Mobile Companies Withdraw from New Broadband Strategy

Amwal Al Ghad was informed with mobile companies’ intention not to join the new broadband strategy carried out by the ministry of communications, due to the high cost of the strategy, and the absence of its economic feasibility in the upcoming period.

Sources have linked between mobile companies’ decision and the ministry’s Intransigence in granting the virtual license to Telecom Egypt during an inappropriate timing, besides monopolizing internet services by Te data – a company that belongs to Telecom Egypt- and threatening the existence of a real competition in the market.

Sources also mentioned that, the whole success of the new strategy depends on mobile companies’ participation, because their share reaches 80% of the total cost -2.4 billion dollar- in the strategy, in the same time that the government is only participating with 20% of the cost, so their withdrawal threatens the success of strategy implementation.

Sources confirmed that the next period is expected to witness a lot of negotiations and discussions between mobile companies and the ministry of telecommunications, as the both side aim at finding a final solution for their disputes, especially within Telecom Egypt’s insistence on acquiring the virtual license, and its chairman threat of resigning if the license won’t be acquired.

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