Telecom Operators

In a surprise move, the CEO of Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA), Mr. Hassan Kabbani, has stepped down citing personal reasons. He submitted his resignation to the Board of Directors on December 6, 2016, and his resignation was approved on the same day to be effective as of December 31, 2016. To replace Kabbani, Zain KSA has announced the appointment of Mr. Peter Kaliarpoulos as the new CEO - a position that will take effect on January 1, 2017. The Board of the Company approved this resolution on December 6, 2016.

Mobily participated as a diamond sponsor in The 5th Internal Audit Conference held under the patronage of his Excellence Dr. Majed Al Kassabi, Minister Of Commerce And Investment, and the Chairman Of IIA Saudi Arabia. Mobily has been honored on the sideline of the conference where Mr. Abdullah Alrowais, Chief Audit Executive, received the honor shield on behalf of Mobily.

UAE operator du and Zain KSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop their human resources through knowledge exchange sessions. The two operators joined hands to share experiences and operational plans during the agreed period, in addition to holding periodic workshops that address several areas of interest and development.

UAE based telecommunications firm du have launched a large social media campaign which focuses on making users aware of the potential dangers posed by posting information online.

Telefonica has successfully tested Nokia's XGS-PON (Passive Optical Network) next-generation fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology in its labs, delivering symmetrical broadband speeds of up to 10Gbps. Providing a simple upgrade path from the current GPON fiber technology deployed by Telefonica, XGS-PON will deliver faster broadband speeds to customers and facilitate Telefonica's 5G mobile network roll-out.

Etisalat announced the roll out of IPv6, the latest standard in internet addressing technology enabling every device to have its own IP address and connect directly to the internet.

Batelco, in line with its commitment to support the Enterprise business sector in Bahrain, has announced the introducion of an Unlimited Calling from all Fixed PSTN (public switched telephone network) lines for enterprise customers. The new bolt-on offers great valueand will be automatically implemented by the end of December, 2016.

The Government of Kuwait has successfully achieved the speed of 10Gbps upstream over a single fiber during lab tests of Nokia's XGS-PON fiber technology. This is the first time such a speed has been achieved in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) region. The test paves the way for the government to offer enhanced speeds from the current 1Gbps to 10G symmetrical.

Modern, unified charging, billing and CRM solution will provide Iraqi customers with ease of access to new and existing mobile services, and also a faster time to market product launch by Zain Iraq.

On Thursday, November 10 2016 the arbitration panel announced their judgment in relation to the disputed SAR 2.2 billion claim by Etihad Etisalat (""Mobily"") from Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (""Zain"") arising from the services agreement signed between the two parties on May 6, 2008.