Tunisia’s third operator to launch May 5

France Telecom’s Orange and Investec, the Tunisian unit of privately-held Mabrouk group, today announced the launch of Orange Tunisia.

Orange Tunisia will offer mobile, fixed and Internet services in Tunisia as of May 5.

The company plans to invest around €500 million to launch operations and develop Tunisia’s first 3G network, France Telecom said in a statement.

France Telecom holds 49 per cent of Orange Tunisia. The French telco and its local partner Divona Telecom, which is owned by Investec, last year were awarded a fixed and mobile licence in Tunisia.

Orange Tunisia will employ 1,500 people by the end of the year and its offers will be sold in nine shops and 400 distribution outlets, France Telecom said.

Prior to the licensing of Orange, Tunisia was served by the state-backed Tunisie Telecom, which held a monopoly in the fixed-line market, as well as offering mobile services. The second mobile operator and market leader by a slight margin was Tunisiana, controlled by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom.