Ethiopia to launch international tender for second private telecom license in June
May 22nd 2023
Ethiopia had already launched a call for proposals in September 2021 for the award of the second private telecom license. Several companies such as Orange had expressed interest, but the process was suspended in December of the same year.
Ethiopia will launch an international tender next June to award the country’s second private telecommunications license (License B), according to the Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) quoted by the national news agency ( ENA ). The regulator is finalizing preparations for this purpose, we learn.
Balcha Reba, Director General of ECA, clarified that the license will be awarded through a competitive bidding process with the same transparency as Safaricom’s license award process Ethiopia.
It was in November 2022 that the Ethiopian government relaunched the process of introducing a third telecommunications operator in Ethiopia at the same time as that of the partial privatization of the incumbent operator Ethio Telecom. This initiative is part of the process of liberalization of the Ethiopian telecom market initiated in 2020. The first stage of liberalization saw the consortium Global Partnership for Ethiopia (Safaricom Ethiopia) acquire the country’s first private telecom license.
The entry of a second private telecommunications operator should introduce more competition into the Ethiopian telecoms market, which has long been the preserve of Ethio Telecom. Since October 2022, the incumbent operator shares the market with Safaricom. The latter has recorded about 3 million subscribers after 7 months of activity. Its competitor had 68.9 million mobile subscribers as of March 31.
These figures testify to the considerable leeway that the Ethiopian telecoms market offers for the various players. The country has a population of over 120 million and a mobile penetration of just 34% at the end of 2021, according to the World Association of Telephone Operators (GSMA).
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