"In January Wataniya International announced the increase of its stake in Saudi Arabia's Bravo iDEN network to 47%. Wataniya previously held a 38% stake in Saudi Arabia's Public Telecommunications Company (PTC), the company that operates the Bravo network. Other shareholders in PTC are Nasco, Ali A.Tamimi Co. and Sultan Najr Al Otaibi, though Wataniya manages Bravo's network.
PTC was awarded a 15-year ‘build, operate, transfer' licence in cooperation with Saudi Telecom and launched commercial services in July 2005 under the brand name Bravo. The investment in iDEN technology by Wataniya International in Saudi Arabia compliments a deal it penned later with U.S. CDMA/iDEN operator Sprint/Nextel in February, which will see a consortium of regional investors led by Wataniya International formalise an agreement with Sprint Nextel to form Sprint Nextel Middle East, which will deliver wireless communications services in the Middle East and North Africa.
The formation of the venture is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to close later this year. "The joint venture with Sprint Nextel shows our expansionary ambitions," commented Al-Ayyar. "And we do not look for expansionary opportunities for the sake of just doing them - everybody is looking for growth, but we are looking for smart growth."
Motorola, the proprietor of iDEN technology has been helping operators expand push-to-talk across North and Latin America, as well as parts of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. IDEN operations already exist in Jordan as well as in Saudi Arabia and a number of other regional markets, and the creation of the joint venture with Sprint Nextel is likely to aid the spread of the technology across the Middle East and North Africa region."
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