Telecom License Bid: Sector Regulator Extends RFQ Submission Date

ADDIS ABABA – The Ethiopian Communication Authority has extended the submission date for the Request for Qualification (RFQ) at the request of investors interested in the second telecom license.

The Authority began the RFQ process for the second new full-service nationwide telecom service License or License B on July 30.

The process initially set September 15 as a deadline for RFQ submission. However, the ECA says today that it “has received concerns and requests from several prospective investors to extend the deadline”.

The sector regulator has “fully concurred” with the request and extended the RFQ submission date by twenty more days.

Prospective investors now have until Oct 6 to submit their qualifications per the instructions specified in the RFQ document.

The Authority “is grateful to all potential investors for their engagement and consultations” on the process.

The process is a part of the government’s plan to issue the full-service License B to private investors within six months.

Ethiopia already awarded the License A to a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom in May 2021, after accepting an offer of about $850 million.

The consortium is now operating in the country under the name of Safaricom Telecom Ethiopia Plc, alongside state-owned Ethio Telecom which had hitherto enjoyed a monopoly.

The ongoing tender for the second private license aims to open up one of Africa’s largest markets to further competition.

Separately, authorities are also pushing on a tender to sell up to 40 percent of shares in the state-owned telecom company, the Ethio-Telecom.