Egypt's telcos get 5G licenses

Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), represented by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), has awarded 5G licenses to Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt and e& Egypt, paving the way for nationwide 5G rollout.

The three telecommunications companies join Telecom Egypt, which secured its 5G license in January 2024, for US$150 million. The Vodafone, Orange and e& licenses are valued at a combined US$675 million.

MCIT Minister Amr Talaat spoke at a signing ceremony for the licenses, highlighting the potential of 5G to not only enhance mobile network capacity and service quality but also to drive the development of Internet of Things (IoT)-based solutions for smart cities and vital sectors like logistics, healthcare and agriculture.

Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of collaboration amongst the North African country's telcos.

"We believe this partnership will be crucial to the success of the 5G rollout in Egypt. The agreements are a crucial step in our efforts to deliver advanced technological services to our citizens," he explained.

He added that he expects a competitive environment to strengthen the IT sector's role in driving economic development.

Egypt's 5G rollout

The country's regulator has been planning to issue 5G licenses for almost a year, initially aiming for a launch by the end of 2023. However, telcos requested a delay, citing the need to secure funding.

Even with the delays, Egyptian operators have been preparing their networks for 5G, with Telecom Egypt successfully trialing 5G with Ericsson in the New Administrative Capital using 2.6GHz spectrum and partnering with Huawei for its 5G network deployment.

Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt and e& Egypt join Telecom Egypt, which secured its 5G license in January 2024, for US$150 million. (Source: Image by freepik)

In July 2024, Telecom Egypt partnered with Nokia to launch 5G in major cities using Nokia's AirScale 5G technology.

Ericsson has also forged technology partnerships with Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt and e& Egypt throughout the year.

Statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, show that at the end of the second quarter of 2024 Etisalat (e& Egypt) had almost 30.4 million mobile users.

Vodafone Egypt, now majority controlled by South Africa's Vodacom, is the country's biggest mobile operator with around 49 million subscribers around the same period.

Orange Egypt has about 30.2 million subscribers. The smallest operator, Telecom Egypt, had about 13.1 million mobile subscribers around the same time.

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— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa