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- Ethiopia’s communication Authority has invited applications from companies interested in participating in the country’s telecom sector
- Interested companies can submit their applications from May 21, 2020.
According to a report by state media, Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) Ethiopia’s communication Authority has invited applications from companies including expatriate ones interested in participating in the country’s telecom sector. Interested companies can submit their applications from May 21, 2020.
Ethiopian Communication Authority(ECA) was set up by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed with a vision to transform the sector into an organized manner. The Director of ECA, Balcha Reba, revealed that it has been decided to issue two Telecom licenses for companies that could offer service in the telecom sector.
In November 2019, it was reported that Safaricom and Vodacom were interested to bid for the telecom license in Ethiopia. The license is estimated to be about $1 billion which means that Ethiopia could raise about 2 billion dollars if the two licenses are sold. After completing the application process, a transparent bidding process will take place, reported the media.
The Authority also proposes to hire an international corporate finance consultant and come up with reliable legal regulatory guidelines. The regulatory draft has twelve guidelines such as procedures of license issues, protections of rights of consumers, service qualities etc.
Some economists, have been very critical about the government move for privatization of telecom industry. Some Political observers are of the view that from a security angle, it could make the country more vulnerable. From the Ethiopian Government’s point of view, it could create jobs and support Ethiopia’s drive to develop the digital economy. So far, Ethiopia’s telecom sector is dominated by state-owned Ethio-Telecom a top major revenue earner for the country. In 2019, it recorded over US 1.2 bn in revenue. The moot point is if Ethio Telecom will survive competitions from giant companies like Safaricom and Vodafone.
