QTel and STC, the respective incumbents of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, confirmed that they have bid on Syria’s third mobile licence. The remaining prequalified bidders, France Telecom, the UAE’s Etisalat and Turkcell, all dropped out, mainly due to onerous…
QTel and STC, the respective incumbents of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, confirmed that they have bid on Syria’s third mobile licence. The remaining prequalified bidders, France Telecom, the UAE’s Etisalat and Turkcell, all dropped out, mainly due to onerous licence conditions. They primarily opposed the state’s insistence upon a 25% revenue share and seven-year infrastructure ownership.
None of the withdrawing parties has cited escalating political unrest in the country in their statements.
Last month, Syria’s deputy telecoms minister Mohammad Al-Jallali placed a minimum US$122m reserve price on the third mobile licence. Turkcell, France Telecom, STC, Etisalat and Qtel had all prequalified, while a sixth suitor, Iran’s state-owned Tamin Telecom Company (Tamco), did not qualify.
