Tag: Dhiraagu

President Waheed inaugurates new Dhiraagu HQ

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday opened the new head office of local telecommunications group Dhiraagu in Male’, a construction the company claims is the first its kind in the capital to be built to meet specific technical requirements.

President Waheed spoke at a special opening ceremony, playing up the importance of the country’s communications sector to wider development in the Maldives.  He attended the ceremony alongside dignitaries including Minister of Economic Development Ahmed Mohamed.

Dhiraagu itself is one of the country’s largest service providers, dominating the internet and telecommunications sector alongside its main competitor, Wataniya.

According to the company, its new headquarters has been designed to comply with international safety standards, whilst also providing accessibility to wheelchair users and incorporating what it has called advanced energy saving and environmental friendly technologies.

These technologies include the use of 100 percent LED lights across the building, motion sensors, heat reflective glass and ozone friendly refrigerant within the office’s air conditioning units.

On the outside of the structure, Dhiraagu claims that a silver colour PVDF cladding has also been used over a highly reflective glass surface that serves to further reduce heat entry into the building.

Set up back in 1988, the company has said it presently employs over 600 staff across the Maldives, 99 percent of whom are said to be local workers. Dhiraagu’s leading shareholder is presently Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC).

CWC took a controlling stake in Dhiraagu in 2009 when former President Nasheed’s government sold 7 percent of its shares, giving the British-based firm a controlling stake in the company.

Then-opposition parties criticised the sale in local media, arguing that the acquisition of large stakes of domestic companies by foreign investors was bad for the country.

Similar arguments have been levelled against the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by Indian company GMR, sparking fears that foreign firms will be deterred from investing in the Maldives.

CWC now controls 52 percent of Dhiraagu’s shares,with the government holding just under 42 percent as of March this year.

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Bahraini company interested in Cable & Wireless’ Dhiraagu shares

Dhiraagu’s leading shareholder, Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), has received an offer from a Bahraini company regarding its Monaco & Islands business unit.

This section of the multinational’s portfolio – one of four regional units – consists of Monaco, the Maldives, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and Africa.

The company has released a press statement confirming the approach.

“Cable & Wireless Communications Plc today confirms that it has received an approach from Batelco Group regarding a possible transaction involving its Monaco & Islands business unit,” read the statement.

“At this point, there can be no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction,” it added.

CWC took a controlling stake in Dhiraagu, the Maldives’ largest telecommunications company in 2009 when former President Nasheed’s government sold 7 percent of its shares, giving the British-based firm a controlling stake in the company.

Then-opposition parties criticised the sale, arguing that the acquisition of large stakes of domestic companies by foreign investors was bad for the country.

Similar arguments have been levelled against the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by Indian company GMR, sparking fears that foreign firms will be deterred from investing in the Maldives.

CWC now controls 52 percent of Dhiraagu’s shares,with the government holding just under 42 percent as of March this year.

Dhiraagu is currently the largest company on the Maldives Stock Exchange (MASEX) by market capitalisation after listing in January this year.

CWC’s 2011/12 financial report showed that it made $586million in pre-tax revenue from it ‘Monaco & Islands’ interests – 83 percent of this pre-tax revenue came from the company’s interests in Monaco, the Maldives and Guernsey.

The report mentioned that, despite strong growth which saw the Maldivian Rufiyya (MVR) revenue increase by 3 percent, the free float of the currency resulted in a 14 percent loss compared with the previous year’s US Dollar (USD) revenue.

The April 2011 decision to allow the MVR to be traded within 20 percent of the pegged rate of MVR12.85 to the USD effectively devalued the currency as the exchange rate rose quickly to MVR15.42 to the USD without moving since.

Praised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as “an important move toward restoring external sustainability,” although some local experts described the decision as “high risk” and “unpredictable”.

“CWC has long been seen by analysts as wanting to sell its island assets, as well as its unit in Macau, given its longer term strategy of focusing on its core business in the Caribbean,” said Britain’s Financial Times .

Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company) operates in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and India, as well as its home market.

The Financial Times reported that the company was seeking to expand its foreign investments after its domestic subscribers and profitability had dipped, citing stiff local competition.

“Bahraini companies have suffered amid political unrest in the Gulf state that led to widespread protests and a security crackdown,” the paper added.

The company’s shares on the Bahrain Bourse have fallen nearly 13 percent so far this quarter.

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Dhiraagu launches online bill payment service

Local telecommunications firm Dhiraagu has announced the launch of an online bill payment service to allow customers to settle their monthly mobile phone, fixed-line and internet accounts.

Customers wishing to use the service can register online at Dhiraagu’s website by clicking on the ‘My Account’ section.

According to the company, there are no additional charges to use the service, with customers able to make secure payments through a valid Visa, Mastercard, American Express or bank debit card.

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Maldives websites report denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattacks

Telecommunications firm Dhiraagu has confirmed that websites in the Maldives have been targeted in apparent Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattacks, according to local media.

DDoS attacks involve malevolently flooding a web server with queries, locking up bandwidth and preventing legitimate users from accessing a site.

New outlets Sun Online and Haveeru reported accessibility problems, particularly from abroad, according to reports this morning.

Speaking to Haveeru, Dhiraagu’s Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Manager Mohamed Mirshan claimed the attacks were targeted at the newspaper, and not Dhiraagu infrastructure.

“DDoS is very common all around the world. We have taken the same measures taken internationally. DDoS cannot be controlled by anyone other than its originators. The only thing we can do is mitigate the attacks. Dhiraagu has also taken all necessary measures taken against it worldwide,” Mirshan told Haveeru.

Meanwhile, an anonymous email was sent to police and several media outlets, including Sun and Haveeru, from a group claiming to take responsibility for recent attacks on Dhiraagu’s web servers.

“For years our main Internet Service Provider and Communication Provider “Dhiraagu” has been taking our money from us. No government of the Maldives helped us solve this problem. No politician gives a damn about improving the Information Technology and its awareness in Maldives,” the email read, promising escalating cyber attacks “with inside help from Dhiraagu employees”, on targets including government email servers and the provider’s ADSL service.

Dhiraagu’s media division referred Minivan News to Mirshan, who was not responding to Minivan News at time of press.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said police had not received reports of such an incident.

“We have a financial unit that currently investigates such cases, but we are in the process of trying to establish a cybercrime unit that should be operating in 2-3 months,” Haneef said.

Following attacks that affected the company’s web services in January 2011, Mirshan told Minivan News that the company had been receiving such attacks since August 2009, which he claimed were “very organised.”

“We have been working with our counterparts both in the country and overseas around the clock in order to try and minimise the impacts of the attack on our services,” Mirshan said at the time.

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2,500 take part in sixth Dhiraagu Broadband Road Race

Minivan News yesterday took part in the sixth annual Dhiraagu Broadband Road Race, alongside 2,500 other enthusiastic competitors.

Local telecoms company Dhiraagu initially started the event in 2007 as a way of promoting healthier lifestyles for Maldivians. The road race was organised in collaboration with the Athletics Association of the Maldives who conducted the timing.

Organisers and participating charity groups set up the start/finish area at the Raalhugandu surf point area, hoisting flags, painting a finish line, and working hard to ensure the event would get off to a smooth start.

The Minivan team began to have doubts about its preparations after checking the official road race website. Practising before the event was the first of the tips given to race entrants. Minivan’s preparations for the race consisted largely of having written an article about it six weeks before.

Hundreds of locals gathered at Raahlugandu to see the runners off. Competitors were provided with t-shirts, isotonic drinks, visors to keep the sun from their eyes, and even small flags, bearing the sponsor’s logo, to carry round the course.

Team Minivan brought with it a notoriously bad back, a cracked rib, and only two pairs of running shoes between three people.

As the runners assembled at the start line, the event’s organisers worked the crowd, calling on everyone to raise their hands and cheer to show their support for the event’s main theme – the campaign against child abuse and domestic violence.

