Qatar Telecom’s Tunisian unit gets phone licenses

Qatar’s largest telecommunications provider says its Tunisiana subsidiary has won licenses to operate fixed-line and 3G mobile services in Tunisia.

State-controlled Qatar Telecom said on Monday it will pay 205 million Tunisian dinars ($131 million) for the licenses.

The former Qatar state monopoly, which goes by the name QTel, says it will launch the 3G -- or “third generation” -- network in July. It plans to roll out the landline service early next year.

QTel took control of Tunisiana last year after buying a stake previously owned by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom.

The license award follows an offer by Qatar last month to give Tunisia a $1 billion low interest loan to bolster the North African country’s battered economy.