Ongoing mobile licence problems in Iran
The Iranian market grew very strongly during 2008 and 2009 due to the continued affects of the competition from second operator MTN Irancell and the introduction of prepaid services.
A question hangs over the market however after a troubled tender for a third licence in 2009, echoing the problems of the second mobile licence tender. The licence was first awarded to a consortium led by Etisalat of the UAE, with local company Tamin Telecom as its partner, and then withdrawn. It was then awarded to a consortium led by Zain of Kuwait but then again withdrawn.
After various other rumours, the saga appeared to conclude in October 2009 with the news that Tamin Telecom had won back the licence in its own right and was looking for an experienced international telecommunications consultancy partner.
Tamin plans to launch the third mobile operator by end-2010. In a further development, incumbent telco TCI, together with its mobile division, was privatised in late September 2009 with sale of a 50% plus one share stake to a consortium of three privately owned companies reported as being affiliated to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
For more information on this new BuddeComm report see: Middle Eastern Mobile Voice and Operators Market
Tagged in: Iran, The Middle East
