 


A key part of the strategic Brocade 

One unified network architecture, 

the Brocade MLXe 

reflects the company’s vision 

of unmatched simplicity, optimised 

applications, non-stop 

networking and investment 

protection in delivering customer 

solutions. 

“As the amount of data consumed 

continues to soar, the 

pressure being placed on the 

Internet has never been so 

great,” stated Alberto Soto, 

vice president EMEA at Brocade. 

“Service providers must 

scale their networks to meet 

rising traffic demand and 

compete for customers while 

maximising their revenue-cost 

gaps. With the introduction 

of the Brocade MLXe, we are 

providing them with an architecture 

that not only doubles 

the chassis backplane capacity 

and helps meet today’s demand 

for capacity, but offers a 

seamless evolution to higherdensity 

100 GbE deployments 

at a highly compelling price. 

What Brocade has delivered at 

AMS-IX perfectly illustrates 

why the Brocade MLXe is such 

a ground-breaking solution.” T 



Kholoud Al Abdullah 

aeCERT takes part in 

“Children Protection against ICT Crimes” Forum 

In line with its strategy to 

further develop and enhance 

the performance of 

the telecommunications sector 

in the UAE, the Telecommunications 

Regulatory Authority 

(TRA) represented 

by the Computer Emergency 

Response Team (aeCERT) – 

formed to facilitate the detection, 

prevention and response 

of cyber security incidents 

on the Internet –participates 

in the “Children Protection 

Against ICT Crimes” forum 

that was hold on 5th of October 

at the Center of Studies 

and Research of the Police 

Academy in Dubai. The forum 

will discuss the repercussions 

of online crimes that are targeting 

children. 

aeCERT took part in the forum 

by a platform that showcased 

a number of services about 

different aspects of electronic 

safety, giving users, i.e. both 

children and parents, the latest 

technologies that can 

ensure a safe electronic environment 

for them. aeCERT 

members also handed out 

flyers and presented “Salim” 

games, which provide useful 

information to children regarding 

the optimal use of the 

Internet and the way of handling 

the potential dangers 

that may arise daily whilst using 

the world Wide Web. The 

episode of “Shabaiyat el Cartoon” 

was shown, where “Salim” 

appeared and which was 

aired during the Holy month 

of Ramadan. 

Aiming to offer the participants 

in the forum more details, 

a keynote was presented, 

shedding light on the new 

features of the twenty-first 

century which is known as 

the Era of Information Revolution. 

The presentation explained 

the different sorts of 

electronic dangers directed at 

children, how to avoid them 

and the role of parents, guardians 

and those responsible in 

schools and teaching institutions 

in providing help and 

granting advice to children, 

in addition to the monitoring 

role entrusted to them. 

The participation of aeCERT in 

the forum tackled many subjects 

and covered the biggest 

number of risks that face children 

while surfing in the internet, 

starting with unethical 

websites and others that contain 

violent scenes, in addition 

to the web pages whose content 

contradicts our traditions 

and religious and social values. 

Moreover, other subjects 

were discussed related to the 

wrong online behaviors, such 

as talking with strangers and 

exchanging personal information 

and pictures through social 

websites. 

To stay updated with the latest 

news of aeCERT, please visit 

the following website: www. 

aecert.ae. You can also visit 

the TRA booth at Gitex. T 



41

VimpelCom combines 

VimpelCom Ltd. (“Vimpel- 

Com”) and Weather Investments 

S.p.A. (“Weather”) 

have signed an agreement to 

combine the two groups (the 

“Transaction”) creating the 

world’s fifth largest mobile 

telecommunications carrier by 

subscribers with pro forma net 

operating revenues of US$21.5 

billion and pro forma EBITDA 

of US$9.5 billion for the year 

ended 31 December, 2009. 

At the closing of the Transaction, 

VimpelCom Ltd will 

own, through Weather, 51.7% 

of Orascom Telecom Holding 

S.A.E. (“Orascom Telecom”) 

and 100% of Wind Telecomunicazioni 

S.p.A. (“Wind Italy”). 

Under the terms of the Transaction, 

Weather shareholders 

will contribute to VimpelCom 

their shares in Weather in 

exchange for a consideration 

consisting of 325,639,827 newly 

issued VimpelCom common 

shares, US$1.8 billion in cash 

and certain assets that will 

be demerged from Orascom 

Telecom and from Wind Italy. 

The Weather interests in these 

assets, which principally comprise 

Orascom Telecom’s investments 

in Egypt and North 

Korea, will be transferred to 

the current Weather shareholders. 

Wind Hellas Telecommunications 

S.A. in Greece 

is entirely excluded from the 

Transaction. 

The VimpelCom shares issued 

to Weather shareholders at 

the closing of the Transaction 

will represent a 20.0% economic 

interest and a 18.5% 

voting interest in the enlarged 

VimpelCom group. Upon issuance 

of the new VimpelCom 

shares, Telenor ASA, holding 

through its subsidiaries Telenor 

Mobile Communications 

AS and Telenor East Invest AS 

(“Telenor”), and Altimo Holdings 

& Investments Limited, 

holding through its subsidiary 

Altimo Cooperatief U.A. (“Altimo”), 

will hold 31.7% and 

31.4% of the economic rights 

and 29.3% and 36.4% of the 

voting rights, respectively, of 

VimpelCom. Minority shareholders 

in VimpelCom will represent 

17.0% of the economic 

rights and 15.7% of the voting 

rights. 

It is intended that Weather will 

designate two members to an 

enlarged VimpelCom board of 

eleven members, while Telenor 

and Altimo will each continue 

to designate three board members. 

Three board members 

will continue to be unaffiliated 

with any major shareholder. 

The terms of the signed agreement 

were unanimously approved 

on 3 October 2010 by 

both the VimpelCom Supervisory 

Board and the Weather 

Board of Directors. 

Jo Lunder, the Chairman of 

VimpelCom, commented: 

“VimpelCom’s Supervisory 

Board has fully endorsed VimpelCom’s 

expansion strategy 

and the proposed transaction 

with Weather. This combination 

creates a top tier global 

telecoms company with strong 

platforms across Europe, Asia 

and Africa. The Board is confident 

that this transaction will 

create significant long-term 

value for all our shareholders.” 

“This landmark transaction is 

a true reflection of the high 

quality of our Orascom Telecom 

and Wind Italy assets and 

Jo Lunder 

of the significant value that 

we have created over the years 

for our shareholders. We share 

a common vision with our new 

partners at VimpelCom of the 

exciting prospects of our new, 

enlarged and diversified telecoms 

platform. Moreover, I 

am confident that our minority 

shareholders in Orascom 

Telecom will benefit from the 

synergies created by the combination 

of the two entities, 

especially in the area of procurement, 

and by the overall 

strengthening and de-risking 

of the Orascom Telecom balance 

sheet. I am looking forward 

to being fully involved 

in the new group and to joining 

VimpelCom’s Supervisory 

Board.” 

Alexander Izosimov, Chief Executive 

Officer of VimpelCom, 

added: 

“Today’s announcement marks 

a transformational transaction 

for VimpelCom. It offers 

our shareholders exposure 

to attractive growth markets 

in both Asia and Africa and 

the opportunity to diversify 

further our revenue base in 

terms of geography, currency 

and market characteristics. It 

also positions VimpelCom to 

Alexey Subbotin 

with Weather to create new global telecom group 

Alexander Izosimov 

take full advantage of the significant 

opportunities that we 

see in the fast-growing mobile 

data services market and to leverage 

the experience that already 

exists in this area within 

Wind Italy and other parts 

of the Weather group. We 

are looking forward to working 

with our new partners in 

Weather and their impressive 

management expertise in both 

developed and developing 

markets and to unlocking the 

full synergy potential of the 

proposed combination.” 

Key operational and financial 

information 

On closing of the Transaction, 

VimpelCom will become the 

fifth largest mobile platform in 

the world by subscribers, with: 

•operations in a total of 20 

countries in Europe, Asia, Africa 

and North America with 

approximately 850 million 

people living within the coverage 

area 

•pro forma net operating revenues 

of US$21.5 billion for 

the year ended December 31, 

2009 

•pro forma EBITDA of US$9.5 

billion and an EBITDA margin 

of approx. 44% for 2009. T 



Revolutionizing BSS 

making business smart and efficient 

Joyce Fan 

Susan L. McNeice is the Vice President of Software Research with Yankee Group’ s Anywhere Network team. 

After monitoring and analyzing emerging trends, technologies and market dynamics in the OSS/BSS area of 

the global communications, media and entertainment (CME) industry, she believes that a revolution is needed 

in business support systems (BSS). 

Challenges to be solved 

Q - What are the major issues 

facing operators in their BSS 

operations What negative impact 

will they bring to an operator’ 

s business development 

Susan L. McNeice - Even with 

all the improvements we have 

made in the last several years, 

there is still a problem of silos. 

The operators’ systems, databases, 

departments and business 

procedures are often fragmented 

and separated. They 

don’ t always communicate. 

First, take enterprise customers 

for example. A large company 

can not always see every single 

product that it has from the 

same operator, because they 

come out of different departments. 

It has many bills, orders 

and work centers to deal with, 

which is inefficient, slow and 

resource consuming. Definitely, 

it is not in the interest of the 

customers, nor of the operators. 

Second, one of the weaker 

spots in business operations 

is partner relationship management. 

It is an immature 

process, but must be built for 

scale if we are to have robust, 

automated content distribution 

to customers. Operators 

have strong inter-connect and 

wholesale settlement capabilities 

today. However, they don’ 

t have a very strong infrastructure 

to manage relationships 

with their content partners 

Susan L. McNeice, VP of Software Research 

with Yankee Group’s Anywhere Network team 

and media partners. This includes 

partner “on-boarding”, 

partners getting paid timely, 

and management of distinct 

promotional campaigns for 

content. 

Sometimes these partners are 

big companies, but sometimes 

they are very small, such as 

application developers for the 

Apple or Android App Stores. 

These may be one or two person 

companies, and they cannot 

afford to wait. The partners 

may become upset and abandon 

the relationship. The next 

thing to happen is that the 

end customer will not get what 

they need. That really damages 

the relationship. 

Another threat is that they 

lose money or market share to 

Google, Yahoo or similar providers. 

However, it is not the 

worst situation. The biggest 

threat is that they lose their 

place in the relationship with 

the customer. They become 

invisible to the customers, and 

that is the worst thing. 

Many operators launched 

iPhone jointly with Apple, and 

it’ s been good for both companies, 

with both having gains. 

Operator’ s ARPU for Apple 

iPhone users is much higher 

than the average ARPU. They 

are getting more money and 

stickier customers. But when 

was the last time when you 

heard one end user associated 

the operator’ s name with 

iPhone Apple has succeeded 

in re-branding or is starting to 

re-brand the relationship. Is it 

one little incident, or a problem 

No, it is the compound effect 

of all those little incidents 

that steer the brand equity 

away from the operators. That’ 

s the longer-term issue. 

How to bridge the gaps 

Q - You’ ve mentioned that 

the BSS must be revolutionized. 

How do you define the 

revolution and what drives the 

needs 

Susan L. McNeice - Currently, 

from the OSS/BSS perspective, 

operators are really focusing 

internally to make it 

efficient, low cost and conve- 

Contd. on page 46 



43

Asus launches Leading Garmin - 

ASUS M10 smartphone in UAE 

Garmin-Asus, a co-branded 

alliance between Garmin® 

Ltd. and ASUSTeK® 

Computer Inc. announced the 

Middle East launch of the Garmin-Asus 

M10, a full-touch, 

all-in-one smartphone that 

offers preloaded professional, 

mobile navigation features 

from Garmin that provides 

users with accurate maps and 

rich points of interest. 

The navigation tools on the 

M10 can be compared to the 

Garmin nüvi® 1410, with a 

fast GPS positioning time of 

33 sec . It also includes features 

such as lane guidance, to 

direct the drivers to the correct 

lane for an approaching turn 

or exit. Moreover, it displays 

road signs, junctions on their 

route and highway mode that 

tells drivers the next three 

upcoming street exits so they 

can plan ahead*. Equipped 

with numerous points of interest, 

M10 enables you to locate 

the one closest to your current 

location and guides you 

till you arrive at it. The M10 

is ready for automotive navigation 

out-of-the-box and includes 

everything a customer 

needs to it in a car, including a 

powered dashboard and windshield 

mount*. 

The M10 will be available 

across all leading retailers in 

UAE for AED 1899 starting 

September 2010. 

“The Garmin-Asus M10 runs 

Windows Mobile, making it the 

ideal smartphone for business 

use, while its smart navigation 

capabilities, comprehensive 

social networking features and 

connected services enable users 

to lead a truly smart lifestyle. 

The M10 is the leading 

navigation smartphone of its 

kind and combines maps and 

navigation usage for meeting 

the needs of a growing segment 

of smartphone customers 

in the Middle East said 

Christoper Aceremo, Country 

Product Manager for Handhelds, 

ASUS Middle East. “The 

M10 is our answer to people’s 

need for work-life balance.” 

“Moreover, the Garmin-Asus 

M10 is a powerful time-saving 

tool that is designed for anyone 

who is tired of carrying 

numerous devices and instead 

wants to carry one device that 

gives them many of the same 

features found on a standalone 

phone, laptop, Personal 

Navigation Device (PND) and 

digital camera,” added Ericson. 

‘Click and Go’ Navigation 

Recognizing that location is 

relevant to every aspect of 

every day, the Garmin-Asus 

M10 is designed with location 

information at its core and it 

delivers the most advanced 

location experience on a Windows 

Phone. Navigation functions 

are linked to the location 

information coming from 

frequently used applications 

such as calendar, contacts, 

email, internet browser, and 

messaging; this comprehensive 

integration makes the navigation 

experience exceptionally 

intuitive and smooth. 

A Premium Navigation Smartphone 

The Garmin-Asus M10 runs 

on Windows Mobile platform 

that enhances user experience 

and provides access to a vast 

number of applications for 

download. “Windows phones 

move seamlessly from work to 

play, creating new experiences 

through a variety of hardware, 

applications and services,” 

said Andy Lees, senior vice 

president of Mobile Communication 

Business at Microsoft. 

The M10 has a sleek design 

with a 3.5-inch WVGA display 

and a finger-friendly user interface. 

The billboard feature 

displays the most important 

information so users can review 

all at one glance. An intuitive 

3D task manager also 

allows users to switch easily 

between running applications. 

Keeping the phone responsive 

and the navigation smooth are 

512 RAM and 512 ROM, while 

Daria Nowak 

4GB of Flash memory provides 

ample storage for multimedia 

and data. 

The M10 is equipped with a 

1500 mAh battery that ensures 

many hours of uninterrupted 

use, as well as a full QWERTY 

soft keyboard for speedy text 

input. HSDPA wireless connectivity 

and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) 

ensure that messages are sent 

and received quickly. In addition, 

the M10 can be synched 

wirelessly to an enterprise 

system so that contacts and 

emails are always available 

and secure. 

Ciao! Ushers in a Connected 

Lifestyle 

The Garmin-Asus M10 boasts 

a range of social capabilities, 

including access to Facebook 

and Picasa Web Albums. It 

also places real-time information 

on connected services* 

with Ciao! that enables users 

to access information on 

weather, traffic, flight information 

and more. Ciao! Allows 

friends of your choice 

to see where you are via real 

time geographic location information. 

You control when 

and to whom your location is 

disclosed by managing the settings 

from and within the Ciao! 

application and on the third 

party network applications. 

In addition, the M10 is 

equipped with a high performance 

five mega-pixel camera 

that automatically geotags 

photos so that users will always 

know where they were 

taken and can easily share 

them with friends via Facebook 

and Picasa. T 



LTE roaming, a solid 

step forward 

LTE speeds up, but roaming 

needs to catch up 

LTE comes with an IP-base 

architecture, which helps to 

substantially save OPEX in the 

long run. Though LTE has been 

adopted worldwide as the next 

generation mobile technology, 

operators can face different 

challenges when integrating 

LTE into their existing core 

infrastructure. The migration 

path for users and devices also 

needs to be considered. LTE 

networks can be rolled out, 

but roaming is still one of the 

outstanding challenges and we 

have to deal with it both commercially 

and technically. 

By June 2010, there are over 

100 operators around the 

world who have announced 

their plans for LTE evolution. 

LTE trails are taking place, 

while its maturity has to be 

testified by the commercial deployments. 

In Europe, some operators 

with 2G and 3G networks are 

now moving into LTE, for example, 

Telenor and TeliaSonera, 

to meet the high bandwidth 

demand in metropolitan and 

hotspot areas. We also see the 

CDMA operators fully embracing 

LTE, driven by leading operators 

like Verizon and KDDI. 

China Mobile is a leader in TD- 

SCDMA and deeply involved 

in TD-LTE development. The 

Japanese operators will turn 

off their 2G networks in the 

coming years and they are going 

to bring their 3G networks 

into LTE. In some emerging 

markets, 3G may not be implemented 

and they will go directly 

from 2G to LTE. 

So LTE needs to address these 

different markets in a global 

perspective, as customers want 

to make voice calls and use 

data services anywhere, anytime. 

However, the expectation 

of a seamless user experience 

is not easy for LTE, especially 

when the roaming capability of 

mobile voice and SMS remains 

a challenge. Good news is that 

lots of progress has been made 

during 2009. 

Fruitful NGRAI project 

Roaming affects the industry 

as a whole, and in November 

2008 we started a project 

called, next generation roaming 

and interoperability (NG- 

RAI) under the GSMA umbrella, 

with Vodafone as the 

The NGRAI project of the GSMA is happy to report that LTE 

data roaming is now fully available in terms of technical 

documentation and the evolution of respective technology 

standards. 

Reinhard Kreft 

International roaming capability for the next generation mobile services remains a big challenge even though 

many mobile operators are ramping up their LTE plans. As an essential part of customer experience and the 

key to future development, LTE roaming has always drawn industry attention and joint efforts have been 

made to find an optimum solution. Reinhard Kreft, Chair of GSMA’ s Executive Management Committees, 

updates us on the major achievements and the future focus for LTE roaming. 

Reinhard Kreft, Chair of GSMA’s 

Executive Management Committees 

sponsor of this important industry 

initiative. The project 

teams worked hard to get the 

supporting documents ready 

by April 2009, and then to 

orchestrate work across the 

GSMA with relevant working 

groups to establish the work 

packages within the 2009 

timeframe. 



45

As the project involves efforts 

from operators, suppliers and 

other parties, the relevant 

tasks are done by different 

work groups. The International 

Roaming Expert Group (IREG) 

does the most reference work 

to come up with a permanent 

document addressing roaming 

capability and technical requirements. 

Other groups are 

revising necessary parts of the 

reference document and contribute 

to topics such as billing, 

protocol choices, security, etc. 

As a result, IREG delivered the 

LTE Roaming Guidelines and 

the technical specifications 

were approved in November 

2009. Other groups were able 

to confirm that LTE data roaming 

was now covered in existing 

reference documents. We 

– the NGRAI project of the 

GSMA – are happy to report 

that LTE data roaming is now 

fully available in terms of technical 

documentation and the 

evolution of respective technology 

standards. 

Leveraging GRX/IPX 

Fundamental issues exist 

between LTE roaming and 

GSM/3G roaming. When moving 

to LTE, the first and most 

important thing is to revise the 

wholesale commercial model 

between operators. In terms 

of technology, LTE comes with 

new nodes at the radio and 

core network like eNode B and 

mobility management entity 

(MME). While components 

like Node B, RNC and GGSN 

will be replaced and new protocols 

introduced. For LTE, 

the location registration and 

the associated download of 

authentication and subscription 

details for customers are 

transported using a diameter 

application. Moreover, the 

GSM’ s MAP-over-SS7, which 

has been used in telecom networks 

for over 20 years, will be 

replaced. 

There is also increasing emphasis 

on IMS, because some 

IMS elements such as the 

home subscriber server (HSS) 

and the policy and charging 

rule function (PCRF) are also 

specified in the LTE core architecture. 

This can help to enable 

the end-to-end QoS and 

dynamic charging required for 

future mobile data services. 

As the GPRS roaming eXchange 

(GRX) and IP eXchange (IPX) 

have evolved with steps forward 

in radio access capability, 

the industry has successfully 

leveraged the GRX/IPX 

to support LTE roaming. When 

we move to All-IP, we need to 

ensure QoS and solve problems 

like jitter, delay and packet 

loss. In this context, LTE roaming 

introduces new protocols 

to the GRX/IPX to support diameter 

applications and as an 

option to support proxy mobile 

Internet protocol (PMIP). 

What is next 

Progress continues to be made 

based on achievements. As a 

network has various services 

being used by roaming visitors, 

we need to re-evaluate 

the level of application awareness. 

We will have the GSMA 

EMC Task Force to report on 

the applicability of the existing 

wholesale relationship between 

home and visited networks. 

There will be more services 

without the need to route the 

traffic back to the home network. 

