Doha - Vodafone and the Qatar Foundation consortium will pay 7.72 billion Qatari riyals (2.1 billion dollars) for Qatar's second mobile phone licence, the Gulf state's telecom regulator said on Tuesday.

Vodafone and Qatar Foundation will hold 45 per cent of the share capital of Vodafone Qatar, government institutions hold 15 per cent.

The remaining 40 per cent of the share capital will be allocated to an initial public offering (IPO) for Qatari nationals on the Doha Securities Market, Qatar's Supreme Council of Information & Technology said in a statement.

The deadline for selling the shares to the public is November 2008. Vodafone Qatar will start operating in the first quarter of 2009.

The move is part of effort by Gulf nations to end the monopoly of state-run firms in the telecom sector and bring in more competitiveness. (dpa)