| Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MTIT) announced that Kuwait's Wataniya International was the highest bidder for the second Palestinian GSM license. The company offered JD 251 million as an upfront license payment for a 2G/3G mobile license, including the ability to offer international calling.
Wataniya says that it will negotiate final license terms and the frequencies required to operate the network. The new operator will be 40% owned by Wataniya International, 30% will be offered to the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and 30% owned by the general population through an IPO.
The incumbent operator is Jawwal. Jawwal has approximately 730,000 subscribers. Within the Palestinian Territories, there are around 1.3 million mobile subscribers. This is due to the Israeli networks "leaking" over the borders and providing service to Palestinians.
Source: Cellular-News - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News |