Authority Denies Reports of 3air, & K3 Securing Contract to Expand to Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has denied reports that two foreign companies secured a deal to build telecommunications infrastructure in the country.
The denial on Saturday came a day after some media houses reported that internet connectivity service provider 3air and the Swiss company K3 Telecom secured a $10 million contract to build telecom infrastructure in the East African nation.
Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA), sector regulator agency in the country, said the companies have no legal besis to carry out the reported tasks.
“These entities have no any legal basis to undertake such investments in the county,” said Authority in a brief statement on its Twitter page.
Third party infrastructure service provision other than by the licensed operators Ethio Telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia is currently prohibited, according to the sector regulator.
“The Authority would like to notify individuals or organizations to refrain from partnering and engaging themselves with activities not inline with the existing regulatory frameworks,” it added.
Ethiopia is liberalizing its telecoms sector in a bid to pivot to a modern, and digital economy. The authority issued country’s second telecom license to Safaricom-led consortium last year.
The company is currently gearing up to offer the state-run Ethio Telecom’s first competition ever in the second-most populated African nation as of April, 2022.
