Canartel, the Sudanese fixed-line operator majority-owned by UAE’s Etisalat, says it is confident of securing a mobile license in the country before the end of the year. In an interview with Reuters, Canartel chief corporate affairs officer Mohammed Bouhelal said that the license will cost  “in the hundreds of millions [of dollars]” and that an announcement by Etisalat was expected soon. Canartel entered the Sudanese fixed-line market in 2006, becoming the first competitor to incumbent fixed-line operator Sudatel, in which the Sudanese government retains a 26 percent stake. According to Reuters, the UAE is the second-largest investor in the country after China, which has put the UAE-based Etisalat in a strong postion to secure the mobile license.

According to Wireless Intelligence data, Zain is the largest mobile operator in Sudan with 4.6 million connections by the end of second-quarter 2008, followed by Sudatel’s mobile arm Sudani (2.4 million) and MTN (2.1 million). Canartel’s Bouhelal told Reuters that the operator would look to catch up with the established mobile players in the market by offering roaming deals via other Etisalat operators in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “When the Sudanese uses our service, he will be able to take his phone to Haj in Mecca, to go shopping in Dubai and to take his vacation in Egypt,” he said.