Du, the UAE’s second integrated telecommunications operator, announced today it had reached the milestone of three million mobile subscribers after only 21 months of operation.

The announcement comes shortly after the company achieved its first-ever quarterly net profit since inception, of AED31 million (US$8.44 million) during the third quarter of 2008, a full year ahead of the timeframe quoted in its financial plan.

Du launched services in February 2007, ending the monopoly of incumbent Etisalat, at a time when mobile penetration was already in excess of 100 per cent.

The operator is aiming for 30 per cent market share and has close to 25 per cent now.

Omantel is through to the second round of bidding for Iran’s third mobile licence, the company said in a statement today.

Omantel is believed to be competing with firms from the Middle East, India and Russia for Iran’s third mobile licence

The Omani telco is bidding for the concession as part of a consortium of local and international partners for the licence which includes access to 3G spectrum.

Dubai-based Millennium Finance Corporation, which is advising Iran on the process, said the tender would not close before the end of the year and that Malaysia’s TM International was also in the running. Qtel, Zain, India’s Reliance Communications and Russia’s VimpelCom and MegaFon have all been linked with the auction.

Iran’s third mobile licence will give the winning bidder access to 3G spectrum for an exclusive period ahead of incumbents state-backed Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) and MTN Irancell, which is 49 per cent owned by Africa’s largest operator, MTN.

Mobile penetration in Iran stands at around 50 per cent, with TCI serving 24.6 million subscribers and MTN Irancell having been able to garner 11.5 million customers to end-June, having launched commercially late in 2006.

The tender for Jordan’s first 3G licence will open in mid-December, with interested parties having until January 27, 2009 to submit their bids, the kingdom’s regulator announced yesterday. A concurrent and separate tender will also take place for 2G spectrum.

The TRC’s chief commissioner and CEO Ahmad Hiasat said 3G spectrum will cost at least JD25 million (US$35.3 million), while 2G will cost 1.3 times the price paid for 3G

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) expects to tender a single 3G licence within three weeks, with new entrants and incumbent mobile operators – Orange Jordan, Umniah, Zain Jordan and Xpress – eligible to bid.

A ten-month ‘separation period’ of exclusivity will apply to the winning bidder, after which 10MHz of 3G spectrum will be offered to the existing operators that did not win the bid, at the price of the winning tender bid.

The reserve price for the 3G licence is set at JD25 million (US$35.3 million) for a paired block of 5MHz of spectrum, and does not include the evacuation charges and annual returns. Parties may bid for 10, 15 or 20 paired blocks of available spectrum.

The reserve price for 2G spectrum will be 130 per cent of the winning price paid for the 3G licence. Therefore, the minimum fee to acquire 2G will be JD32.5 million for a pair of 5MHz spectrum.

The TRC advised it will request the Council of Ministers to grant the winners of the 3G and 2G tenders exemption from custom duties for a period of four years, in the same way it was granted to mobile operators previously.

“TRC will impose roll-out obligations on the licensees to secure the provision of services in at least the capital cities of each governorate in the kingdom within a reasonable timescale,” the TRC’s chief commissioner and CEO Ahmad Hiasat said.

“During the first year, the winning bidder is required to make available the services in certain allocated areas, such as west Amman, then the coverage will expand by the second and third years to cover most of the governorates.”

FRiENDi Mobile and Renna have become the first two mobile resellers in the Middle East to reach commercial agreements with a host operator, Oman Mobile announced today, confirming reports by Comm. in the past week.

Oman Mobile’s managing director Amer Al Rawas said the reseller arrangements would further benefit the Omani market by addressing new customer segments and more competition

The agreements between Oman Mobile and the Class 2 licensees will enable them to operate as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), by reselling basic mobile services across Oman using their own brand, marketing and sales channels. The resellers will also offer and manage their own customer relations, billing and after-sales support.

Oman Mobile’s managing director Amer Al Rawas said this step would further benefit Omani customers by providing them with more choice, value added services, and addressing new segments.

“The agreements with Renna and FRiENDi Mobile are a concrete response from Oman Mobile to the decisions and policies set forth by the government and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), stressing implementation in the public interest and best returns on the customers and the society,” Al Rawas commented.

“Mobile resellers will be able to offer services to customers who have low or no access to mobile services, making the mobile telecom market even more competitive, further benefiting consumers and the Omani economy in general.”

FRiENDi Mobile, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, plans to operate as mobile reseller across the South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) region, and also has a reseller licence in Jordan.

“We at FRiENDi mobile are proud to be launching this exciting new business model in Oman first and then in other markets in the SAMEA region in the months to come. We are extremely satisfied with the signing of this agreement which allows FRiENDi mobile to launch innovative and exciting mobile services in Oman,” stated Antti Arponen, CEO of FRiENDi Mobile Oman.

Renna is a 100 per cent Omani-owned company also known as Majan Telecom, and aims to be the best alternative communications provider in the region. CEO Niklas Nielsen said the agreement signalled a bold direction that would pioneer new standards in the Middle East “to promote free and responsible competition for the benefit of the society”.

A third reseller licensee, Mazoon Mobile, is understood to still be in negotiations with Oman Mobile over a partnership agreement, which is expected to be announced shortly.

Mazoon Mobile will compete with FRiENDi Mobile and Majan Telecom to be the first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) to launch in Oman, which could be as soon as January.

CEO of Etisalcom Rashid Al-Snan said Mazoon will cater to the lower-income expatriates and students in Oman

Mazoon is owned by Etisalcom, a voice, video and data communications provider in Bahrain, and Etisalcom’s CEO Rashid Al-Snan told Comm. that the operator is in the final stages of negotiating a wholesale agreement with Omantel.

“As soon as we sign the agreement, we need about six weeks to launch,” Al-Snan stated. “We are in exactly the same situation as FRiENDi and Majan, Omantel is still negotiating with all of us. As soon as the agreements are ready, then all of us will be in the same position.”

Al-Snan said Mazoon’s target market will be expatriates and students in the lower-income segment, which are not catered for by the existing mobile providers Oman Mobile, which is currently being integrated into parent company Omantel, and second operator Nawras.

Mazoon, Connect Arabia – the local company which will operate under the FRiENDi banner, and Majan Telecom – which will be known as Renna, were three of the five successful bidders to obtain Class 2 licenses in the sultanate in July. A sixth licence was awarded in October to an unidentified company.

The licenses allow the licensees to purchase bulk minutes from Oman’s two incumbent mobile operators, repackage them and then sell them to the end-user.

Oman’s mobile penetration rate is close to 100 per cent, with Qtel-owned Nawras having garnered a 43 per cent market share since launch in March 2005.