Also, we need to make 

sure that offloading such traffic 

can be done as early as possible 

to save resources. This 

means to evaluate the issues 

of optimizing the routing of 

media using methods like local 

breakout. The near future will 

drive the next stage of evolution 

of the roaming model, 

while delivering many future 

benefits such as a seamless 

and outstanding customer experience 

for both voice and 

new emerging data services. T 


nient for themselves in terms 

of the ways systems are organized, 

software is written and 

departments are established. 

This is a good thing. However, 

it is not always what the customers 

want or what is best for 

customers. Indeed, efficiency is 

important, but customer experience 

is more of a concern. So, 

the revolution is all about making 

the system, the software, 

the departments, and business 

procedures in a way that helps 

the customers first and foremost. 

Competition, emerging new 

business models, changes in 

laws and regulations, and technologies 

are driving a need to 

be more focused on customeroriented 

offers and operations. 

This shifting of operators’ focus, 

from the network to customers, 

both enterprise and 

consumers, is driving the need 

for a revolution in BSS. 

Q - What would a post-revolution 

BSS be like 

Susan L. McNeice - The new 

BSS has to connect the operators’ 

tremendous stores of capability 

to the customer any 

time, any place and according 

to the customer needs. That 

can be over the phone with the 

contact center, on the web, or 

in person at the store. Every 

transaction, every engagement 

with that operator should be 

seamless across all the channels. 

A customer may find some 

services from the web and he/ 

she may need to call the contact 

center to order. The conversation 

should be continued 

without any disruption. 

Also, the enterprise customers 

want a variety of ways to 

engage with the operator. A 

media business customer may 

need a managed services relationship 

in which the operator 

does virtually everything, while 

others only need the transport 

and the portal into the OSS/ 

BSS. They will supply their own 

end equipment and do operational 

management. They can 

write their own orders, check 

on their trouble tickets, order 

status, manage bills and even 

manage the network right from 

this portal. 

It’ s not easy, but minimally we 

should think about pointing our 

businesses in this direction. 

BSS partners 

When selecting OSS/BSS partners, 

what criteria should operators 

use to find the right 

person for the job 

Susan L. McNeice: First, the 

partner has to understand the 

communications business in 

detail. But ideally, they would 

also understand the entertainment 

business. Second, they 

should have a successful track 

record. Third, a very strong 

project management capability 

is required to keep project risks 

as low as possible. Fourth, they 

should have a scalable platform 

that allows operators to 

bring in many kinds of content 

partners, application developers 

and offers, in terms of hundreds 

of thousands. The idea of 

having 20 or 30 partners is not 

the way media entertainment 

will exist on a very large scale. 

Think about how many app 

store developers there are. T 

46 



Dana Khatib 

Jordanian TV viewers prefer Syrian and 

Egyptian drama series over Jordanian ones 

major Arab Advisors’ 

A survey of Jordan’s Internet 

users’ media consumption 

habits covered details on the 

media consumption patterns 

in Jordan. The survey also 

provides insights in the media 

consumption habits in regular 

months as well as in the Holy 

month of Ramadan, in addition 

to newspapers and books reading 

habits. 

A new Arab Advisors online 

Media Survey of Jordan’s Internet 

users revealed that 92.5% 

of Jordanian TV viewers prefer 

watching Syrian drama series 

while 61.6% prefer watching 

Egyptian drama series. This 

is compared to 26.6% of the 

respondents who stated that 

they prefer watching Jordanian 

drama series. 

Moreover, the survey revealed 

that Jordanian TV viewers prefer 

subtitled (in Arabic) programs 

more than dubbed (in 

Arabic) programs. 55.6% of 

the respondents who watch TV 

stated that they prefer subtitled 

(in Arabic) programs while 

24.7% reported preferring the 

dubbed (in Arabic) programs. 

A new major online survey in 

Jordan was concluded by the 

Arab Advisors Group in August 

10, 2010. The survey report, 

Jordan Media Survey of Internet 

Users 2010 was released 

on September 15, 2010 and 

provides the results of a major 

comprehensive online survey 

of the online community in Jordan. 

The survey covered television, 

radio, movie theatres, 

newspaper and book reading 

habits and effective type of 

ads. The report “Jordan Media 

Survey of Internet Users 2010” 

has 82 pages and 123 exhibits. 

Respondents were randomly 

targeted by receiving an email 

shot in their inbox utilizing 

multiple reputable mailing-list 

operators in Jordan. Moreover, 

leaflets were distributed 

randomly in some schools and 

universities. The survey results 

encompass answers from 1,033 

respondents that passed rigorous 

quality control checks. 

Quality control was conducted 

by Arab Advisors Group’s team. 

The survey was conducted on 

the general Internet population 

including both genders 

and all age groups across Jordan. 

The online survey yields a 

confidence level of 99% with 

a margin of error of less than 

4%. 

This survey report can be purchased 

from the Arab Advisors 

Group for only US$ 1,750 for 

subscribers to Arab Advisors 

Strategic Research Services. 

Non-Subscribers to Arab Advisors 

Groups Strategic Research 

Services can order the report 

for US$ 2,250. 

Any investment in this report 

will count towards an annual 

Strategic Research Service subscription 

should the service be 

acquired within three months 

from purchasing the report. 

Please contact the Arab Advisors 

Group to get a copy of the 

report’s Table of Contents. 

“The survey also had a specific 

section that probed newspapers 

and book reading habits. 

The survey revealed that nearly 

89% of Jordan Internet users 

read newspapers, with Al Rai 

and Al Ghad newspapers topping 

the list. The survey also 

examined book reading habits 

among Jordan’s Internet users. 

The latter stood at around 

69% of total respondents surveyed, 

with 42% of those mentioning 

reading between two 

to five books over a period of 

six months.” Mrs. Faten Bader, 

Arab Advisors Senior Research 

Analyst, commented. 

The Arab Advisors Group divided 

the survey questionnaire 

into five main sections: Television, 

radio, movie theatres, 

newspaper and book reading 

habits, and most effective 

types of ads. 

Television 

• General TV viewing habits 

• TV viewing habits during the 

Holy month of Ramadan 

• Movies, TV series and programs 

preferences 

• Dubbed programs 

• Satellite TV 

• Terrestrial TV 

• Pay TV 

• Purchase and rental of original 

DVDs versus copies 

Radio 

• Radio listening habits 

• Radio programs preferences 

• Radio stations tuned to 

Movie Theatres 

• Going to movie theatres and 

frequency 

Newspaper and book reading 

habits 

• Newspaper reading habits 

• Book reading habits 

• Book genres and language 

preference 

Most effective types of ads 

The Arab Advisors Group’s 

team of analysts in the region 

has produced close to 2,000 

reports on the Arab World’s 

communications and media 

markets. The reports can be 

purchased individually or received 

through an annual 

subscription to Arab Advisors 

Group’s (www.arabadvisors. 

com) Strategic Research Services 

(Media and Telecom). To 

date, Arab Advisors Group has 

served 600 global and regional 

companies by providing reliable 

research analysis and forecasts 

of Arab communications markets 

to these clients. T 



47

Internet Governance Forum 

annual meeting held 

Pakistan Telecommunication 

Authority (PTA) in collaboration 

with NUST School 

of Electrical Engineering and 

Computer Science (SEECS) and 

Internet Society (ISOC) Pakistan 

Chapter hosted an exclusive 

remote participation hub 

for fifth annual IGF Meeting at 

SEECS, Islamabad. The event 

organized keeping in view the 

dire need of Internet Governance 

issues understanding 

and capacity building among 

the youth and Internet professionals. 

IGF holds its annual meeting 

to invite participants across 

the globe; reflecting governments, 

International organizations, 

telecommunication 

companies, Internet content 

providers, software developers, 

the private sector, civil society 

and the media. The fifth 

Pakistan 

Telecommunication 

Authority (PTA) and 

COMSATS Institute of Information 

Technology have 

signed a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) in order to 

promote the telecom research 

that would be beneficial not 

only for both the organizations 

but also for the country. It is 

expected that this MoU would 

also boost mutual cooperation 

in the relevant fields and would 

enhance the industry academia 

linkage. Representatives of 

PTA and Comsats signed the 

MoU. Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammad 

Yaseen and Rector 

COMSATS Dr. S.M Junaid Zaidi 

were present during signing 

Dr. Arshad Ali 

PTA and Comsats sign MoU 

for mutual cooperation 

ceremony held at COMSATS 

today. This MoU would be valid 

for (five) 5 years and would 

be renewed after completion 

of the period. 

It is expected that the concerned 

organizations would be 

benefited from this collaboration 

as the young researchers 

would be conducting research 

in the relevant fields of telecom 

with expert guidance of 

the faculty and the PTA. Main 

objectives of this collaboration 

are to support research activities 

and to equip the future 

leadership with theoretical 

training as well as practical 

experience in policy and regulatory 

issues of telecom sector. 

On this occasion, Chairman 

PTA Dr. Mohammed Yaseen 

said that PTA would provide 

data on telecom sector and expertise 

to COMSATS, reciprocally 

COMSATS would encourage 

its students to undertake 

research in different areas of 


Dr. Mohammed Yaseen 

annual IGF Meeting was held 

in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 14-17 

September 2010. The meeting 

brought through discussion on 

multifaceted public policy issues 

related to Internet governance. 

The hub remotely offered a 

number of workshops which 

took place at IGF in during four 

days. These workshops covered 

topics like ‘Internet for Youth 

Activism’, ‘IPv6’, ‘Cloud Computing’, 

‘Freedom of Speech on 

Internet’, ‘Developing Civil Society 

and Youth Participation 

in Internet Governance in Asia’, 

‘Open Knowledge Environment 

in Bridging Digital Divide’ and 

Deploying DNSSEC. 

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed 

Yaseen and Director General 

SEECS, Dr. Arshad Ali endorsed 

this joint effort. They said that 

these kind of arrangements assist 

our industry participants to 

discuss the themes covered by 

the IGF from a local perspective, 

a stimulus or a starting 

point for the debate of local issues 

and implications, and for 

the development of a network 

of interested people. 

Mr. Muhammad Amir Malik, 

Director (ICT), PTA and Mr. 

Naveed Ul Haq, ISOC Pakistan 

Chapter acting as primary 

organizers participated in 

the forum. Remote hub was a 

great success, acting as a local 

meeting point where the participants 

were able not only to 

watch the web and audio cast 

proceedings of the IGF but 

also to interact with the International 

experts on IG issues. 

There were a number of questions 

asked by the participants 

to the workshops panelist. T 

Representatives of PTA and Comsats CIIT are signing MoU. 

