The auction for a third mobile network operating licence in Syria which begins in April is set to have a minimum reserve price of EUR 90 million, writes Syria Report, citing Mohammad Al-Jallali, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications. Etisalat, France Telecom, Qtel, Turkcell and Saudi Telecom have been pre-qualified for the licence auction. The country is also expected to announce the establishment of an independent telecoms regulator before the auction starts. The licence requires the winning bidder to give 25 percent of its annual mobile revenue to the government, and stipulates that Syria's state telecoms company STE will hold a 20 percent stake in the new mobile operator. The country is estimated to have just over 9.1 million mobile subscribers as of the end of March 2010, which represents a population penetration level of 44 percent. The two incumbent operators will have to buy out their current BOT agreements and convert to a conventional licence agreement.
