Jordan’s telecom regulator tries new 3G plan

Jordan’s telecom regulator has announced that it will negotiate directly with the country’s mobile operators in a bid to launch 3G services by the end of this year, after last month’s tender process failed to produce a winning bid.

Operators in Jordan baulked at the initial reserve price of JD50 million ($70 million), which they said together with 15 annual licence fee payments of approximately JD2.5 million ($3.5 million) made for an unsustainable business case in a low-spending market like Jordan.

The telecommunication regulatory commission (TRC) had hoped to attract investors from Jordan and abroad when the delayed process began in March, but the only bidder, Orange Jordan, had its offer rejected because it did not comply with the terms and conditions of the bid.

A spokeswoman for the TRC said Orange Jordan did not submit the required financial bond of JD10 million ($14 million). The operator’s bid also contained additional conditions which related to mobile spectrum and the ten month 3G exclusivity period, which Orange Jordan did not want to begin from the date the licence was awarded.

The CEO and chairman of Jordan’s TRC, Dr Ahmad Hiasat, told CommsMEA that the initial reserve price was based on the average of auctions that took place in Europe in the last eight years, and that the tender process was a victim of the global economic crisis.

He said: “Taking into account that still the financial crisis is here and there is uncertainty, we intend to go into a direct award of the spectrum to the existing operators within terms that we think are fair to everybody, including the operators, the treasury and consumers.”

Hiasat said the TRC will listen to operators’ concerns and requirements, but he warned that if no agreement is reached within a month the regulator will retender the licence with new terms and conditions.

One of the conditions that could be amended is the reserve price, which Hiasat said could be reduced. There is also a possibility that the exclusivity period could be increased from the ten month period stipulated in the original tender, after operators complained it would not give enough time to build and launch a network.

“Potentially we can award up to four licences,” Hiasat said. “Our ultimate goal is not to maximise revenue but rather to have more services and more competition in the telecom sector with all its submarkets. If we conclude with the operators I expect to have the service launched and offered before the end of the year.”