Ethiopia grants telecommunications license to Safaricom-led consortium Ethiopia News

The consortium, which includes Vodafone and Vodacom, has paid $ 850 million for the license, officials say.

Ethiopian telecommunications regulator has issued an operating license to a consortium led by Safaricom of Kenya and Sumitomo of Japan, which officials say will end the state’s monopoly on its stationary telecommunications sector.

The consortium, which includes the British financial agency for the development of Vodacom, Vodafone and the CDC Group, paid $ 850 million for the license, a senior adviser to the Finance Ministry Brook Taye said on Saturday.

The South African MTN also tendered a license, but the bid of $ 600 million was considered too low.

According to the government, the consortium led by Safaricom will create 1.5 million new jobs and bring in an investment of $ 8.5 billion over 10 years.

The Council of Ministers has unanimously taken a historic decision today to grant the Ethiopian Communications Authority a new national telecommunications license that has offered the Ethiopian Global Cooperation the highest license rate and a very strong investment case. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Ht6z95BHzZ

– Abiy Ahmed Ali ???????? (@AbiyAhmedAli) May 22, 2021

“This will be the biggest FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] In Ethiopia so far, “Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a Twitter post.” The desire to make Ethiopia fully digital is on the right track. I would like to thank everyone involved and move forward with a very transparent and effective process. “

The Abiy government planned to issue two new telecommunications licenses, but announced in late April that it had received only two offers, when some companies initially interested, including Orange in France and Etisalat in the Basque Country, decided not to submit.

Balcha Reba, director general of the Ethiopian Communications Authority, said the license will be re-tendered soon.

The licenses will bring in money, jobs and infrastructure investments.

The consortium, led by Safaricom, will provide 4G and 5G Internet services and will deploy a low-orbit satellite by 2023 to provide nationwide 4G coverage, Brook said.

“A terrible day for Ethiopia!” he wrote on Twitter.

“Imagine the quality of service and efficiency it will create, new opportunities, millions of jobs and a transformative impact on our economy!”

Ethiopia’s telecommunications reforms also include a plan to sell its stake in Ethio Telecom, which officials hope will make the company more efficient.