The consortium formed by Orange France Telecom and Tunisian Divona has won the third fixed-line and mobile phone license in Tunisia. The license will run for 15 years, the operations are to start in January 2010.

France Telecom has joined hands with local operator Divona Telecom (Mabrouk group). The main competitor for the international call for tender was Turkcell, which partnered with Tunisian businessman Mohamed Sakher El Materi.

“The entrance of a new telecommunications operator on the market aims at boosting the telecommunications landscape (land lines, mobile phones, broadband internet), promoting investment and employment and sustaining the business climate in Tunisia” reports Tunisia Online News.

Until now, Tunisie Telecom, the main operator, and Tunisiana, managed by private company Orascom, are the key players in the local mobile phone market. According to the Ministry of Communication Technologies, the attribution is temporary. Indeed, the goverment is now waiting for all legal conditions requested by the tender to be fulfilled.