Etisalat intends to 'compete fiercely' for Qatar's second mobile phone licence, its chairman said.

Etisalat was one of 12 Arab and Western operators competing for a licence that will end the last Arab telecom monopoly, Qatar's telecom regulator said.

'Etisalat will fiercely compete for the bidding, especially because of the attractiveness of the Qatari market, which is one of the strongest and most dynamic economies in the region,' Etisalat chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran said.

The Abu Dhabi-based firm's competitors for the licence include Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications, as well as AT&T, Vodafone and Verizon Communications. The licence should be awarded by October.

The company, which has spent more than $6.5 billion during the last three years expanding outside the UAE, has been willing to pay a premium to enter new markets.