MTNL bids for licence in Oman

Undeterred by its repeated failure to acquire licences or companies abroad, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has now gone ahead and put in an initial bid for a licence in Oman, according to a company official.

“We have put in an expression of interest for securing a unified services licence in Oman. The bids, to be first judged on technical basis, will be opened by middle of next week,” the official said.

A unified access service licence will allow MTNL to offer various telecom services like mobile, fixed and broadband. MTNL’s bid is for the third operator licence in that country, the two other being state-owned Omantel and Nawras, which is owned by Qatar Telecom.

 “The average revenue per user is high in Oman but the broadband penetration is low,” the official said. The landline ARPUs in Oman are around $82 and for mobile services $44, he said. The Oman bid is among several attempts made by MTNL over last few years to expand overseas. 

Amidst a dwindling local market. MTNL recently pulled out from bidding for Nigeria Telecommunications. It is contemplating bidding for Zambian telecom company Zamtel and Zain, an operator in Kuwait. Opportunities for new licences, anywhere in the world, come very rarely as the sector is highly regulated in most countries due to its strategic nature.

Eager to expand overseas, the state-owned company has often gone out and bid wherever possible, not just for licences but also companies, but run into far stronger rivals, most of whom have drawn their riches from petro dollars.