Etisalat to introduce Western Union mobile money transfer service in 18 countries

UAE based mobile operator Etisalat Group has signed an agreement with Western Union to introduce the Western Union international mobile money transfer service in the 18 countries where Etisalat operates.

Western Union said once the agreement is introduced, it will enable Etisalat's subscribers to send and receive Western Union Money Transfer transactions using their mobile 'wallets,' or accounts tied to their mobile phones.

Subscribers who initiate transactions from their mobile phones would be able to send funds to a receiver for cash payout at more than 400,000 Western Union Agent locations in 200 countries and territories.

In addition, this agreement will enable Etisalat subscribers to send funds to other selected mobile subscribers who have mobile wallets.

Etisalat subscribers who receive a Western Union money transfer in their mobile wallets would be able to use the funds to pay bills, top up airtime, send money domestically or internationally, or withdraw cash at a cash-out agent or any participating ATM, according to Western Union.

Western Union senior vice president of Electronic Channels Khalid Fellahi said their research shows that many of their customers want to send and receive money via electronic channels like the mobile phone.

"This alliance with Etisalat, a leading and rapidly expanding mobile operator in the region, will offer Etisalat's extensive subscriber base a convenient service they can use anywhere, anytime," Fellahi said.

Western Union offers the Mobile Money Transfer Service in the Philippines with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom; in Kenya with Safaricom; in Malaysia with Maxis; and in Canada with EnStream.source

CBI questions brass of 9 telcos

NEW DELHI: CBI has accelerated its task of identifying the main beneficiaries of the 2G scam , masterminded by former Telecom Minister A Raja , ahead of the March 1 deadline set by the Supreme Court. Senior functionaries of S-Tel and Unitech, Loop Telecom, Swan Telecom and Reliance Communications have been questioned about their role in the scam in the last few days. 


The investigating agency has already conducted one round of examining of officials of all 9 telecom companies which were conferred the 2G licences in 2008, and is in the process of interrogating them again. According to CBI, the charges against the companies which were awarded a total of 122 licences across 22 circles in 2008, fall broadly in three categories. They are, violation of the first-come-first-served policy, tampering of cut-off date for licences and failure to meet the eligibility criteria. The charges against most companies fall under any of the three categories or more. 


In its status report before the apex court last week, CBI described it as multiple-conspiracies. CBI had last week arrested DB Realty promoter and Swan (now called Etisalat DB) director Shahid Balwa in connection with the scam. The prosecution claimed that Balwa had entered into a conspiracy with some private companies to cause a loss to the exchequer. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report last November said priority lists in Punjab and Maharashtra were tweaked to benefit Swan in spectrum allocation. 


In the same report , CAG had alleged that S-Tel was not eligible for getting six mobile permits . The national auditor found that the company had submitted false certificate from the company secretary. S-Tel Chief Operating Officer Shamik Das said CBI had asked for information from all companies who got licences in 2008 and there were no specific charges against the company. He said the company had for its interaction with CBI sent its official representative. 


A Unitech spokeswoman said pursuant to the Supreme Court order, all the 9 telecom companies which received the licenses were being questioned by the agencies and was not specific to any one company. Unitech is a responsible corporate, functioning within the guidelines prescribed by the government and has been fully co-operating with the investigating agency, she said. 


RCOM CEO Wireless Syed Safawi said CBI was reportedly examining a large number of telecom companies and their officials from across the entire telecom industry in relation to various matters for 2001-2008 . “We are fully co-operating with the authorities in this regard, and will continue to extend all assistance as required to enable them to complete their investigations ,’’ he said.source

Etisalat Distances Itself From License Scam

Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the scam, said it had arrested Shahid Balwa, vice chairman of the joint venture, Etisalat DB Telecom.

The irregular allocation of 2G licenses and spectrum in 2008 to some Indian operators may have cost the country about US$39 billion, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in a report that was presented in India's Parliament in November. Former communications minister A. Raja and two civil servants were arrested last week.

Balwa is managing director of DB Realty, which founded Swan Telecom and later sold a 45 percent stake to Etisalat. The company was subsequently renamed Etisalat DB Telecom.

DB Realty said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday that Balwa was wrongly implicated in the investigations into the 2G licenses.

The CAG report said that some companies including Swan Telecom had benefited from the irregular allotment of 2G licenses and spectrum in early 2008.

Etisalat said Wednesday that it acquired its stake in December 2008, after Swan had applied for and obtained 15 licenses. Etisalat had no involvement whatsoever in the license application process, and purchased its stake in the company in the belief that the licenses had been validly granted, it said.

The company said that it always operates within the laws of the countries in which it functions, and will cooperate fully with the Indian authorities if approached. The company said it was "here to stay" and deeply committed to India.

The Indian government faced allegations this week of another spectrum scam, this time by Antrix, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which entered into an agreement in 2005 with a start-up in Bangalore to provide S-band spectrum from Indian satellites.

The CAG is said to have questioned that an agreement was reached over allocation of spectrum without an auction, which was also a question it raised about the 2G licenses by the Department of Telecommunications in 2008.

Officials of the Department of Space said late Tuesday that it had in fact decided to cancel the agreement in July last year, as it was decided that there were other high-priority and strategic requirements for the spectrum. The actual termination of the agreement may take some time, because of the complexity of the procedures involved, they said.source