The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has announced that the bid for two new nationwide telecommunications service licenses has closed today. The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, in a tweet, has declared bids have been received from two giant telecom operators, MTN Group Limited, and a consortium including Safaricom (Kenya), Vodafone Group (UK), Vodacom Group (South Africa), CDC Group (UK), and Sumitomo Corporation (Japan).
“We are delighted to have had interest from established telecom operators from around the world, commensurate with this unprecedented opportunity,” Blacha Reba, Director of the ECA, commented. Mr. Balcha expressed thanks for “the diligence and commitment from all participants in meeting the strict requirements set out in the RFP and for their engagement throughout this process.”
The Director said ECA “will be looking for the best all-rounded partners from the bids submitted and we are confident the competitive bidding will ensure that Ethiopia gets the best deal.”
The Ethiopian Communications Authority will select the winners of the two licenses after an extensive review of the final qualifying submissions, the statement of the Authority read. The winners of the two licenses will then be publicly announced once the technical and financial evaluation is completed.
Source: ECA Press Statement
Image Source: Ministry of Finance (Twitter, Official)
