Global Telecom: Telecom Egypt inks $2B infrastructure deal

Telecom Egypt in $2B deal

• Telecom Egypt signed a $2 billion contract to provide infrastructure and calling services to Mobinil and Vodafone. Mobinil’s deal is for five years, while Vodafone signed a three-year deal to use Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure.

• The Egyptian government, which owns 80% of Telecom Egypt, has endorsed a license that allows the company to provide mobile phone services, while Egypt’s existing operators provide fixed-line services.

Tata close to buying back stake from NTT DoCoMo

• Tata Sons’ have been given an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to buy back DoComo’s 26.5% stake in Tata Teleservices. The pending approval is for the price the two parties agreed upon in 2009.

• Last April, DoCoMo announced plans to sell its stake in Tata Teleservices, citing that the company failed to meet performance targets. The final approval on the sell will ultimately be left to the Indian government.

Telefónica closes deal with Mediaset

• Telefónica completed its purchase of an 11.1% stake in Mediaset’s Italian pay-TV arm, Mediaset Premium. Mediaset is reportedly interested in other investment partners rumored to be Vivendi or Al Jazeera.

• Reuters reports that Mediaset has retained the right of first refusal to the shares purchased by Telefónica. If Mediaset were to sell all or part of its holding in Mediaset Premium, it could force Telefónica to do the same. That condition is set to expire in July.

China Telecom targeting rural broadband market

• China Telecom is expanding its broadband operations in rural regions. The move comes after new entrants made strong moves in the mobile and fixed-line markets. China Telecom had a 4 million net decrease in subscribers between January and September, while China Mobile and China Unicom launched campaigns to clinch market share.