Atef Helmy, Egypt’s telecoms minister, told Reuters this week: “We are in the last stage to complete the details relating to the unified licence and the steps to create the unified entity.”
No further details were revealed but the unified licence is expected to allow telecoms firms, and Telecom Egypt in particular, to operate fixed-line and mobile networks in the country.
Three existing mobile operators in the country, Vodafone Egypt, Mobinil and Etisalat Egypt, have been overtaking Telecom Egypt’s fixed-line services as more people opt for mobile phones over internet connectivity, but the licence is expected to enable Telecom Egypt to offer mobile services.
The unified licence was accused of being halted in early June this year, but the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) rejected such claims.
Telecom Egypt has been waiting for a mobile licence since March 2014, and in April the Egyptian authorities announced details of the unified licence.