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen and Rector Comsats Mr. 

S.M. Junaid Zaidi are also seen 

telecom sector. He said that 

under the MoU, PTA would 

help COMSATS in identification 

of research areas. Similarly 

COMSATS would cooperate 

with PTA on different issues 

related to trade, business and 

economy. T 



Success Story 

Christopher Steiner 

The Next Web Phenom 

Andrew Mason figured out how to inject hysteria into the process of bargain hunting on the Web. The 

result is an overnight success story called Groupon. 

At least Mark Zuckerberg 

wrote a few lines of computer 

code at Harvard before he 

left to launch Facebook. Now 

Andrew Mason, a relaxed and 

lanky 29-year-old music major 

from Northwestern, has managed 

to build the fastest-growing 

company in Web history. 

Groupon represents what the 

dot-com boom was supposed 

to be all about: huge sales, easy 

profits and solid connection 

between bricks-and-mortar retailers 

and online consumers. 

Groupon, a name that blends 

“group” and “coupon,” presents 

an online audience with 

deep discounts on a product 

or service. Act now, says the 

pitch: You have only so many 

hours before this offer expires. 

That’s a familiar come-on, but 

it’s coupled with a novel element: 

You get the deal only if 

a certain number of fellow citizens 

buy the same thing on the 

same day. It’s a cents-off coupon 

married to a Friday-after- 

Thanksgiving shopping frenzy. 

What’s in it for the vendor- 

-which might be a museum, 

a yoga studio or an ice cream 

shop Exposure. Since the resulting 

revenue is not only 

discounted but shared (typically, 

50/50) with Groupon, 

the vendor may scarcely break 

even on the incremental sales. 

But it now has customers who 

might never have thought of 

patronizing the business. Groupon 

gets its offers in front of 

eyeballs by buying ad space 

through Google and Facebook 

and via the word of mouth of 

its 13 million subscribers. 

Unlike so many dot-com rockets, 

Groupon is a real business. 

Occupying 85,000 square feet 

inside a rehabbed eight-story 

former Montgomery Ward 

warehouse in Chicago’s River 

North neighborhood, the company 

is on track to pass $500 

million in revenue this year, 

according to a report Morgan 

Stanley put together to win 

some underwriting business. No 

technology stalwart--including 

Ebay, Amazon.com, Yahoo, 

AOL and Google--grew that big 

that fast. At just 17 months old 

this April Groupon boasted a 

$1.35 billion valuation when 

it raised $135 million, the biggest 

chunk of it from Digital 

Sky Technologies, the curious 

Moscow investment fund 

behind Facebook and Zynga. 

(Mason will not disclose his 

stake, which he says is less 

than 50%.) The only company 

to reach a $1 billion valuation 

faster was YouTube (now part 

of Google), founded in 2005 

and still waiting to turn its first 

profit. Groupon broke into the 

black just seven months after 

inception. 

Mason’s model is transforming 

the way companies--especially 

smaller ones with limited marketing 

budgets--snag sales. In 

May Groupon sold 6,561 tickets 

to a King Tut exhibit in 

New York’s Times Square for 

$18 apiece, little more than 

half the list price. The campaign 

brought in $120,000 at 

virtually no marginal cost to 

the exhibit; Groupon pocketed 

about 50% for a day’s effort. 

The most popular item so far: 

a $25 ticket for a Chicago architectural 

boat tour sold for $12. 

In May Groupon moved 19,822 

tickets in eight hours and split 

the $238,000 with the tour operator. 

Groupon has charged into 88 

U.S. cities and 22 countries, 

including Turkey and Chile. 

Hundreds of rivals, some with 

deep pockets, are springing up. 

With turf wars brewing from 

New York to Brazil, Mason has 

armed himself with 250 salespeople 

and 70 writers, many 

plucked from the Chicago improv 

scene, to concoct witty 

pitches for deals. “We want to 

do for local e-commerce what 

Amazon did for normal consumer 

goods,” he boasts. 

Mason’s no Silicon Valley geek. 

He grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, 

where his father hawked 

diamonds and his mom worked 

as a photographer. Music, not 

computers, was his passion, 

starting with piano lessons at 

age 6. At Northwestern Mason 

helmed a rock band that he 

describes as equal parts punk, 

the Beatles and Cat Stevens. 

“I thought I was going to be 

a rock musician until I was 25 

or so,” he says. “But it wasn’t 

about being a rock star; it was 

about being part of a counterculture.” 

Mason’s entrepreneurial instincts 

were already stirring. At 

age 15 he delivered fresh bagels 

purchased from a bakery 

to his neighbors’ front porches 

on Saturday mornings. (Candy 

bars, bought at Costco, proved 

a better seller.) After college 

Mason, a self-taught computer 

programmer, landed a coding 

gig at InnerWorkings , a Chicago 

firm that farms out companies’ 

printing jobs to the lowest 

bidder. There he hatched an 

idea for a website that would 

examine thorny topics, such 

as the Iraq war and health 

care, by unveiling the hidden 

agendas of the authors behind 

popular articles. Mason found 

support in 2006 at the University 

of Chicago, which granted 

him a scholarship toward a 

master’s degree in public policy. 

A few months later Eric Lefkofsky, 

InnerWorkings’ founder, 

caught whiff of Mason’s plans 



49

and offered him $1 million of 

angel capital to crank up the 

hidden-agenda site. 

The idea soon morphed into 

ThePoint.com, an online platform 

for petitioners to muster 

support for all sorts of causes. 

ThePoint launched in November 

2007 and drew national 

press attention for its users’ 

zany campaigns. One amassed 

1,000 people committed to 

donating millions of dollars 

toward solving Africa’s aids 

epidemic--on the condition 

that u2 front man Bono would 

retire from public life. Another 

corralled several thousand supporters 

of building a dome over 

Chicago to keep the city warm 

all year. The publicity helped 

lure $4.8 million in venture 

capital from the likes of Sand 

Hill Road’s nea. “I figured it was 

just a matter of time before I 

had my $400 million company 

and got my big payout,” quips 

Mason. 

But ThePoint didn’t attract 

enough eyeballs to live on advertising 

revenue. One of Mason’s 

lieutenants, Aaron With, 

proposed paying for popular 

Google search terms related to 

societal issues--such as “make 

weed legal.” Mason got traffic, 

just the wrong kind. Obnoxious 

fans of the band Insane 

Clown Posse, known as Juggalos, 

made ThePoint their online 

playground. As losses mounted 

in 2008, Mason trudged 

to With’s house to lay off his 

friend. “If I was a rational person, 

I probably would have quit 

right there,” says Mason. 

One promising trend: Some of 

ThePoint’s most effective campaigns 

banded consumers together 

to gain buying power. 

Mason began featuring a blog 

that offered readers a different 

deal from various vendors 

every day. Having little to lose, 

his investors encouraged him to 

pursue the strategy. Groupon-- 

then called Getyourgroupon. 

com--was born. 

Mason’s crew of seven people 

each made 100 calls a day hunting 

for campaigns. Some days 

the deals would “tip”--meaning 

they’d meet the minimum number 

of takers demanded by the 

vendor--and some days they 

wouldn’t, meaning Groupon 

got zilch. (Today 98% of the 

deals tip.) Using a 5,000-name 

mailing list, Groupon sold 100 

$25 passes to an experience involving 

one hour inside a pitchdark, 

soundproof tank containing 

skin-temperature salt 

water. At that point Mason 

knew he was on to something: 

“Who would think this many 

people would be interested in a 

sensory deprivation chamber” 

In the next six months Groupon 

opened in Boston, New 

York and Washington, D.C., 

giving each city a Web page 

featuring its deal of the day. 

More than half of visitors drop 

in on the page because they’ve 

heard about it from friends. 

Groupon’s salespeople, most 

working in Chicago, earn salary 

plus commission, based on revenue 

and the ratio of refunds 

(usually negligible). Writers 

earn entry-level salaries commensurate 

with salaries of 

journalists, around $35,000 a 

year. Aaron With, now Groupon’s 

editor in chief, oversees 

enough copy to fill a 190-page 

novel every day. 

Landing a Groupon deal, even 

at a loss, can put a small business 

on the map. In March East 

Coast Aero Club, a flight school 

in Bedford, Massachusetts, offered 

introductory helicopter 

flying lessons, normally priced 

at $225, for $69. The deal had 

to be shut down at 11 a.m. after 

subscribers signed up for 2,500 

lessons; the club had expected 

perhaps 200. “I knew we had a 

problem when I checked in right 

after receiving the e-mail and 

30 lessons had already been 

sold,” recalls Philip Greenspun, 

the head helicopter instructor. 

“We look at this as incredibly 

effective advertising.” 

So effective that Mason claims 

Groupon now has 35,000 companies 

clamoring 

to be on its 

roster. Only one 

in eight applicants 

makes the 

cut. The winners 

must already be 

getting kudos 

at online review 

sites like Yelp, 

CitySearch and 

TripAdvisor, and 

the deals must 

offer a substantial 

discount 

from normal 

prices and not be 

similar to other 

promotions regularly offered 

by the vendor. 

One problem with the Groupon 

model: Anyone can replicate it. 

More than 200 copycat sites 

have sprung up in the U.S., with 

another 500 overseas, including 

100 in China. The competition 

isn’t bashful. Many sites 

closely mimic Groupon’s copy 

and graphics. One Russian site, 

called BigLion, ripped off Groupon 

right down to the fonts 

and colors. (While he probably 

has grounds for a suit, Mason 

says going after a startup in 

Russia isn’t worth the effort.) 

In China a copycat has begun 

operating at www.groupon. 

cn, using the same graphical 

interface. “Groupon is looking 

at this as a winner-take-all 

situation, but they may find it 

tough to sustain their position 

in every market,” says Andrew 

Razeghi, a marketing professor 

at Northwestern’s Kellogg 

School of Management. 

LivingSocial, Groupon’s closest 

rival in the U.S., raised $40 million 

since launching its service 

in July 2009. Chief Executive 

Timothy O’Shaughnessy thinks 

his Washington, D.C. outfit 

has a long-term edge because 

it puts a full-time salesperson 

in each of the 50 cities it’s in. 

Groupon has people in about 

half its markets. “You’re dealing 

with a lot of small merchants 

whose business is their 

life,” says O’Shaughnessy, “For 

them being able to work with a 

real person is a big deal.” 

