Bidding to begin for Iran’s third mobile network

Iran has announced the launch of a public tender for the country’s third mobile network operating licence, reports the Alalam News Network. Government official Saeed Mahdiyoun said, ‘The invitation to take part in the tender will take place through mass circulation newspapers from 25 August to 4 September. The sale of tender documents will take place on 6 September.’ Late last week, Iran’s minister of communications and information technology, Mohammad Soleimani said, ‘The international tender for Iran’s third cell phone operator will be published in newspapers by the next two days’, adding that the move is expected to attract USD3 billion in investment. The government has appointed a consulting firm to oversee the licensing process, the Millennium Finance Corporation (MFC), which is affiliated with Dubai Islamic Bank. Russian cellcos MegaFon and Vimpelcom previously revealed that they had been approached in connection with a bid for the new licence.