(Ecofin Agency) – The historic operator Telecom Egypt obtained the country’s first 5G license last January. It cost the public company $150 million.
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) awarded 5G operating licenses to Vodafone, Orange, and e& on Monday, October 7. The three companies spent a total of approximately $525 million to obtain these resources which will allow them to provide enhanced connectivity services to individuals, businesses, and even government agencies for the next 15 years.
The allocation of 5G licenses to private Egyptian telecoms companies comes approximately ten months after the acquisition of the same license by the historic operator Telecom Egypt for $150 million. The public company has had time to sign partnerships with technology companies such as the Chinese Huawei and the Finnish Nokia. It also launched tests of the latest generation technology.
The fact that all telecom operators obtain the 5G license should strengthen competition in the Egyptian telecoms market in a context marked by strong demand for high-speed connectivity. According to data from the Ministry of ICT, the number of Internet users in Egypt increased from 76.59 million in July 2023 to 83.07 million in July 2024, an annual increase of 8.46%. Added to this are 11.23 million fixed Internet users out of 112.71 million inhabitants.
The deployment of 5G in Egypt is expected to help support the government’s digital transformation ambitions. As part of the “Digital Egypt 2030” strategy, Cairo wants to develop its ICT sector and modernize the national telecoms infrastructure in order to make digital the engine of the country’s socio-economic development.
Isaac K. Cassouwy
Also read:
02/28/2024 — Egypt: Telecom Egypt wants to deploy its 5G network with technical support from Huawei
07/15/2024 — Telecom Egypt signs an agreement with Nokia for 5G
01/18/2024 — Egypt: Telecom Egypt acquires the first 5G license for 150 million USD
