3 Companies Seek Licence As Telecom Providers

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission ( TRC ) said on Saturday that three local companies showed interest in obtaining licences to provide mobile telecommunications and fixed wireless broadband services in the Kingdom.

The TRC , which recently opened the door for applications to obtain licences to provide these services, said it plans to provide one new licence for a mobile telecom operator.

It added that it also plans to provide one licence for the provision of fixed wireless broadband services, according to a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Saturday.

In the statement, the TRC said it will soon set all conditions and criteria needed for obtaining the licences, adding that they will be announced by the end of March.

Commenting on the TRC ‘s plan, Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Arab Advisers Group, said there is actually no need for a new mobile operator as well as a new provider of fixed wireless broadband, known as Wi-Max.

“The Jordanian market is saturated… Last year, there were five providers of Wi-Max and one of them was forced to close,” he said.

According to official figures, mobile penetration in Jordan reached 138 per cent by the end of September last year, with 8.767 million mobile subscribers. Internet penetration reached 63 per cent last year.

Jordan Times