MyAdhan Blog

Link: UAE eyes Iran’s cell phone market

Emirates Telecommunications Company, the second largest Arab phone firm by market value, eyes investment in Iran’s cell-phone market. “It is too early for us to make a decision as to whether we will enter or not and how we will enter,” said Mohammed Omran, Chairman of Emirates Telecommunications Company, or Etisalat, late Monday. “Iran has said they will open their market for two opportunities to my understanding, one is a mobile operator that is part of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), and the other is a new license,” Omran added. Etisalat also plans to expand business in Algeria, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, South Africa, India and elsewhere in Asia. Thanks to its population growth and stable economy, the Iranian market looks attractive for foreign mobile phone operators. MegaFon, Russia’s third-largest mobile phone operator, announced last week that it might invest around 3 billion euros ($4.64 billion) in Iran to build a GSM network in the country. Two cell-phone service providers, including the state-owned TCI and South Africa’s MTN Group are currently rendering service to the country’s 28 million mobile phone users.