(The Economic Times via NewsEdge) Reliance Communications is eyeing the Bahrain market, being among the 11 players who have bid for the license to offer fixed wireless services in the country.
Apart from Reliance Communications, the others who have applied for two national fixed wireless services (NFWS) licenses include Vodafone, ATCO Clearwire Telecom, Qatar Telecom, Bahrain Telecommunications, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co., Blue Zone East, Etisalcom Wireless, Kalaam Telecom Bahrain, Mena Telecom, and Nuetel Communications.
Industry sources said Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority was currently evaluating the bids to ensure that all players met the pre-qualification criteria.
The financial bids will be held on Dec. 13 and licenses will be awarded to the two highest bidders.
The winner of the two NFWS licenses will be allowed to offer both voice and data services. They can also provide local telephony, Internet services and international calls.
This comes close on the heels of Reliance Communications' three unsuccessful bids for licenses in foreign countries.
The company, which jointly bid with the Singye group, lost the race for the second mobile operator license in Bhutan.
Prior to that, Reliance Communications, together with Sweden's Swedtel, had failed in its bid failed to win the license for the second national operators' licence in Kenya.
Earlier, Reliance Communications' bid to enter the Egyptian mobile market had failed as the Egyptian national telecom regulator disqualified its bid after the completion of the technical evaluation.
Reliance Communications is, however, now in the race to become Sri Lanka's fifth GSM-based mobile operator. Other bidders include Malaysia's Maxis Communications and Singapore Telecommunications.
© 2006 The Economic Times, India
© 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved