Egypt could issue a fourth mobile licence, communications minister Tarek Kamel reportedly said.
Quoted by Reuters, Kamel said that the possibility of a fourth licence has not been pushed aside.
Local press reports say the telecom regulator NTRA has…
Egypt could issue a fourth mobile licence, communications minister Tarek Kamel reportedly said.
Quoted by Reuters, Kamel said that the possibility of a fourth licence has not been pushed aside.
Local press reports say the telecom regulator NTRA has floated the idea of a new licence following a row with operators over new interconnection rules.
Vodafone Egypt, Etisalat and ECMS/ Mobinil (owned by France Telecom and Orascom) have objected to the new rules, which require connection fees from mobile to fixed-line calls not to exceed those charged for mobile calls between different providers.
Egypt’s attempts to auction a new fixed-line licence in early 2008 were repeatedly postponed before being suspended for an indefinite period of time. An auction would have provided a rival to state-owned Telecom Egypt, which continues to enjoy a monopoly of the country’s fixed-line sector. However, its position could be challenged if efforts to auction two new triple-play licences go ahead as planned in March.
