Algeria to tender 4G licence in 2011

Algeria’s government said yesterday it plans to offer a 4G licence next year, according to local press El Khabar.

Currently there are three mobile service providers in the North African nation – state-owned Algerie Telecom, Egypt’s Orascom and Wataniya Telecom, a subsidiary of Qatar’s Qtel.

Once the licence is awarded, the successful operator will be eligible to migrate to 4G services.

Earlier in June Orascom decided to terminate its discussions with South Africa’s MTN over the sale of some or all of its operations, including its most lucrative operation ‘Djezzy’ in Algeria, which MTN had offered US$7.8 billion for.