By Reuters Staff
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NAIROBI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has extended the deadline for telecom firms to bid for new operating licences by a month to April 5, the sector regulator said on Monday, citing requests from interested companies.
The Horn of Africa nation’s telecoms industry is considered the big prize in a push to liberalise the economy because of the huge size of the market, which serves more than 100 million people.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is pressing ahead with the auction of the new licences and the sale of a 45% stake in state monopoly Ethio Telecoms, in spite of a military conflict in the northern Tigray region.
By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia has extended the period it granted telecom firms to bid for new operating licences by one month, the sector regulator said on Monday, citing requests by interested companies.
Firms will be required to submit their bids April 5, up from an earlier deadline of March 5, the Ethiopian Communications Authority said in a statement.
Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Catherine Evans
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NAIROBI Ethiopia has extended the deadline for telecom firms to bid for new operating licenses by a month to April 5, the sector regulator said on Monday, citing requests from interested companies.
The Horn of Africa nation’s telecoms industry is considered the big prize in a push to liberalize the economy because of the huge size of the market, which serves more than 100 million people.
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Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is pressing ahead with the auction of the new licenses and the sale of a 45% stake in state monopoly Ethio Telecoms, in spite of a military conflict in the northern Tigray region.
Airtel won’t bid for Ethiopia, China’s Sharing Mobile will
News Highlights: Airtel won’t bid for Ethiopia, China’s Sharing Mobile will. 40m | Alan Burkitt-Gray Indian operator Airtel, which has 110 million customers in Africa, will not bid on any of the upcoming Ethiopian licenses, China’s Sharing Mobile will.
The Xinhua News Agency, the official state news agency of the People’s Republic of China, said this morning that Sharing Mobile “is in the bid for the telecom license in Ethiopia.”
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The company, based in Beijing, is little known outside of China, but is actively exploring foreign markets, Xinhua said. It has had an 80% stake in a Nigerian operator, GiCell, since 2016 and has reached out to South America.
2021-01-29 13:36:04 GMT2021-01-29 21:36:04(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) Sharing Mobile Group, a Chinese telecom operator, is joining the bid for the telecom license in Ethiopia as the East African country envisaged liberalizing the telecom sector.
The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) published a statement in May 2020, announcing that it would launch a request of proposal for two new full-service telecommunications licenses, which would allow capable operators to conduct telecommunications business in Ethiopia.
According to the Ethiopian government, the key policy objectives that comprise the telecom reforms envisage enhancing Ethiopia s digital development; increasing telecommunications accessibility for sections of society and enable the success of the sector; building an international standard telecom industry focused on capacity and quality; as well as enabling the country to generate wealth from the sector.