CAIRO, Sept 22 (Reuters) – All three of Egypt’s established mobile phone operators declined to buy fourth-generation (4G) service licences, two Egyptian telecoms officials told Reuters on Thursday, paving the way for worldwide operators to enter the local market.
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In its statement, the regulator said its board of directors will meet to discuss alternatives to issuing the licenses, including launching an global tender.
In light of the rejections, Egypt’s telecom regulator said on Thursday it would consider other means of introducing 4G services to the country of 90 million, including an global auction.
The operators’ refusal may lead to a stand-off with the government similar to the one in 2014, when it attempted to hand a mobile license to Telecom Egypt but backtracked as carriers threatened worldwide arbitration over what they said were unfair rules. Kuwaiti company Zain offered to buy a licence upfront in U.S. dollar instalments, and Saudi Telecom and Lebara KSA also expressed interest in the matter.
There was no immediate statement from those companies. El Qady said 4G service would go ahead as planned, and would be offered by Telecom Egypt, according to the report.
Orange and Etisalat had also declined the offer, the two officials said.
As it stands, Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt and Etisalat Misr have until 12.00pm on 22 September to make a final decision as to whether they will say yes to the 4G licences offered to them, with the prices having been set at EGP3.5 billion (USD394 million) for both Vodafone and Orange and EGP4.5 billion for Etisalat Misr.
Egypt needs hard currency after burning through its foreign exchange reserves as political turmoil hit foreign investment and tourism since a 2011 uprising.
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Telecom Egypt will have to share infrastructure with existing operators which, for their part, would be loath to see their market share diluted by the arrival of new players.
