CAIRO: Qatar's Qtel chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Bin Saud al-Thani and the Tunisian government hope that a renewed interest by the Gulf company in the North African nation will assist the country in boosting its telecom sector. Qtel, which owns Tunisia's Tunisiana – one of three mobile phone operators in the country – said the government will grant the company a 3G license in the near future, which will “help increase our footprint on the ground” in the country. Qtel holds 75 percent of Tunisiana's shares. Sakhr el Matri, son-in-law of ousted Tunisian president Ben Ali, owned the remaining 25 percent. After the Tunisian revolution, ownership of the Matri's shares went to the Tunisian government. Tunisians are hopeful that the government will continue to push telecom and introduce fully functioning 3G networks into the market. “Right now, we are struggling to connect, but if the government listens to us, the people, we will be able to really develop as a country,” blogger and tech writer Mohamed Jalil told Bikyamasr.com via telephone. He is hopeful that increased interest in the country will boost the economy and the IT infrastructure. As of September 2011, the Tunisian market provides 8 percent of Qtel's consumer base. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ftUyp Tags: Qtel Section: Business, Latest News, Tunisia
