TRC tries to resuscitate failed 3G tender process

Jordan’s telecom regulator has said it will negotiate directly with the country’s mobile operators in a bid to launch 3G services by the end of this year, after the tender process in May failed to produce a winning bid.

Operators in Jordan rejected the initial reserve price of JD50 million (US$70 million), which they said together with 15 annual licence fee payments made the case to invest in 3G deployment an unattractive one.

The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) had hoped to attract investors from Jordan and abroad when the delayed process began in March, but the only bidder, Orange Jordan, had its offer rejected because it did not comply with the terms and conditions of the bid.
A spokeswoman for the TRC said Orange Jordan did not submit the required financial bond of JD10 million. The operator’s bid also contained additional conditions that related to mobile spectrum and the ten month 3G exclusivity period.

The TRC said that given the ongoing global economic downturn it intended to go into a direct award of 3G spectrum to the existing operators within terms that it thinks are fair to everybody, including the operators, the treasury and consumers.