The race began at 4:30pm, skirting the five kilometres around the outside of Male’. Crowds thronged the initial few hundred metres, cheering the runners on as the contenders for the cash prize were quickly separated from the ‘also-rans’.

The prizes included Rf 8000 (US$520) for first in the professionals group and Rf 5000 (US$325) for the winners of the amateur categories – under 40s and over 40s.

Five minutes into the race at Republican Square, Minivan’s ‘also-rans’ decided it would be a shame to run past one of the cities’ more scenic areas and slowed to a walk to enjoy the surroundings. Further on, the smell of the fish market prompted the team to pick up the pace once more.

A number of local NGOs and charity organisations used the event to publicise their causes. Child Abuse Prevention Show (CAPS) and Advocating Rights for Children (ARC) were present, raising awareness on childrens rights. Educating the attendees on women’s right were the General Advocacy Working Group (GAWG), and Hope for Women.

Whilst dodging oncoming traffic at the halfway stage, the Minivan team were prevented from catching a taxi after realising they had left all their rufiya at home.

At around 4:48pm the top contenders for prizes rounded the corner by the tsunami monument as the crowd roared its approval for Male’s top runners.

Meanwhile – or perhaps a little later – at around three quarters of the way round the course, the Minivan News team was forced to stop for reasons that were, again, in no way related to their lack of physical fitness. Accounts of this section of the race are blurry but the team did resume running after being overtaken by the same small boy for the third time.

The oldest participant in the race was 57 years old, whilst the youngest was just five years old. Mohamed Mazin became the first blind runner to complete the race. Mazin received training from Mohamed Hanim, whose nine year old daughter accompanied Mazin round the course. The Maldives Blind Association was also present at the race staging area.

Upon running past the ‘stop-speeding’ poster on the southern section of Boduthakurufaanu Magu, the Minivan Team became confused and opted to halt its break-neck pace once more, walking for a section whilst it considered its legal obligations.

At the finish line, grateful runners were provided with more water, energy drinks and fresh fruit to re-energise. Those not competing in the race continued to soak up the atmosphere – children to small to take part were entertained with balloons and face-painting.

Nearing Dharubaaruge, the Minivan News team, drawing on its reserves and spurred on by the crowd, pushed on to cross the finish line at around the 37 minute mark. The race rules stated that 45 minutes was the maximum time allowed to officially complete the race.

Minivan hopes to use its surplus of eight minutes to win next year’s race which it, alongside all those who participated in yesterday’s race, will be very much looking forward to.

The official results for all the categories are expected to be announced on Monday.

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Dhiraagu eyes fundraising push with 2012 road race launch

Dhiraagu has this week launched its 2012 Broadband Road Race, which will be held in Male’ on June 29 under the banner of the local telecoms group’s corporate social responsibility programme.

The road race, which organisers claim is the largest running event in the country’s athletic calender, is now in its sixth year.

According to the company, some 1,500 runners – made up of professional athletes, fun runners, local and multinational business, schools and sport teams – were estimated to have participated in last year’s race.

Speaking to media at the launch of this year’s event at Male’s Nasandhura Palace Hotel yesterday, Dhiraagu representatives said the company hoped for an even bigger turnout in 2012. The race is organised in collaboration with the Athletics Association of the Maldives.

Dhiraagu spokesperson Imjad Jaleel told Minivan News that aside from serving as an official event in the country’s athletic calender for both professional and amateur runners, the race was primarily devised by the company to support fund-raising initiatives for local issues.

“There are real concerns here about issues of domestic violence and child abuse, we hope that charities can use this event for fundraising as well as raising awareness of their work locally,” he said.

Jaleel stressed that the road race had been devised by the company in 2007 additionally as a means to promote healthier lifestyles in the country.

“Due to the lack of space in Male’, it was not possible to host an official marathon as participants would have to run around Male’ five or six times,” he added.