Big players lurk, too, including 

Twitter, now with over 80 

million users and 70 million 

tweets a day. In June Amazon. 

com bought Woot, a site that 

offers one piece of discounted 

merchandise a day. “This space 

is bound to attract somebody 

big; there’s just too much money 

involved,” says Lefkofsky, 

Groupon’s largest shareholder. 

“We think we have a big lead.” 

Being the first mover has its 




advantages. “Groupon” is now 

part of the lexicon of online 

shopping. But Mason is protecting 

his flanks. To take on 

more small business clients, he 

just announced plans to feature 

more than one deal per day in 

most markets. An algorithm will 

mete out the offers by weighing 

customers’ past purchases 

and geographic locations. A 

hockey fanatic from Chicago’s 

far North Side wouldn’t receive 

a deal for half-price yoga lessons 

in the city’s South Side 

Hyde Park neighborhood. 

Mason’s other strategy: consolidation. 

In May he bought 

Berlin’s Citydeal, a group-buying 

site with 600 employees 

serving 80 European cities (the 

price wasn’t disclosed). Mason 

says he may strike again overseas 

but that “it’s tough coming 

in from outside and figuring 

out local consumer habits.” 

Mason has the capital to expand--profitably. 

He estimates 

that a metro area like Chicago 

should yield 20 deals a day; that 

implies nearly 5,000 retailers 

per city per year, up from the 

250 in most cities now. Groupon 

now posts 100 deals per 

day in the U.S. Mason figures 

he can increase that number by 

50 every month to reach 400 

come January. Against that 

quadrupling of deals he plans 

to boost his sales staff by 80% 

(200 people) and his writing 

bullpen by 100% (70 people). 

As for spending himself to perdition, 

as did many dot-commers 

before him, Mason’s not 

sweating it: “There’s never been 

anything--radio, tv, newspaper, 

whatever--that could generate 

small business sales so 

quickly.” 

The Great Race 

Groupon is on pace to pull in $1 

billion in sales faster than any 

company in history. This list 

excludes investment holding 

companies (which tend to be 

preassembled before formally 

launching) and those built 

mainly through mergers or acquisitions. 

T 



51

NetSol Technologies 

regains full NASDAQ compliance 

NetSol Technologies, Inc., a 

U.S. corporation providing 

global business services and 

enterprise application solutions 

to private and public sector 

organizations worldwide, 

has announced that NASDAQ 

has notified the Company 

that it has regained compliance 

with the minimum bid 

price requirement in Listing 

Rule 5550(a)(2) and met the 

requirements of the NASDAQ 

Listing Qualification Panel (the 

“Panel”) decision dated March 

22, 2010. Accordingly, the Panel 

has determined to continue 

the listing of the Company’s 

common stock on the NASDAQ 

Capital Market exchange. 

The letter from NASDAQ stated 

that on March 22, 2010, the 

Company was notified that its 

common stock failed to maintain 

a minimum bid price of 

$1.00 over the previous 30 

consecutive business days as 

required by the Listing Rules of 

the NASDAQ Stock Market. On 

September 23, 2010, the Company’s 

closing price was $1.39 

per share, the tenth consecutive 

day it had exceeded the 

$1.00 per share threshold. Accordingly, 

NetSol has regained 

compliance with all applicable 

listing rules. 

Salim Ghauri, Chairman and 

CEO of NetSol, stated, “As 

NetSol’s CEO, I am always very 

conscious of shareholder value 

and am pleased to be back in 

full compliance. I believe that 

our fundamentals and business 

offering are very strong, 

and our team is dedicated in 

executing our business plans 

and strategy. What we are trying 

to build in NetSol is unique 

and critical for our blue chip 

global customers. Even after 

the recent appreciation, our 

current stock price does not 

reflect the real worth of the 

Company, but we trust that 

the market is beginning to realize 

our true value and potential 

and will reward our shareholders 

accordingly.” T 

Salim urges structural changes in policy on science 

and technology 


CEO NetSol Technologies 

Ltd, has stressed that Pakistan 

has to introduce structural 

changes in the policy on science 

and technology for ensuring 

qualitative transformation 

of industrial sector and to 

compete in the international 

market. 

Talking to a group of students 

from different InfoTech institutions, 

he said there is an urgent 

need on the part of government 

to show full commitment with 

on providing quality, technological, 

scientific and modern 

education for all. 

According to him, the global 

business scene was on full 

throttle due to high-tech advancement 

in all fields of education 

and it is high time for 

Pakistanis to fully aware of 

rapid technological advancement 

around the globe. 

He said that excellence in the 

field of science and technology 

is a prerequisite to develop 

skilled manpower. 

Salim said human resource 

was the area where Pakistan 

was lacking behind with its regional 

competitor in the field 

of Information Technology. He 

said the young Pakistani IT 

Salim expresses concern over delay in 

release of IT scholarships 


CEO NetSol Technologies, 

has expressed concerns over 

the future of hundreds of IT 

students at stake due to delay 

in release of scholarships by 

the Ministry of IT. 

He said a large number of 

students are studying on the 

Ministry’s scholarships besides 

dozens of research projects being 

run on Ministry IT funds 

and any further delay may put 

the future of these students 

and researchers at stake. 

He lamented over the press reports 

suggesting that the funds 

are being delayed just because 

that the Board of Directors of 

the Information and Communication 

Technologies Research 

and Development (ICT R&D) 

Fund has failed to hold a meeting. 

Therefore, funds could not 

be released to the students 

studying on scholarships in 

various local universities and 

for research projects initiated 

by the fund. 

The Ministry had established 

National ICT R&D Fund in September 

2006 aimed at transforming 

Pakistan’s economy 

graduates have proved their 

talent across the world whenever 

they got an opportunity 

to perform. 

He lauded the efforts made 

by the Ministry of Information 

Technology in promoting 

IT education in Pakistan and 

expressed the hope that the 

Pakistan IT sector would become 

major contributor to its 

exports soon. T 

into a knowledge-based economy. 

At present, the Fund has 

been supporting about 1,300 

students mostly from rural 

and underprivileged areas in 

terms of scholarships’ award 

for four-year BS programme in 

IT related disciplines. The Fund 

had also enabled initiation of 

about 40 research sponsoring 

development projects for PhD 

students. T 



Mobilink expands Jazz load 

international reach with TransferTo 

Nasir Mahmood 

Mobilink, Pakistan a part 

of Orascom Telecom 

Holding has recently entered 

into a partnership with the 

international mobile airtime 

transfer company, Transfer- 

To in order to widen its Jazz 

Load international transfers. 

Through this collaborative service, 

Pakistanis living outside 

of Pakistan will be able to send 

airtime to their loved ones in 

Pakistan. 

Mobilink Jazz prepaid users 

can now have their credit balance 

topped-up through the 

international airtime transfer 

network of TransferTo which 

is comprised of mobile operators, 

point of sale retailers, and 

its online top-up service www. 

transferto.com. 

Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President 

Marketing Mobilink, said, 

“Jazz, Pakistan’s favorite prepaid 

cellular brand zis presently 

offering the largest portfolio 

of value added services to its 

valued customers. With the 

addition of this international 

top-up service, we are pleased 

to expand our services and 

reach across the borders for 

ease and convenience of the 

Mobilink family. 

Eric Barbier, TransferTo Founder 

and CEO said, “We’re extremely 

pleased to be collaborating 

with Mobilink to offer 

our customers a larger choice 

of Pakistan airtime top-up options. 

The service will greatly 

benefit Pakistanis abroad who 

want to send low cost, high 

value gifts to their loved ones 

back home as a complement to 

their cash remittances.” 

Jazz international top-up with 

TransferTo is currently available 

in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. 

Pakistani subscribers in 

Saudi Arabia can send Jazz 

top-ups simply through SMS 

if they are subscribers of a 

partner operator, STC. All Jazz 

international top-up transactions 

will be processed in real- 

Bilal Munir Sheikh 

Vice President Marketing 

Mobilink 

time through the secure platform 

of TransferTo. Mobilink 

Jazz international load facility 

is already available in UK, 

USA, Spain, UAE in collaboration 

with ezetop. T 

ERICSSON at Managed Services 

for Emerging Markets Conference to present on key benefits of 

Managed Services Technologies 

Neoedge’s Managed Services 

for Emerging Markets 

have joined forces with Ericsson 

and other international telecom 

leaders, the organizations 

announce. Ahmed Seemab, the 

Head of Market Development 

and Managed Services, in the 

Middle East region for Ericsson 

will be presenting at the upcoming 

conference. The partnership 

with Ericsson brings 

the Telecom Managed Services 

event on top and the largest 

in the region. It is happening 

at the Traders Hotel Dubai by 

Shangri-la, 5-6 October 2010. 

The conference has allocated 

utmost networking opportunities 

for all participating 

organizations, providing an 

immersive environment and 

an interactive experience especially 

during the break-out 

group discussions. Ahmed 

Seemab’s participation at the 

Managed Services for Emerging 

Markets will have a presentation 

dedicated to the key 

benefits of managed services, 

design technologies, products, 

applications, and solutions. 

“We are extremely excited 

about this partnership with Ericsson. 

The same way that our 

delegates are eager to learn the 

numerous managed services 

technologies that Ericsson has 

designed which are pertinent 

to the emerging markets. This 

conference represents not only 

the transformation of business 

models, but it also serves 

as a tool for overcoming challenges 

of service providers in 

their existing partnerships.” 

said Neoedge Telecoms and 

Research Consultant for the 

Middle-East, Jhorden Niño. 

“We are especially fortunate 

to be partnered with the major 

carriers, vendors and industry 

resource within the managed 

services space, which will result 

in a high-quality experience 

for our attendees.” 

“Our market research showed 

the Managed Services for 

Emerging Markets to be the 

best event with which to 

unite the managed services 

players in the telecommunications 

community,” said Niño. 

“Neoedge Telecom events are 

about delivering the latest in 

the telecommunications world. 

The addition of Ericsson to the 

conference will definitely facilitate 

business opportunities 

and expedite growth and innovation 

within the managed 

services marketplace.” T 



53

Syed Salman Ahmed 

Vodacom South Africa 

maintained uninterrupted services 

throughout global soccer tournament 

Nokia Siemens Networks’ Special Event Support services provided network 

planning, optimization, operations support and care 

South Africa’s largest network 

operator, Vodacom 

South Africa, successfully handled 

a surge in network traffic 

due to an influx of half a million 

visitors throughout the 

2010 World Cup. The operator 

met the increased demand for 

network capacity and avoided 

any degradation in performance 

supported by Nokia 

Siemens Networks’ Special 

Event Support (SES) services*. 

These included consultancy, 

back-end network monitoring, 

network optimization and care 

services. 

