Vodafone has won the second mobile licence in Qatar, according to an announcement from local regulator IctQatar. Vodafone and its partner the Qatar Foundation submitted the highest bid in the auction for the licence, beating out rivals Verizon, AT&T, MTC and Etisalat. The winner is expected to launch services in 2008, competing against incumbent operator Qatar Telecom. The regulator did not provide any details on how much Vodafone will pay for the licence. This will be Vodafone's first self-run operation in the Middle East; it previously had partner agreements with MTC in Kuwait and Bahrain.
