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Report says government has decided to begin the offering for 4G licences.
Telecom Egypt could finally get its hands on a 4G licence within two weeks, after reports said the government has set out plans to offer the high-speed mobile licences to existing operators.
According to Reuters, local television channel CBC reported that telecoms minister Yasser al-Qadi confirmed a decision had been made to begin the offering.
“We will begin today by sending letters to all the companies so that we can know the importance of the 4G for them, and within two weeks the licensing process will be completed," he said.
The move could allow fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt to enter the mobile services market. Egypt also has three mobile operators: Vodafone Egypt, Orange (formerly Mobinil) and Etisalat.
At the moment Telecom Egypt offers mobile service via networks operated by Vodafone, a company in which the incumbent holds a 45% stake. The state-owned company paid 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds (€260 million) for a unified service licence in April 2014, paving the way for it to offer mobile as well as fixed-line services.
The unified licence has yet to be activated, but that was expected to happen in 2016.