Techaccess 

maintaining 

the tradition of achieving 

various partners accolades has 

been the recipient of partner 

of year 2010 for Oracle Databases 

(Technology) and Action 

with Exadata (Oracle Databases 

machine) which is an evolutionary 

database extreme performance 

and consolidation 

solution as the result of Oracle 

Corporation’s acquisition 

of Sun Microsystems. These 

awards were presented in the 

partners event where Oracle 

unveiled its future focus and 

“There was a huge surge in 

network traffic during the soccer 

world cup and in some cases 

the traffic on a single base 

station increased by more than 

500%. We were determined 

to not only meet the increased 

traffic demands, but also reconcile 

the varying needs and 

call patterns of foreign and local 

subscribers,” said Andries 

Delport, executive director, 

network and information technology, 

Vodacom South Africa. 

“From the preparation phase 

to the conclusion of the games 

Nokia Siemens Networks’ support 

guaranteed high network 

quality. We thank the company 

for its excellent professional 

and proactive support to 

ensure uninterrupted services 

for our subscribers.” 

“A sudden increase in traffic 

during major events puts huge 

pressure on mobile networks, 

and can cause congestion, revenue 

losses and customer dissatisfaction,” 

said Paul Divall, 

Vodacom South Africa customer 

team head at Nokia Siemens 

Networks. “With our vast experience 

in helping operators 

maintain excellent network 

and service performance under 

extreme traffic conditions, we 

established the most efficient 

way to maintain the network 

for Vodacom South Africa.” 

During the preparation phase, 

Nokia Siemens Networks provided 

capacity forecasting and 

optimization services to ensure 

network readiness across event 

hotspots such as stadiums, fan 

parks and airports. During the 

event, a parallel Network Operations 

Centre (NOC) was set 

up to monitor the operator’s 

multi-vendor radio access network, 

transmission network, 

and service delivery across 

these hotspots. Nokia Siemens 

Networks also established processes 

related to event set up, 

and risk and crisis management, 

in addition to reviewing 

operational readiness on a 

regular basis. T 

Hasan Shabbir 

Techaccess receives awards 

strategy and commended the 

partners for their outstanding 

achievements. This event was 

attended by Oracle Regional 

Channels Director for Singapore, 

Philippines & Pakistan 

Liu Chee Leng, Oracle Pakistan 

MD Muhammad Ahsen Javed 

and other senior officials of 

Oracle Pakistan and Techaccess 

Pakistan was represented 

by the President & CEO Syed 

Iqtidar Zaidi, VP Sales Amir 

Rauf Khan and Sr. Business 

Manager Abid Aziz and other 

senior officials of Techaccess. T 



Madeleine Doporto 

Urfilez Partners with Telco Giant Batelco 

and targets future growth through enhanced digital music service 

UrFilez, a leading digital 

music service for the 

Middle East, Africa and Asian 

markets has announced a partnership 

with Bahrain telco giant 

Batelco and is targeting increased 

growth through a new 

service to be launched in the 

Middle East. 

The company will now be offering 

users content from local, 

regional and major international 

labels in Digital Rights 

Management (DRM) free MP3 

format, on-demand streaming 

and personalized radio mobile 

applications for Blackberry, 

iPhone and Android users. 

The announcement marks a 

major development for UrFilez 

and paves the way for future 

growth, with the company anticipating 

that new catalogues 

and superior technology will 

attract a far greater number of 

users to sign on for its service. 

“It’s a significant step for us 

and puts UrFilez well ahead of 

the curve, as we are providing a 

service which has not yet been 

available in the Middle East,” 

said Hassan Miah, Founder 

and Chief Executive Officer of 

UrFilez. 

“With Batelco as our regional 

telco partner, UrFilez will 

be able to expand our offer 

throughout the emerging markets 

where we have no competitors. 

There are almost 3 

billion people in the emerging 

markets that UrFilez is targeting 

and over half are under 

25 years of age, which means 

there is a huge potential audience 

of music consumers.” 

Batelco Chief Executive Bahrain 

Gert Rieder said that 

Batelco knows their customers 

love music and want an easy 

way to get it. 

“We are excited that UrFilez 

has developed a state of the 

art technology platform to 

make consumption of music 

easy for our customers, and 

have licensed millions of songs 

from all over the world. We 

believe this is going to be very 

popular with our subscribers 

and be a significant source of 

value added service revenue 

for Batelco.” 

The company believes that 

Rider and Miah with some artists 

Gert Rieder, CE - Batelco 

consumers in the emerging 

markets have proven they love 

music, as shown by their purchases 

of ringtones and their 

cultural activities. By focusing 

solely on these markets, UrFilez 

is in a superior position to 

capitalize on the multi-billion 

dollar opportunity. 

The new mobile services offered 

by UrFilez create additional 

revenue generators in 

the developing world. With 

millions of songs easily accessible 

via the web or any data 

connected phone, the company 

is revolutionizing the mobile 

music business in emerging 

markets. 

UrFilez Hasan Miah 

Telecommunication companies 

recognize how this technology 

can facilitate greater consumption 

of mobile music. They are 

investing heavily in upgrading 

their networks to include 

high-speed data transfer and 

are actively seeking increased 

revenue from value-added services. 

“Historically, revenues from 

music sales have been limited 

in emerging markets countries 

due to the high cost of physical 

distribution and playback 

devices. UrFilez was created to 

capitalize on the tremendous 

growth opportunity in the next 

generation of digital entertainment: 

providing the broadest 

possible range of legitimate 

music and video content to 

emerging markets,” said Mr. 

Miah. 

“Our mission is to integrate 

the world’s best technologies 

to create a first-class mediadownload 

and social-networking 

service targeted for Middle 

East, Africa and Asian markets. 

I believe that we have 

the right strategy, partnerships 

and technology in place 

that will allow us to capitalize 

on the opportunity in emerging 

markets and significantly 

grow our business moving forwards.” 

T 



55

Ivan Ho 

PCCW Solutions’ innovative RFID 

solution has earned accolades in HK 

RFID Awards 2010 

PCCW Solutions, a subsidiary 

of Hong Kong’s 

premier telecommunications 

provider, PCCW Limited, announces 

today its home-grown 

Logistics Management System 

and SENSE RFID middleware 

solution (“SENSE”) implemented 

for Collezione Wine 

Cellars have won two Certificates 

of Merit in the HK RFID 

Awards 2010. SENSE has also 

helped Kerry Logistics score a 

silver award in Best EPC/RFID 

Implementation and a bronze 

Manal Abi Rafeh 

Blue Coat Named 2010 Readers’ Choice 

Award Winner for Web Security Gateway 

ProxySG and ProxyAV Appliances Receive High Marks for Flexible Policy Creation 

and Return on Investment 

Blue Coat Systems, Inc. 

(Nasdaq: BCSI), the technology 

leader in Application 

Delivery Networking, today 

announced that Information 

Security magazine and Search- 

Security.com named Blue Coat 

the 2010 Readers’ Choice 

Award winner for Web Security 

Gateway. The Blue Coat® 

ProxySG® and ProxyAV 

appliances received the gold 

award for the category “with 

high marks from readers for 

their ease of installation, configuration 

and administration 

plus their granular, flexible 

policy creation and enforcement,” 

according to searchsecurity.com 

award in Most Innovative Use 

of EPC/RFID. 

In giving the Blue Coat 

ProxySG and ProxyAV appliances 

the 2010 Readers’ 

Choice award for Web Security 

Gateway, the searchsecurity.com 

website notes that, 

“Readers were also impressed 

with the products’ return on 

investment and vendor service 

and support.” 

The objectives of the HK RFID 

Awards, organized by the GS1 

Hong Kong, are to recognize 

pioneering enterprises that 

have successfully brought 

EPC/RFID (Electronic Product 

Code/Radio Frequency Identification) 

technologies into 

business operation, to encourage 

the adoption of EPC/RFID 

technologies by businesses in 

Hong Kong and the Pearl River 

Delta region, and to foster 

the development of new EPC/ 

RFID products and services. 

Mr. George Fok, Managing Director 

of PCCW Solutions, said: 

“These RFID Awards conferred 

on us and our customers reflect 

PCCW Solutions’ proven expertise 

in the implementation 

of RFID applications and our 

outstanding ability to deliver 

high-quality solutions tailored 

to customer requirements. We 

create value to our customers 

“The Blue Coat ProxySG appliance 

is the market leading 

choice of enterprises that 

need to secure their Web 

gateways and protect their 

users from Web-based malware,” 

said Carrie Oakes, vice 

president of product marketing 

and management at Blue 

Coat Systems. 

by bringing together in-depth 

industry knowledge, innovative 

technology, and project 

management excellence.” 

PCCW Solutions’ SENSE is 

an EPC global standard compliance 

middleware solution 

that helps customers capture, 

filter and manage RFID data 

for business operation and 

customer relationship management, 

enabling them to 

enhance operational efficiency 

and customer experience. T 

“This award validates the innovation 

that is fundamental 

to the Blue Coat Secure Web 

Gateway solution and reflects 

Blue Coat’s long history of 

providing customers with industry-leading 

the tools they 

need to protect their users 

and networks.” 

The Blue Coat ProxySG and 

ProxyAV appliances work in 

tandem to secure Web communications 

without compromising 

performance. ProxySG 

appliances enforce policies 

based on content, users, applications 

and protocols and 

enable organizations to create 

flexible policies aligned with 

their business objectives. T 



Nawras leads with launch 

of exclusive Alafasy Quran service 

Nawras, a Qtel Group company, 

is delighted to be 

introducing a new Quran service 

providing regular Islamic 

recitations by Shaikh Mishary 

Rishad Alafasy, delivered directly 

to customers’ handsets. 

The service is already being 

enjoyed by almost half a million 

people across the region 

and Nawras is now making it 

available for the first time in 

the Sultanate of Oman. 

Nawras, a Qtel Group company, 

sponsored another 

exciting sailing event recently 

resulting in new names emerging 

as the winners of the Nawras 

2010 RAHBC Oman Hobie 16 Sailing 

Championship. Overall 2010 

Champions with just six points 

were Joost Bloemarts and Helen 

Morgan while Victoria Grainger 

and Susanne Solberg came in 

second with seven points and 

in third place, with eight points, 

were Tony van Thiel and Koen 

Linthorst. 

For only 300 Baiza per week, 

Nawras customers can receive 

verses of the Quran, prayers, 

sayings of the Prophet Mohammed 

(peace be upon him) and 

the latest poetic recitations 

from Shaikh Mishary Alafasy. 

