Authorities hand licence to Vodafone, on track for Q1 launch

Vodafone Qatar has been officially granted Qatar’s second mobile licence by the country’s telecom regulator, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR). Vodafone, which led a consortium to victory in the mobile licence tender last December, confirmed that it will launch commercial services in the first quarter of 2009. It will be making further announcements about its plans, including recruitment and an IPO, in the coming months.