Zain Jordan expected to dole out JD192m to Treasury this week

AMMAN –– Telecom operator Zain Jordan is expected to transfer JD192 million to the Treasury in the coming two days for the Fourth Generation (4G) frequencies it obtained last month and for other frequencies to expand its third generation (3G) network, a government official said. 

Finance Ministry Secretary General Omar Zu’bi told The Jordan Times that Zain Jordan –– a unit of Kuwaiti-based Mobile Telecommunications Co. –– will transfer JD142 million for the 4G frequencies licence and JD50 million for 3G network expansion. 

Last month, the mobile operator executives said it would introduce 4G services that enable data transfer rates of up to 150 megabits per second by the end of this year. 

The government had invited the country’s three operators — Zain Jordan, Orange Jordan and Umniah — to submit requests to acquire frequencies to provide 4G services after it turned down bids from two companies.

The government received offers from KULACOM Jordan and a US-based company called “Ameriphone” to provide 4G services, but the bids were rejected as they were not in line with the tender’s conditions.

Mobile penetration in Jordan reached 156 per cent at the end of 2013, with 10.3 million mobile subscriptions, according to official figures.