On each day from Sunday to 

Thursday each week, subscribing 

customers will be sent an 

MMS (picture message) as 

well as an SMS link to allow 

content to be downloaded and 

saved as an MP3 file. There is 

no charge for downloading the 

MP3 file. 

Adding to the advantage of 

attractive pricing, the Alafasy 

service is simple to use too, 

as customers quite rightly 

expect from Nawras. After 

sending the key letter ‘D’ to 

90920 (for the standard SMS 

charge of just 10 Baiza), a return 

SMS will confirm that the 

subscription is successful and 

the pleasingly different service 

will commence. 

Describing the new service, 

Mohamed bin Jaffer Al 

Najwani, Nawras VAS marketing 

manager, said, “This is 

a fantastic new service which 

we know our customers will 

be happy to hear about and 

what’s more, it’s very easy to 

get started. With more than 

Nawras 2010 RAHBC Oman 

Nawras 2010 RAHBC Oman Open 

Hobie 16 Sailing Championship 

is one of many different community 

events that Nawras supports 

throughout the year to get closer 

to customers. 

Julie Amann 

60 value added services our 

customers can be sure that 

they get more choice and value 

from Nawras as we lead the 

way in mobile entertainment 

as well as customer service.” 

Open Hobie 16 Sailing Championship produces new winners 



57

Synchronica receives 

first certification order from device manufacturer 

Synchronica announced that 

it has completed an order 

from a ‘top-10’ mobile device 

manufacturer to certify and license 

its IMPS instant messaging 

client to be pre-installed on 

6 models of the manufacturer’s 

handsets. This work satisfies a 

new prerequisite from a major 

Latin American operator group 

which mandates device manufacturers 

certify their devices 

with Synchronica’s IM infrastructure. 

The order is worth 

an initial $48,000. 

Synchronica has announces 

that it has acquired iseemedia, 

a Canadian-based developer 

of mobile Email and 

Content Delivery Platforms. 

By acquiring iseemedia, Synchronica 

has taken a bold step 

in its goal to become the leader 

in next-generation mobile 

messaging solutions in highgrowth 

emerging markets. 

iseemedia’s strong presence in 

India, the world’s second largest 

mobile market, is of particular 

strategic importance to 

Synchronica. The acquisition 

brings Synchronica’s total addressable 

market to 853 million 

subscribers worldwide. 

With the device certification 

process the operator intends 

to ensure full compatibility 

and increase the mobile usage 

of its own IM service in order 

to protect its market position. 

Operators are facing a growing 

threat from premium device 

manufacturers who are 

increasingly marketing devicespecific 

services as a means of 

establishing direct relationships 

with end-users thereby 

reducing the influence of the 

operator. Synchronica’s IM 

service provides a vendor-neutral, 

operator-owned instant 

messaging system which binds 

users to the brand and puts 

the operator back in control of 

its value-added services portfolio. 

This is the first order that Synchronica 

has obtained from 

a device manufacturer as a 

consequence of the operator’s 

device certification requirements. 

Synchronica expects to 

receive further orders from a 

number of device manufacturers 

wishing to sell devices to 

Already a leading player in 

emerging markets, Synchronica’s 

award-winning products 

are currently in use by 40 mobile 

operator customers worldwide. 

Synchronica’s flagship 

product, Mobile Gateway, provides 

Push Email and Synchronization, 

Instant Messaging 

(IM), Social Networking Services 

(SNS) and Web-Feeds to 

consumers and business users, 

regardless of the type of handset 

they use. 

Carsten Brinkschulte 

the operator. 

A recent report from Visiongain 

suggests that mobile IM provides 

operators with a unique 

opportunity to increase their 

revenues, further strengthen 

their services, introduce new 

Iseemedia’s focus on entrylevel 

messaging services for 

emerging markets complements 

Synchronica’s strong 

presence in these regions. Iseemedia’s 

flagship “iseedocs” 

product uses advanced streaming 

to reduce network bandwidth 

consumption by as much 

as 90% when downloading 

Email attachments. This patent-pending 

document streaming 

technology, which is ideal 

for operators that seek to conserve 

expensive bandwidth, 

will be integrated into the next 

version of Synchronica Mobile 

Gateway. 

“This acquisition adds 180 million 

end users to Synchronica’s 

addressable market worldwide 

and brings us that much closer 

to breaking the magical onebillion 

barrier,” said Carsten 

plans, increase network traffic, 

and build customer loyalty. Accordingly, 

Visiongain expects 

that by the end of 2012, mobile 

IM will deliver a compound annual 

growth rate of 68.2%. 

Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO 

of Synchronica, comments: 

“We’re thrilled that major operators 

are using Synchronica’s 

award-winning products to 

provide innovative self-branded 

messaging services to their 

subscribers. Device certification 

ensures that subscribers 

enjoy the best user experience 

when accessing the IM service, 

regardless of the type of handset 

they use. We look forward 

to working closely with device 

manufacturers to provide full 

certification of their handsets 

to our IM infrastructure.” T 

Lindsey Lee 

Synchronica acquires iseemedia to become 

market leader in messaging solutions for 

emerging markets 

Brinkschulte, Synchronica 

CEO. “In these high-growth, 

high-churn emerging markets, 

the further strengthened Synchronica 

can continue to help 

operators differentiate themselves 

and reduce churn with 

an advanced, bandwidth-efficient, 

messaging platform that 

supports any phone.” 

Anthony DeCristofaro, CEO 

and President of iseemedia, 

adds: “We are extremely 

pleased to now join forces 

with Synchronica, creating the 

worldwide leading provider of 

advanced messaging solutions 

from basic handsets to Smartphones.” 

T 



Andy Greenberg 

Digital Arms Dealer 

NSS Labs has a plan to secure the Internet: Build a Nasdaq for hackers 

Rick Moy doesn’t like to 

watch an unfair fight. As 

he sees it, malicious hackers 

can break into corporate and 

government networks using 

a single software vulnerability, 

while the good guys must 

painstakingly check and patch 

every one of thousands of 

potentially hackable holes in 

their systems. 

Security auditors often use 

mock attacks, known as penetration 

tests, to find those 

weak points. But testing every 

flaw in a target’s network 

would require writing thousands 

of “exploits”--the programs 

used to hack into vulnerable 

systems. The intruder, 

meanwhile, need write only 

one. 

So Moy, the 42-year-old president 

of NSS Labs, wants to 

let the laws of supply and demand 

even the odds. In October 

his research firm plans 

to launch an online platform 

that will allow researchers 

and penetration testers to buy 

and sell hacking exploits on 

an open marketplace known 

as Exploit Hub. Security researchers 

will be able to upload 

hacking techniques, name 

their price and sell work that 

until now has been profitable 

only through the cybercriminal 

black market. And security auditors 

will be able to download 

those hacks en masse to perform 

tests that suss out vulnerabilities 

in every cranny in 

their network. 

“This is like the iPhone App 

Store for exploits,” says Moy. 

“This is how we can leverage 

the work of all these disparate 

researchers and also let them 

get paid for it.” 

The tricky part: keeping Exploit 

Hub from becoming a 

convenient resource for breaking 

into the systems it’s meant 

to protect. Moy says NSS will 

carefully screen customers to 

sell only to known companies 

and agencies, and will use encryption 

keys to make sure it’s 

not selling to impostors. Just 

as important, the platform will 

host exploits only for known 

vulnerabilities, not so-called 

zero day exploits--new attacks 

for which software companies 

haven’t yet issued fixes. Moy’s 

goal, after all, is to help companies 

find fixable flaws, not 

demonstrate a blitz they’re 

powerless to defend against. 

“Zero days aren’t a controversy 

that we need,” he says. 

NSS won’t be the first to try 

selling an array of digital 

weapons to penetration testers. 

But the largest collections 

currently available from 

Core Security Technologies, 

Immunity and an open source 

project known as Metasploit 

include exploits for less than 

10% of the 14,000 security 

Rick Moy: Old-fashioned market forces to unstack the odds 

flaws publicly revealed in information 

technology systems 

over the last five years. 

Moy thinks that a charge-whatyou-want 

market model will 

motivate benevolent hackers 

to create a full-fledged hacking 

arsenal and--if companies 

buy those exploits in volume- 

-give researchers a significant 

new revenue stream. NSS will 

keep 30% of the sales and, in 

return, do the research necessary 

to guarantee buyers that 

the brokered code will work, 

while assuring sellers that 

they’re not offering hacking 

tools to cybercriminals or foreign 

governments. 

That’s a deal that works for 

Mario Ceballos, an exploit 

writer and penetration tester 

for Northrop Grumman ( 

NOC - news - people )’s security 

team. “If they do it right 

this gives guys in my position 

a venue to put our stuff out 

there and make some money,” 

he says. 

Security flaws that already 

have available patches may not 

seem like a serious problem. 

But the labyrinthine nature of 

it setups and companies’ lax 

attitudes toward security mean 

old flaws often go unfixed. A 

study by security firm Qualys 

last year found that for some 

common software like Adobe ( 

ADBE - news - people ) Flash 

and Oracle’s Java, half of users 

still hadn’t implemented 

patches three months after 

they were released. That’s often 

because software updates 

require costly downtime to install 

and can create unpredictable 

errors. 

Even skeptics of Moy’s plan, 

like Marcus Ranum, chief technology 

officer at Tenable Security, 

agree that more comprehensive 

penetration tests may 

be the only way to show companies 

how badly they need 

to revamp their security. “I’ve 

seen it managers say that they 

don’t believe in attacks until 

you demonstrate them,” he 

says. “In general I don’t really 

approve of the idea of selling 

exploits. But it makes sense 

in the context of the entire 

industry’s stupidity.” 



59

Adam Osman 

Newline Technologies wins mobile 

messaging Innovation Award for new service based on 

message master® xsp from Derdacka 

New service to revolutionise property marketing in Botswana 

Derdack 

(www.derdack. 

com), provider of enterprise 

notification software and 

mobile messaging platforms 

today announced it’s customer 

Newline Technologies has won 

a prestigious industry award 

for a new real estate mobile 

messaging service built on message 

master® xsp, Derdack’s 

platform software for SMS and 

MMS messaging. The Innovation 

Award 2010 was presented 

to Newline Technologies 

at ITEX 2010, the biggest ICT 

event in Botswana. Newline 

Technologies is an independent 

Wireless Application Service 

Provider based and operating 

in the Botswana market but 

with a vision to penetrate regional 

and international valueadded-services 

markets. 

