Egypt’s telecoms authority defer fixed licence auction

The changing international markets have forced Egypt’s Telecom Regulatory Authority Board to defer the auction of the second fixed licence for year. The offer submissions were set to close later this month.

MENA reported that Dr. Amr Badawi, the Executive President of the NTRA, explained that this decision was taken in the light of the discussions that took place between the NTRA and the 12 companies that bought the specifications handbook.

The ICT international markets in Europe and the United States are facing major fluctuations due to the increasing inflation rates and the increasing prices. The ICT investments worldwide are accordingly shrinking. Therefore, the decision was taken to postpone the license until a tangible improvement in the international market is witnessed.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that the investments of the second fixed license are not expected to be less than one billion dollars during the first years of operation.

The NTRA advocated such decision so as to ensure the participation of more companies and hence ensure the biggest revenue for the welfare of the state treasury.
The NTRA will meanwhile explore the possibility of introducing the WiMAX technology.