Egyptian 3rd Mobile License Deadline Delayed

The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Egypt says that the deadline for submission of proposals for third mobile operator network has been extended to the 4th of May 2006. The bid was due to last until April 17th, and the winner will be announced a few months afterwards.

Until Monday, April 3rd, 2006, 21 companies bought the third mobile operator specifications handbook for US$25,000 each. The Specifications Handbook is offered according to technology neutral basis. It includes 2G and 3G services, provided for the first time in Egypt. The handbook also includes other internationally known facilities such as the national roaming, which implies the free numbering portability.

The Specifications handbook puts all commitments related to two other operators into consideration.

In 2002, the idea of launching a third mobile operator was initiated yet it was postponed depending on the results of feasibility studies, which were made. The results have indicated that the launch of a new mobile provider then would have been "uneconomic" due to the limited number of mobile users and small percentage of growth. In June 2005 the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) announced acceptance of license proposals for the inception of a third mobile operator, the decision was powered by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and the request was issued in November of the same year.

It is decided that 20% of the company stocks are to be traded on the Egyptian and New York stock markets."

Posted to the site on 19th April 2006