Tunisiana takes possession of 3G and fixed line licences

Qtel Group confirmed that its Tunisian subsidiary Tunisiana has been awarded both 3G and landline operator licenses by the Tunisian Ministry of Information Technologies and Communication.

The Ministry announced the award of the licences in March, and the concessions have now been formally handed over.

Tunisiana is the country’s largest mobile network by subscribers but unlike its rivals was not able to offer landline or 3G services.

The additional licences were purchased for a combined consideration of TD205 million (US$135 million). In line with regulatory guidelines, the 3G network will be launched in July 2012, with fixed-line services launching at the beginning of 2013.

Rival networks, Orange and Tunisie Telecom both have 3G licences already.