Egypt considers licensing of fourth mobile operator

The Egyptian government is reported to be again looking at the possibility of awarding a fourth mobile licence in the country, although no decision is expected until early next year.

The telecom minister, Hany Mahmoud told Reuters that the government could issue a new licence, or may work with incumbent networks to improve services.

"We are studying the whole telecommunications market and what we need exactly. Is it a new player or distributing things into the different players we have now? It’s not clear yet and it will be finalised in the first quarter of next year," Mahmoud said.

A new chairman was recently appointed at state-owned Telecom Egypt, with a mandate to shake up the landline operator, which also owns a 44.8 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt. There have long been suggestions that Telecom Egypt would like its own mobile licence, although it would probably then have to sell its stake in Vodafone Egypt.