Friday March 29th, 2024
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Orange Egypt Buys 4G License For $484 Million

Orange Egypt has become the second telecom company in Egypt to sign an agreement to acquire the 4G license for an estimated $484 million.

Staff Writer

Orange Egypt Buys 4G License For $484 Million

After lengthy negotiations Orange Egypt has decided to sign a deal on Thursday, acquiring the 4G license for $484 million.

Initially Orange along with Vodafone and Etisalat turned down the 4G license claiming the prices was too high to pay in dollars especially for the amount of spectrum being offered, which at the time Orange claimed would not allow for sufficient service.

The government is planning to reform the telecom sector, and the deal was signed after a promise to offer Orange additional spectrum receiving 10 megahertz instead of the initial 7.5 megahertz.  According to Reuters, the government also allowed for half of the license fee to be paid in Egyptian pounds and was also given fixed line services for an additional $11million.

The first to acquire the 4G license was the state-owned company Telecom Egypt for 7.08 billion Egyptian pounds marking their entrance into the mobile market. The government still has 2 licenses to sell and if Vodafone and Etisalat continue to pass on the offer, the government has indicated they are prepared to sell the license on the international market or sell additional spectrum to the operators who have already signed an agreement.