There have not been reports as to when the auction might be rescheduled due to the uncertain state of the country with ongoing anti-government protests and the death of dozens of its citizens.
According to Telegeography the third mobile licence carries a minimum reserve of $122.2 million. Before it was postponed it was only Saudi company STC, and Qatar’s Qtel that were competing for the license. Neither company has made any reference to withdrawing their offer despite the country’s state.
Before the protests started, France Telecom, Turkcell and Etisalat were all in the running to bid for the licence. But, at the end of March Etisalat withdrew its offer with France Telecom and Turkcell both removing their bids at the beginning of April.
