Turkcell wins mobile phone licence in Iran

The company is expected to invest about $3bn in the project – making it one of the biggest foreign investments in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Turkcell’s intends to start operating in 11 months’ time. Turkcell is to pay 300m euros ($385m; £202m) up-front for its licence. Further fees and taxes depend on revenues the company is able to generate.

Iran’s state monopoly TCI has about three million subscribers but demand is expected to soar to 30 million by 2009. Unsuccessful bidders for the contract included Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company, South Africa’s MTN and Orascom Telecom of Egypt.

Iran plans to put out to tender a third mobile phone licence in two years’ time.