Saudi Arabia's telecom regulator will re-tender a licence for
piggyback services on mobile operator Zain Saudi's network, nearly a year after
naming Dubai-based retailer Axiom Telecom as the provisional winner. The
regulator announced the new tender on its website on Tuesday, 8th April 2014.
The regulator had ordered the kingdom's three mobile operators -
Zain Saudi, Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) - to each host
an MVNO, announcing the preliminary winners last June. The bid deadline for
Zain Saudi's MVNO is June 2, with the regulator due to announce a winner within
12 weeks of that date.
MVNOs lease capacity from their host operator, usually paying them
a percentage of revenues as well as fees.
In March, the regulator confirmed the award of MVNO licences to
Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA), which has teamed up with STC,
and London's Lebara Group, which Mobily will host.
Virgin and Lebara expect to launch services by the end of June.
The regulator didn't say why it was re-tendering the licence, but
Axiom chief executive Faisal al-Bannai told Reuters his firm had been unable to
submit a document the regulator required.
"We have resolved that issue and will be submitting our
tender in the next 48 hours," Bannai said.
"All three MVNOs should start at the same
time when all will be ready," Hassan Kabbani, chief executive of Zain
Saudi said. However the regulator told Reuters that the launch of Virgin and
Lebara's services was independent of whatever happened with Zain Saudi's MVNO.© http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/saudi-telecomunications-tender-idINL6N0N12X620140409
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