ictQATAR, the telecommunications regulator on December 10, 2007 announced the selection of the Vodafone and Qatar Foundation Consortium as the Successful Applicant for the second mobile telecommunications license in the State of Qatar.
They submitted the highest bid in the second round auction. The other eligible consortiums submitting bids were Argos (Verizon) and Etisalat.
The license will be issued when closing procedures are completed. The new licensee is expected to launch service during 2008.
ictQATAR had earlier received initial bids from the following companies who had qualified after the technical evaluation phase:
Argos Consortium
AT&T Qatar Mobile Consortium
Etisalat Consortium
MTC and Partners Consortium
Vodafone and Qatar Foundation Consortium
These parties were requested to submit one further bid to complete the auction process.
Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, ictQATAR Secretary General, said "This is an important milestone in the liberalization of the telecommunications market in Qatar. The introduction of competition will benefit the people and economy of Qatar. We congratulate the Successful Applicant and we thank all those who participated in the process."
"This is the culmination of many months of hard work by the applicants and the ictQATAR team," she added. "We look forward to the roll-out of new products and services in 2008."