Vodafone invested $1.1 bln in Egypt network upgrade in 3yrs: CEO

Vodafone spent over 9.5 billion Egyptian pounds (1.1 billion) to upgrade the company’s network in Egypt over the past three years, said CEO of the Egyptian arm Ahmed Essam.

Vodafone Egypt, majority owned by British mobile operator Vodafone, is the leading communications player by customer numbers in the country of 90 million.

Regarding 4G services, the official added that 4G license requirements had not been officially announced yet, but with regulatory and financial requirements appropriate for the company, 4G services would be ready within three or four months.

He further added that offering dollar-denominated 4G services is a bit problematic as the mobile operator had limited dollar resources and cannot, like other companies, easily provide foreign currency.

Egypt is looking for issuing 4G technology licence for the four mobile operators working in Egypt: Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, Orange and Etisalat but no details yet have been provided.

The CEO pointed out that 2G and 3G services provided by Vodafone Egypt are almost as good in quality as the level delivered in many European countries..

The pricing policy is determined based on many factors, including competitiveness, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (NTRA) approval as well as price sensitivity, Essam further clarified.