INTERVIEW-Wataniya Palestine makes strong start - CEO

* Earlier subscriber growth beats expectations - CEO

* Firm committed to operating in Gaza Strip

By Erika Solomon

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Wataniya Palestine has beaten expectations for subscriber growth in its first weeks operating as the second mobile telephone provider in the Palestinian territories, its chief executive said on Monday.

Alan Richardson said he expected Wataniya Palestine, part owned by Qatar Telecommunications Co, to have more than 100,000 subscribers by the end of the year, more than doubling its customer base since its Nov. 1 launch.

"We have probably exceeded our expectations in terms of subscribers, so we are very happy about that," Richardson told Reuters in an interview.

Wataniya Palestine launched with 40,000 subscribers. It entered the market alongside Jawwal, which is operated by the Palestine Telecommunications Co (PalTel) and has about 1.5 million subscribers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "The basic market behaviour has been more or less the same as other markets Wataniya has launched into as a second operator," Richardson said. He said it was hard to forecast what market share Wataniya Palestine might hold by the end of 2010.

"Classically, you would expect a new operator to take about a minimum of 30 percent of the market ... it depends, but a second operator is always going to take a reasonable market share."

DETERMINED TO LAUNCH IN GAZA

The firm began setting up its West Bank network three years ago but the launch was held up by factors including lengthy delays in getting equipment through Israeli customs and a struggle to obtain frequencies for the network, Richardson said.

Israel, which occupied the West Bank in a 1967 war, controls the airwaves of the territory, home to 2.5 million Palestinians. Wataniya Palestine launched without the full range of frequencies which Israel had agreed to release for it.

The firm had received assurances it would get the remaining frequencies, Richardson said.

An Israeli official said in October the remaining frequencies would be released once the Palestinian Authority had met unfulfilled commitments under the agreement over Wataniya Palestine's frequencies.

Wataniya Palestine is also licensed to operate in the Gaza Strip but has not been able to set up its network there. Run by the Islamist group Hamas, the Gaza Strip is under a tight Israeli blockade that restricts the entry of many goods.

Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007.

"There have ups and downs, changes in government, changes in politics," Richardson said.

"We will go to Gaza as soon as we can get in with equipment and as soon as conditions allow us to go," Richardson said. "We are 100 percent committed to doing that. There is no doubt in our minds."

Wataniya Palestine's licence also allows it to operate 3G services, requiring frequencies Israel has not yet agreed to release.Richardson said it was unfair that firms in Israel were allowed to operate the service, as Palestinian subscribers to Israeli networks can use their phones in the West Bank.

Richardson, who set up a mobile network in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, said launching Wataniya Palestine had been one of the toughest tasks of his career.

"I arrived (in Iraq) in October 2003 and we launched in January 2004. It took me four months. It took me three years here." (Editing by Tom Perry and Rupert Winchester)