Mobile phone operator Wataniya Palestine is to receive investment of $700 million over the next 10 years, said the chairman of Qatar Telecommunications.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Saud al-Thani made the announcement at the official launch of Wataniya Palestine in Ramallah.

Wataniya Palestine is owned by Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications Company, a unit of Qatar Telecommunications Company, and a holding company for Palestinian public assets.

Sheikh Abdullah said $140 million had been invested in licence fees and more than $100 million in setting up the network.

"This is in addition to extra investments, planned for the coming 10 years, in order to complete, develop and manage this network, reaching $700 million," Sheikh Abdullah told a news conference to mark the launch of network.

The Wataniya Palestine mobile network was switched on earlier this month, even though Israel has yet to release the full range of frequencies agreed for the network.

The establishment of Wataniya, the second mobile operator in the West Bank, has been backed by the World Bank and the US government as part of efforts to boost support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Western-backed government.

It enters the market alongside a network operated by the Palestine Telecommunications, until now the sole provider. PalTel, which has about 1.5 million subscribers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, is majority owned by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain).-Reuters