France Telecom wins Ethiopian management contract

France Telecom (FT) has further extended its footprint in Africa after winning the bid to manage state-owned monopoly Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC). The European operator edged out South Africa’s MTN and India’s BSNL in the bidding process.

According to a government official, negotiations are continuing between FT and ETC, with the French firm expected to finalise the revenue sharing agreement and take over management within three months. FT operates in 15 markets across Africa and the Middle East, operating under the brand name Orange.

As part of the deal, FT will reform the Ethiopian company’s core operations, including service provision and infrastructural maintenance, and will seek to raise revenues by creating new markets.

India’s Economic Times reports that according to sources familiar with the matter, although state-owned BSNL made a higher financial offer than the French operator, it did not qualify due to other some other criteria, including operational performance in its home market. BSNL has steadily been losing market share to private operators and as of the end of 2009 commanded only 11 per cent market share in India.

Recent subscriber figures for Ethiopia are hard to come by, with the ETC website stating as of September 2008 there were 2.6 million mobile subscribers and 911,000 fixed lines. The East African nation currently has a population of approximately 85 million.