ETHIOPIA will launch a tender for a second international telecoms licence in June, the industry regulator said, as the Horn of Africa nation seeks to expand the sector.
In November, the government said it had resumed the plan to issue a full telecoms licence for the operator, which will be the third alongside state-owned Ethio Telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia, partly owned by Kenyan operator Safaricom.
“We have planned to launch the tender in June. More details will be released when we approach the launch date,” Balcha Reba, director general of the Ethiopian Communication Authority, told Reuters via a text message.
The telecoms industry is seen as the big prize in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s push to open up the economy, but efforts to attract investment were slowed by a nearly two-year war in northern Tigray that has killed tens of thousands and uprooted millions before a peace deal was signed in November.
In November, the government restarted efforts to sell off up to 45% of Ethio Telecom.
