The Gulf state of Qatar's government-backed Qatar Telecom has a majority stake in Asiacell.

NPR: Asiacell Shares Sold On Iraq Bourse In Major Float

Other companies bidding for licences include Singapore's SingTel, Qatar Telecom and Norway's Telenor.

BBC: Vodafone and China Mobile make Burma mobile bid

They sell passage to any company that operates its own global data network: from Qatar Telecom to Swisscom, Facebook to Goldman Sachs.

WSJ: A Dive Into the Digital Deep

The number was bought by an anonymous Qatari bidder during a charity auction hosted by Qatar Telecom in Doha on 23 May 2006, according to Guinness World Records.

BBC: 7 questions on mobile phones