Ethiopian Telecoms Deregulation: MTN, Telkom, Etisalat, others jostle for two operating licences

Ethiopian Telecoms Deregulation: MTN, Telkom, Etisalat, others jostle for two operating licences

The race among telecoms behemoths is getting fiercer by the day as the Ethiopian government announced an extension of deadline for the submission of bids for two available telecommunications operator licences.

The country had late last year announced plans to deregulate its telecoms sector and open the space for private participation, a development meant to enrich the coffers of the government on the one hand and stimulate dynamic innovation and healthy competition in the sector on the other.

Government-owned operator, Ethio Telecom, currently monopolizes the country’s telecoms sector, one of the largest on the continent. A bidding war has since grown amongst international operators to acquire a license to service the country’s approximately 110 million people.

The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) said Tuesday that it has agreed to an extension on the deadline for the submission of bids for two available telecommunications operator licences.

According to ECA, the deadline has now been shifted from 5 March 2021 to 26 April 2021, as Ethiopia opens up its telecommunications industry to private investment.

The ECA says it has received several requests from bidders for more time to prepare documents.

In a statement, the ECA explains: “Due to requests by bidders to have more time to finalise their offer in light of the COVID-19 market environment, ECA determined their requests to be appropriate and the deadline for the submission of bids for the two new telecom operator licences is extended to April 26, 2021 at 10:00 am East African Time.”

ECA director-general, Balcha Reba, was quoted by the local Capital newspaper as saying, “Bidders officially requested to have additional time to finalise their bid proposals.

“After putting their proposals together, bidding companies need time to discuss with their board of directors, shareholders and financial partners to get final approval on their investment and offer.

“Considering this, ECA in consultation with concerned entities determined the request to be valid and decided to extend (submission of bids).”

Eleven bidders are competing for the licences, including MTN, Telkom SA, Etisalat, Saudi Telecom Company, Orange, Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom, as well as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, among others.

The government is expected to raise $1 billion in revenue from the two 15-year licences.

Ethiopia has a population of over 100 million people, making it Africa’s second largest nation after Nigeria and an appropriate market for mobile and fixed-line services.