Telecom Egypt board tentatively agrees to buy 4G license

Telecom Egypt (TE), the state-owned landline monopoly, said on Sunday its board had tentatively approved plans to buy a fourth-generation mobile license and a company official said it would offer the services within a year of obtaining frequencies.

Egypt is selling four 4G licenses as part of a long-awaited plan to reform the telecoms sector.

The reforms will potentially allow Telecom Egypt, which owns a 45 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, to enter the mobile phone market directly. They could also allow Egypt's three mobile operators to offer fixed-line services, ending TE's dominance.

TE said in a statement on the stock exchange website that its board of directors had given its preliminary approval on July 28 and a full study of the 4G license plan would now be presented to the investment committee.

"Telecom Egypt will provide the service within a year of obtaining the license due to its need for experts to run mobile services, prepare networks and work on agreements," a TE official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Egypt's telecom regulator has directly offered 4G licenses to the three companies currently offering mobile services - Orange Egypt EMOB.CA, Vodafone Egypt, and Etisalat -- as well as to TE.