Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008
DOHA, Qatar (AFP)--Some of the world's biggest telecom firms are bidding for Qatar's second fixed-line license, the Gulf state's telecom regulator said Tuesday.
The companies are AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) from the U.S., Batelco from Bahrain, Eutelia SpA (EUT.MI) from Italy, Jordan Telecommunications Corp. (JTEL.AJ), PCCW Ltd. (0008.HK) from Hong Kong, and BT Group PLC (BT) and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) from the U.K.
The closing date for applications has been pushed back from March 6 to April 3 due to high interest in the tender, the regulator said, adding that the winner would be announced in May.
A consortium including Vodafone successfully bid for Qatar's second mobile phone license last December, breaking the monopoly of state-controlled Q-Tel.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
19-02-08 1521GMT
