Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, has made a bid for a combined mobile and fixed-line license in Tunisia. According to a Reuters report, Turkcell confirmed its bid in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange this week. Turkcell said it will lead the bid as part of a consortium including local Tunisian firms, but it did not specify who these were. The license involves the installation of network infrastructure and includes both 2G and 3G mobile services. Tunisia launched the tender in December and has said it expects to select the winner in the second quarter of the year. No other bidders are known. Indian state-owned operator BSNL had previously expressed interest but is understood to have decided against a bid.

If the Turkcell-led consortium is successful, it will become Tunisia’s third mobile operator and second fixed-line operator. According to Wireless Intelligence, Tunisia had around 9.1 million mobile connections by the end of the first quarter, giving it a mobile penetration rate of 88 percent. The market is led by Tunisie Telecom on 4.7 million connections (a 51 percent market share), closely followed by Tunisiana – a joint-venture between Egypt’s Orascom and Kuwait’s Wataniya – which has 4.4 million connections (49 percent market share). The state-owned Tunisie Telecom is also the country’s sole fixed-line operator.