Qatar's new mobile phone operator will have to sell a 40 per cent stake to the public, the country's telecom regulator said in offer documents.

Twelve international and regional firms and consortiums have until Sept 2 to submit bids for the licence that will end a mobile phone monopoly in the country of 840,000 people, the regulator said in a statement.

AT&T, Vodafone and Verizon Communications are eligible to vie for the licence, along with Arab operators Emirates Telecommunications and Mobile Telecommunications Co.

The winner, expected to be unveiled in October after an auction process, would be required to sell 40 per cent of the company's shares in an initial public offering, the offer document said.

It would also have to sell a 15 per cent stake to the government, giving the winner a minority holding in the new firm, expected to start operations next year.

Qatar Telecommunications has a monopoly on mobile and fixed-line telephone services in Qatar.

The population of Qatar should hit 1.34 million by 2015, driving mobile phone use, the regulator said in April.Reuters