| Warid Telecom International Arabic: وارد تليكوم الدولية | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Telecommunication |
| Defunct: | 2015 |
| Location: | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Key People: | Warid Rahman, Chairman Bashir Tahir, founding CEO |
| Products: | Telephony, LTE, WiMAX, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, UMTS |
Warid Telecom International (Arabic: وارد تليكوم الدولية) was an Emirati telecommunications company that was active in Bangladesh, Georgia, Congo, Pakistan, and Uganda before its divestment.
See main article: Warid Pakistan. In 2004, Warid Telecom International LLC, purchased a license for operating a nationwide mobile telephony network, (WLL) and long-distance international (LDI) for US$291 million and was the first venture of Warid Telecom International LLC. The license was bid for and acquired by a team led by Bashir Tahir the former CEO of the Abu Dhabi Group, which is the parent company of all Warid operations.[1]
Warid Pakistan launched its services in May 2005. Within 80 days of launch, Warid Pakistan claims to have attracted more than 1 million. users.[2]
On June 30, 2007, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) and Warid Telecom announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement subsequent to which SingTel would acquire a 30 percent equity stake in Warid Telecom for an estimated $758 million, valuing the company at an enterprise value of $2.9 billion.[3]
SingTel sold back that stake in January 2013 for $150 million and a right to receive 7.5 percent of the net proceeds from any future sale, public offering, or merger of Warid.[4]
On November 26, 2015, VimpelCom and Abu Dhabi Group agreed to merge Mobilink and Warid into a single company called Jazz.[5]
| Frequency | Protocol | Band | Class | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900 MHz | GSM/GPRS/EDGE | 2G | ||
| 1800 MHz | GSM/GPRS/EDGE | 2G | ||
| 2100 MHz | UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+ | 1 | 3.5G | |
| 1800 MHz | LTE | 3 | 4G |
See main article: Warid Bangladesh.
In December 2005, Warid Telecom International LLC obtained a 15-year GSM license to operate as the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh for $50 million. Warid Bangladesh started rolling out its network from mid-2006, and launched commercial operations on May 10, 2007, covering 26 districts. It uses the code 16 preceded by the code number of Bangladesh +880. Warid Bangladesh acquired a million subscribers within 70 days of launch.
Warid Telecom sold 70% of its stake in Bangladesh operations to India's Bharti Airtel for $300 million receiving regulatory approval from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on January 4, 2010.[6]
On December 20, 2010, Warid Telecom was rebranded as Airtel.
Licence awarded.
| Network | Status | Date | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live/Active | unknown | [7] |
Licence awarded.[8]
See main article: Warid Congo. Launched service in January 2008.[9] On November 5, 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported an acquisition by Airtel.[10]
| Network | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live/Active | November, 2007 | [11] | |
Planned to launch services in Uganda by the fourth quarter of 2007. Warid is also set to deploy a WiMAX network throughout Uganda through its sister concern Wateen Telecom.[12] Acquired by Airtel in 2013.[13]
| Network | Status | Date | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live/Active | January, 2008 | |||
| Live/Active | unknown |