Company role

Communications Manager Mohamed Mirshan Hassan told local media that aside from devising and hosting the race, Dhiraagu’s fund raising commitments were based on encouraging its staff to play a more personal role.

“We see this event more as a social platform for NGO s to raise funds as well as awareness of their campaigns,” he said. “However, senior colleagues from Dhiraagu ran last years event raising about Rf80,000 between them. This is a good example for others in how the event can be used for fund-raising.”

The company estimated that about one hundred of its employees are expected to participate in the race this year, reflecting strong “personal support” for the event.

Dhiraagu claimed during yesterday’s launch that it was also looking to work with sponsors and athletic associations to further increase the scale of the event by increasing the number of participants taking part in the 2012 race.

Organisers said they will also be providing prizes in several different categories for both male and female amateur and professional runners. Schools, sports clubs, NGOs and resort operators are also being invited to take part in the race.

Professional and amateur runners will be competing for respective cash prises, with other awards being presented to the most successful teams and schools. Special accolades will also be given for the oldest participant in the run.

More information on the race, as well as online application forms for both individual and team participants can be found on the event’s official site.

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STO, STELCO and Dhiraagu boards reconstituted by president

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has reconstituted the Boards of Directors for the State Trading Organisation (STO), the State Electric Company (STELCO) and telecommunications group Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun (Dhiraagu).

Abdulla Faiz is set to take the Chairperson role for the STO board. Ahmed Shareef and Ibrahim Athif Shakoor will take the Chairman role on the Board of Directors at STELCO and Dhiraagu respectively, according to the President’s Office webste.

The announcement was made after President Waheed earlier this month announced he was reconstituting the boards of six other companies.

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Dhiraagu internet service “restored” after successful repair test

Dhiraagu has said that internet services affected by a damaged section of submarine cable off the Sri Lankan Coast have been “restored” after testing on repairs proved successful today.

The cable was damaged on the evening of Wednesday April 18 forcing the company to provide a “degraded” service to national internet customers for several days as it sought out “diversity routes” to reduce the impact to its operations.

The repair work, which was carried out jointly by Dhiraagu and Sri Lankan Telecom (SLT), commenced last week after a specially equipped repair vessel called the Asean Explorer made its way to Sri Lanka from India.

Company spokesperson Imjad Jaleel told Minivan News that testing on the repaired cable had been under way today to ensure that the company could provide a “normal service” to its clients.  By this evening, Dhiraagu announced the tests had been successful and that its broadband capacity had been restored.

According to Dhiraagu, the damaged section of cable, situated 26 miles off the Sri Lankan coast and 40 metres below the water had been damaged by the anchor of a ship.  The damage was found to have occurred in an area of Sri Lankan waters where vessels were not permitted to anchor, the company had previously announced.

Whilst repairs were being undertaken, the company said it had been working to improve the quality of internet services and international calls affected by the cable damage through alternative avenues like the use of satellites.

Last week, chief national telecoms rival Wataniya announced it was also assisting in the provision of data capacity from its own cable as part of a national agreement to cover any disruptions to the Maldives communication network.  Dhiraagu said it has been paying Wataniya for the data capacity allowance.

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Repair work commences on Dhiraagu submarine cable

Dhiraagu has reportedly commenced work this afternoon on repairing a damaged section of submarine cable off the Sri Lankan coast responsible for disrupting the company’s internet services in the Maldives over the last week.

Local media has reported that repair work on the cable began at around 2pm this afternoon in a collaboration between Dhiraagu technicians and engineers from Sri Lankan Telecom (SLT).

Commencement of the repair work has been dependent on the arrival of a specially equipped ship called the Asean Explorer, which completed its journey from India to Sri Lanka yesterday.  It is not known yet how long repairs may take, though Dhraagu claims it has continued to work on strengthening services and capacity for its internet clients.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the company said it did not wish to speculate on the possible cause of the damage to the submarine cable that connects Dhiraagu’s Maldivian broadband network to the wider world.

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