€90 million reserve price for Syrian mobile licence

Syria’s forthcoming auction of the country’s third mobile network licence is set to have a reserve price of €90 million (US$122 million), according to media reports in Syria, citing Mohammad Al-Jallali, deputy telecom minister. Etisalat, France Telecom, Qtel, Turkcell, and STC have all been pre-qualified for the auction.

The country is also expected to announce the establishment of an independent telecom regulator before the licence auction commences in April.

According to figures from the Mobile World, Syria is estimated to have had just over 9.1 million mobile subscribers at the end of March 2010, representing a penetration level of 44 per cent.

The two incumbent operators will have to buy out their current BOT agreements and convert to conventional licence agreements. The buyout price has been previously reported as being around US$500 million.