Iran’s first 3G operator to launch services in February

06 January 2011

Tamin Telecom will become Iran’s third national operator

Iranian mobile operator Tamin Telecom is due to launch its mobile services in February.

The company is currently in the process of building its team. “We will begin the technical trials first and then launch our commercial services as soon as possible,” says a company spokesperson. 

The operator, which won the third-generation (3G) licence in April 2010 had initially planned to begin operations in the fourth quarter of last year. It paid $401m for the licence and has agreed to a 23.6 per cent revenue share with the government. It will have exclusive rights to 3G frequencies for two years and will also provide 2G services.

Tamin had initially secured the licence in 2008 as part of a consortium with the UAE’s Etisalat, but negotiations broke down after failing to agree on the size of Etisalat’s stake. The company later partnered with Kuwait’s Zain, but plans also fell through after the Iranian government cancelled the tender, claiming Zain had not fulfilled its obligations.

Etisalat’s original bid was $402m, with $5bn of investment promised over five years. It remains unclear whether Tamin has now secured the licence with a consortium.  A Zain spokesperson denied the company’s involvement with Tamin. 

Tamin will become Iran’s third operator. The market is currently served by MCI, a subsidiary of state-owned Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) and South Africa’s MTN Irancell, which is majority-owned by the Iran Electronic Development Company (IEDC).

According to research firm Informa Telecoms and Media, the number of mobile subscribers in Iran had reached more than 67 million by September 2010, representing a 20 per cent year-on-year increase. Penetration rates stand at around 90 per cent. Average return per user (Arpu) rates are $8. Penetration rates are expected to exceed 130 per cent by 2015, with subscriber numbers reaching 115 million.

“Iran’s mobile market is the largest in the Middle East in terms of subscription numbers and has more potential than the Saudi Arabian market,” says Matthew Reed, head of Middle East & Africa mobile research at Informa. “The arrival of Tamin will not harm the incumbents much as it is still a growth market, but it will be able to exploit its 3G exclusivity and the demand for mobile data services.”

Tamin is a subsidiary of Shams Tamin High Tech Investment, the same company, which submitted the retracted a bid for Syria’s third mobile licence. It is an affiliate of the Social Security Investment Company of Iran.

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