Telecoms 2013 review: Etisalat goes abroad, Ooredoo emerges and MNP arrives

GCC regulators have pushed for increased competition between mobile telecoms providers this year. Salah Malkawi / The National

Consolidation was a key trend in the telecoms sector in 2013.
The regional sector was cheered when the French telco Vivendi decided to sell its controlling stake in Maroc Telecom. The move sparked a mergers and acquisitions competition that narrowed to a contest between the UAE's Etisalat and Qatar's Ooredoo.
However, the latter withdrew its bid and Etisalat was triumphant and its entrance to the Moroccan market marked its first overseas acquisition in five years.
Another significant development this year has been a "melt down" in the regulatory environment across the GCC. The regulatory changes will work in the favour of consumers and trigger competition among telecoms providers.
In Saudi Arabia, the introduction of three mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) – or companies that offer mobile services by renting space on the infrastructure of existing operators – laid the groundwork for an uptake of MVNOs in other places.
"MVNOs in KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] was a big step forward and I believe it is only a matter of time before other Middle Eastern countries follow suit," said Paul Black, the director of telecoms at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
The introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in the UAE is another milestone of regulatory change in the GCC.
MNP is aimed at giving customers the freedom to change their service provider without having to change their phone number.
It is also meant to improve the quality of service by encouraging competition between the UAE's two operators. The long-awaited service was promulgated in the UAE on Sunday, but full implementation is expected by the end of the month.
Separately, analysts hailed the increase in usage of the high-speed LTE technology, also called 4G technology, this year.
"Although the take-up of LTE in the region was slow initially, it is beginning to gather some momentum in the more advanced markets as a result of the increasing availability of attractive LTE-enabled smartphones," said Matthew Reed, a principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media in Dubai.
Data, rather than voice, is seen as a growth opportunity for most telecoms operators in the region.
Increasingly operators are looking to encourage customers to take up data-capable devices, such as smartphones and data plans.
"Most of the big operators in the region are putting a lot of work into trying to develop new business areas, most of which are based in some way on data connectivity. These new areas include mobile financial services, digital content and e-commerce," said Mr Reed.
Another noteworthy event this year was Qatar Telecom's decision to rebrand itself as Ooredoo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.
"Reaction to the new brand has been mixed but it is a clear demonstration of Ooredoo's intention to create a new and coherent identity across its large and diverse portfolio of operations," said Mr Reed.
Soon after its rebranding, Ooredoo acquired one of two new mobile operators in Myanmar, which is regarded as one of the last significant greenfield markets for telecoms, with a mobile penetration rate of only 6 per cent.
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