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The East African nation is well known as one of the last telecoms monopolies in the world, but for how much longer?
The Ethiopian Communications Authority has announced that it will be holding a two week consultation period regarding the proposed rules for finally opening the nation’s doors to foreign telcos.
Interested parties have until the 11th of May to have their say on issues including licencing and dispute resolution.
Ethiopia was originally scheduled to have issue a pair of operating licences in March this year, but the process was delayed, first by national elections and later by the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the timeline for the issue of these licences in limbo. Alongside the pair of licences available, the government has said it wants to offer outside investment in incumbent operator Ethio Telecom.
While no new deadline for allocating the licences has been specified, the commencement of the consultation period is a positive step that suggests the foreign telcos may get their shot at the Ethiopian market later this year.
A myriad of operators are speculated to have an interest in breaking into this enormous market, with MTN, Safaricom (with Vodacom), and Orange pegged as frontrunners.
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