Turkcell awarded GSM licence in Iran

Turkish mobile operator Turkcell has won a GSM900/1800 licence to build out a mobile network in Iran. The operator will be awarded the concession upon the payment of a USD385 million licence fee and the signing of a licence agreement between Turkcell and the Iranian regulator. The cellco will be the first private mobile operator in the country and will compete with state-owned monopoly TCI, which currently has around three million subscribers. Turkcell expects to invest around USD3 billion into the rollout of the network and hopes to launch services by the end of the year.