The mobile market in Botswana 

is experiencing rapid growth 

with nearly 60% of the population 

owning and using a mobile 

phone and this penetration 

The UAE National Computer 

Emergency Response Team 

(aeCERT) one of the UAE Telecommunications 

Regulatory 

Authority (TRA) initiatives 

established to facilitate the 

detection, prevention and response 

of cyber incidents in the 

UAE, presented at the Telecom 

Fraud Prevention & Revenue 

Assurance Summit 2010 held 

in Dubai on Sept 20, 2010. 

The IQPC, however, gathers 

global and regional fraud and 

revenue assurance experts 

from regional and international 

leading operators; bearing 

far outstrips internet use for 

example. SIM card penetration 

is estimated at 107%, by factoring 

in dual SIM ownership 

(according to a study by Analyst 

Analysys Mason). Newline 

has capitalised on this by creating 

a unique application or service 

branded ‘Real-One’, which 

allows estate agents to more 

effectively market properties. 

Agents can enter details of their 

properties into an online portal 

with each property allocated a 

unique reference number to be 

used in general marketing and 

advertising such as on ‘for sale’ 

boards, in adverts, etc. 

Prospective buyers can send 

this reference to a dedicated 

shortcode and receive by return 

SMS additional details of 

the property such as price, a 

detailed description, whether 

it is still available, etc. This 

service can be used for any 

type of property for sale, rent 

or even in new developments. 

in mind that the Middle East’s 

communications network becomes 

increasingly diversified 

and network security continues 

to be a concern, operators 

and ultimately customers 

are increasingly vulnerable to 

fraudulent activity. 

The objectives of TRA participation 

is to enhance the performance 

of the ICT sector in 

the UAE by safeguarding competition, 

providing fair access 

to the domestic infrastructure, 

and ensuring the optimal use 

of natural resources through 

the implementation of best 

It is completely unique to the 

African market and a live demonstration 

of the service which 

uses all three main mobile operator 

networks, was provided 

at the recent ITEX 2010 exhibition, 

where it received the 

Innovation Award for 2010 

within the ICT sector. 

Ditirwa C. Mphoeng, Founder 

and Managing Director of Newline 

Technologies said, “The real 

estate market relies on fast and 

accurate communication of information 

and we realised that 

there was an opportunity to 

use the mobile channel to provide 

a more effective marketing 

service. The reaction that 

we have received from estate 

agents has been incredibly enthusiastic 

as they can see the 

benefits in terms of making it 

easier for prospective buyers 

to receive additional information 

that is fully up to date. 

message master® xsp proved 

invaluable in the design and 

TRA Participates in 

practice in every area. 

In this regard, H.E. Mohamed 

Al Ghanim, Director General 

of the TRA, stated: “We are 

pleased to participate in the 

Matthes Derdack, MD - Derdack 

build process and we are anticipating 

a rapid take up once 

it has been launched.” 

Matthes Derdack, Managing 

Director of Derdack concluded, 

“We designed message master® 

xsp to enable companies 

to easily build and roll out new 

mobile messaging products 

and services. I am delighted 

to congratulate Newline on receiving 

this award for innovation. 

It validates the business 

case for companies looking for 

a convenient and cost effective 

platform to take advantage of 

the high level of mobile usage 

in African nations.” T 

Telecom Fraud Prevention & Revenue Assurance Summit 2010 

Telecom Fraud Prevention & 

Revenue Assurance Summit 

as we look forward to develop 

education and awareness strategies 

to combat fraud in the 

region.” 

In his turn, Eng. Ahmad Hassan, 

the Monitoring & Response 

Team Leader, stated: 

“This summit is covers various 

types of telecommunication 

fraud in fixed and mobile 

telecom networks, analyzing 

the techniques used to detect 

and locate perpetrators of electronic 

crimes in telecom and IP 

networks.” T 



PTCL Launches call me back Service for its 

Landline Subscribers 

Pakistan 

Telecommunication 

Company Ltd (PTCL) 

in order to save its customers 

on their budget and to make 

them get through busy cellular 

network has launched an innovative 

“call me back” service. 

This service would now give 

landline customers facilitation 

of sending a SMS (message) 

through their landline 

or Vfone of ‘call me back’ on 

the cellular number they desire 

to leave a message on. And is 

most useful in the cases when 

the number they are trying to 

reach is busy or on call waiting, 

Dell Marketing’s finger 

on Pakistan’s pulse 

Dell Pakistan has been gaining 

a steady consumer 

base for a quite a while now. 

The most fascinating aspect of 

this gain is not just the sheer 

number of Pakistani consumers 

who relate with Dell on a 

day to day interactive level, but 

the ways and means by which 

Dell Pakistan has achieved this 

loyal fan following; out of the 

box, unique marketing. 

From interactive lucky draws at 

point of sale locations to giveaways 

in collaboration with 

symbiotic brands, Dell Pakistan’s 

individuality in terms of 

marketing strategy has set it 

apart from its competitors. It is 

a clear trendsetter in terms of 

marketing tools and activities. 

Even though many other big 

names have online presence; it 

seems that marketing at Dell 

has tapped into the internet 

pulse of the Pakistani youth. 

They have understood that the 

ultimate interaction between 

brand and end consumer has 

thus saves them the hassle of 

trying to get through the busy 

cellular networks. 

The service would be readily 

available on customer telephone 

set with no subscription 

required. All that is required to 

do to access the service is to 

dial a short code of 1322 from 

the telephone set and upon 

being asked from an IVR customer 

will just have to feed 

the mobile number he wishes 

to leave the message on. 

never been closer, thanks to 

Social Media’s gain in popularity 

as ‘The’ platform where 

brand and consumer become 

equals, due to the existence of 

consumer generated reviews 

and opinions about their personal 

experiences with the 

products in question. 

Social media sites like Twitter, 

Blogger, Wordpress etc, 

provide a stage for everyone 

interested and are the next 

frontier in marketing. Digital 

marketing is taking over in the 

west, as people prefer to be 

advertised to in a customized 

manner, an evolutionary chain 

that is bound to take Pakistan 

by storm one day as well is a 

fact that Dell has clearly set its 

far sight on. 

The 68,000 (and counting) 

fans on Dell Pakistan’s Facebook 

page are a testimony to 

the brand’s ability to deliver 

local consumers with choice 

products with which to express 

themselves and experience the 

SEVP Commercial Naveed 

Saeed termed this launch another 

salient feature in already 

existing customer friendly services 

portfolio of PTCL. He said 

the aim behind launching this 

distinctive service is to save 

our customers from the hassle 

of redialing number frequently 

in a busy cellular network and 

to facilitate the budget conscious 

PTCL subscribers by 

intimating mobile users to call 

them. He added that in future 

as well PTCL aims to come up 

with more such value added 

services for its customer’s convenience. 

EVP Consumer services Aasif 

brand. Taking the example of 

‘Jam a Jingle for Dell’ on its 

Facebook page, one merely begins 

to understand how Dell 

has thus far managed to put 

its finger on a main artery of 

the end consumer; the ability 

to identify with the brand. The 

Dell website overflowed with 

submissions from people from 

all walks of life, ages and career 

back grounds. It brought 

together a myriad of personalities 

and demographics and 

Inam said that this new service 

will add more value to our 

landline service and further 

enhance PTCL image as a customer 

friendly service provider 

and reinforce PTCL top of the 

mind presence. 

PTCL team is working day and 

night to raise the bar above 

and explore new horizons in 

designing and introducing 

more services to facilitate its 

customers and to provide them 

more value for their money. 

Any additional information 

about the service can be obtained 

from helpline: 1236. T 

Rizwan Shah 

Muneeb Tariq, winner of an Online Contest, Jam a Jingle 

organized by Dell Pakistan 

allowed them to identify with 

the Dell brand in a manner never 

seen before. 

Dell’s Facebook page is an extremely 

interactive page where 

users can get live exclusive 

updates on all things Dell in 

Pakistan, inside information, 

upcoming events, promotions, 

contests & instant gifts. 

In lieu of its Dell’s activities, 

one can only imagine how far 

out of the box its next advertising 

venture will manifest. T 



61

Thousands of online 

banking customers 

have their accounts emptied by the 

‘most dangerous trojan virus ever created’ 

Trojan is still at large and may strike again, experts warn 

Bank affected has still not 

been named 

Cyber criminals have raided 

the accounts of thousands of 

British internet bank customers 

in one of the most sophisticated 

attacks of its kind. 

The fraudsters used a malicious 

computer programme 

that hides on home computers 

to steal confidential passwords 

and account details 

from at least 3,000 people. 

The internet security experts 

M86, who uncovered the 

scam, estimate that at least 

£675,000 has been illegally 

transferred from the UK in the 

last month - and that the attacks 

are still continuing. 

Out of action: The new trojan 

virus can empty bank accounts 

without their owners 

knowing about the theft as it 

shows them fake statements 

All the victims were customers 

with the same unnamed 

online bank, the company 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

TROJAN PROTECTION TIPS 

Make sure your anti-virus software is 

up to date. 

Keep firewalls set to the highest level. 

Never open an e-mail attachment 

from someone you don’t know. 

Never double-click on an e-mail attachment 

that ends in exe. It is an 

‘executable’ file and can do what it 

likes in your system. 

If you think your machine has already 

been infected, contact your bank immediately. 

If the bank thinks you are 

a genuine victim of fraud it will reimburse 

you. 

said. Last night online banking 

customers were urged to 

make sure their anti-virus 

software was up to date - and 

to check for any missing sums 

from their accounts. 

The attack has been traced to 

a ‘control and command’ centre 

in Eastern Europe. However, 

the nationality of the 

cybercriminals is unknown. 

The attacks were carried out 

when hundreds of thousands 

of home computers were infected 

with a type of harmful 

computer code called a Trojan. 

Trojans hide in websites, 

emails or downloads. Once 

installed on a computer they 

can record every type of the 

keyboard, steal confidential 

information or even open up 

a PC’s security so that it can 

be controlled remotely from 

another country. 

The latest attack involved a 

Trojan called Zeus v3 which 

hides inside adverts on legitimate 

websites. 

Once installed on a home computer, 

the programme waits 

until the user visits their online 

bank and then secretly 

records their account details 

and passwords - using the information 

to transfer between 

£1,000 and £5,000 to other 

bank accounts. 

Online banking customers 

can take measures to protect 

themselves by keeping their 

anti-virus software up to date 

and keeping their firewalls set 

to the highest level. 

Victims of online banking 

fraud usually get their money 

back. T 


Publisher-Editor: Khalid Athar - Printer: Muhammad Sharif Cheema, 

Maryah Printers, 67, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. 

Place of Publication: 10-B/2, Taj Mahal Plaza, Murree Road Rawalpindi. 


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