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Regulator invites new entrants amid dispute over reserve price for spectrum.
Senegal this week invited new entrants to apply for its 4G auction, following a coordinated boycott by the country’s three current mobile operators, according to the telco regulator.
The Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (ARTP) launched the 4G tender process in November. At the time it was only open to existing licence holders, of which there are three in Senegal: Orange, Tigo, and Expresso.
Frequencies in the 800-MHz, 700-MHz, and 1800-MHz bands are up for grabs, and the ARTP set a reserve price of 30 billion francs (€45.7 million) for a 20-year licence. Interested parties had until Monday to submit their applications.
In a statement on Monday, the watchdog revealed that it received a letter in December signed by Orange, Tigo and Expresso reporting their "concern on the reserve price of the licence," but said that it received no formal request to push back the application deadline.
"On this day, the state acknowledges the collective and coordinated non-participation of the operators," said the ARTP.
The regulator said that the spectrum reserve price was developed from a benchmark of more than 20 countries, taking into account the quantity and quality of available frequencies, the population, the income of Senegal’s telco market, and the coverage obligation attached to the 4G licences.
The ARTP said it plans to revive the 4G licence process in the coming days.
"The future call for applications will be open to new entrants, [and] international telecommunications operators, interested in the development of telephony and mobile Internet in Senegal," the ARTP said.
