Kanartel

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In November of 2004, Kanartel consortium, 40% owned by Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat), the United Arab Emirates' state-owned telecommunications firm, bid EUR45 million (US$59 million) to win the Second National Operator (SNO) license in Sundan over two rival consortia. The National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), Sudan's regulatory authority, awarded the license to the Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat, ending former incumbent Sudatel's monopoly. Etisalat was to manage, operate and maintain the Kanartel network, with the new company committed to providing 500,000 fixed lines. Operations were set to begin in January 2006. Etisalat declined to identify its partners in Kanartel, other than to say that they were UAE and Sudanese investors. Etisalat already owned 9% of Sudan Telecommunications Co., Sudatel, the incumbent provider and soon to be competitor. It was not clear whether the UAE firm would retain this stake when it embarked on setting up the new network. Kanartel had earmarked US$200 million for the roll out of the fixed operations over its first two years. By March 2006, after a month of operation, Kanartel had signed up 18,000 subscribers. Canar launched WiMAX service in 2011 to its business segment, which was extended the subsequent year to residential and SME segments. By 2012, 89% of Canar was owned by Etisalat. Canar Telecommunication (Canartel), Sudan's second fixed-line operator, has reported a successful entry to the market in competition with the incumbent, Sudan Telecommunications Co Ltd (Sudatel). Canartel officially launched services on 29 November 2005 and, according to Balancing Act, signed up some 18,000 subscribers in its first month. Canartel is a consortium led by the U.A.E. incumbent, Etisalat, and was awarded the second fixed-line licence in November 2004 (see Sudan: 22 November 2004: Etisalat Consortium Wins SNO Licence in Sudan). The operator is deploying an IP-based network using a mix of access technologies, including DSL and CDMA, and under its initial roll-out programme planned to deploy some half a million lines (see Sudan: 2 December 2004: Etisalat Consortium to Roll Out 500,000 Fixed Lines in Sudan). Significance: Sudatel currently has some 1.1 million fixed-line subscribers, according to Balancing Act, and has invested heavily in the roll-out of infrastructure, which has brought a massive fourfold increase in the number of lines in service, up from 251,420 in 1999. Meanwhile, the number of mobile subscribers has now overtaken the 2 million mark: Areeba, owned by Investcom Holdings, has 350,000 subscribers and Mobitel, owned by Celtel/MTC, reported some 1.962 million subscribers by 31 December 2005 (see Middle East Regional: 22 February 2006: MTC Reports 14.04 mil. Subscribers after Celtel Acquisition).