The Ministry of Communication Technologies has launched a call for tenders for the award of licenses for the installation and operation of a public telecommunications network in Tunisia in order to provide fifth generation (5G) mobile telecommunications services.
This is part of the State strategy relating to the digital development of the national territory, aiming to develop digital infrastructure and generalize very high-speed coverage throughout the national territory.
The ministry, in a press release published on Sunday, invited interested operators to submit their offers to the central registry office of the Ministry of Communication Technologies no later than September 2, 2024, specifying that the opening of offers will be public.
A general session will be devoted to the public opening of the envelopes containing the administrative, financial, technical and economic files, on September 2, 2024 in the presence of all bidders, who will be invited to participate.
It should be recalled that Tunisia currently has three public mobile telecommunications network operators (2G, 3G, 4G), namely Tunisie Telecom, Ooredoo Tunisia and Orange Tunisia, as well as two virtual mobile network operators and several internet service providers such as Orange Tunisie Internet, GlobalNet, Hexabyte, Bee, Nety, Next Step, Topnet and the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI).
According to the Ministry (National Telecommunications Authority, February 29, 2024), the total number of mobile phone subscribers stands at 16,258,517, with a penetration rate of 136.5%, while 11,583,616 are subscribed to the mobile internet service, with a penetration rate of 97.2%.
It is worth noting that the Presidency of the Government has created a special commission at the level of the Ministry of Communication Technologies, which will be responsible for developing the preparatory phases capable of providing 5G mobile communications services in Tunisia.
