Vodafone Egypt, Telecom Egypt and Etisalat get new cellular frequencies

Vodafone Egypt, Telecom Egypt and Etisalat have snapped up nearly $1.2 bn worth of new cellular frequencies, in an auction run in September by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

Vodafone bought two 20-MHz bands for USD 540 mn while TE bought two 10-MHz bands for $305 mn.

The NTRA also confirmed reports that it had accepted last month a bid by Etisalat Misr for 20 MHz of bandwidth, saying that it had sold the Emirati company two 10-MHz bands for $ 325 mn.

Mobile network operators have been demanding access to more bandwidth since 2017, when the NTRA first launched Egypt’s 4G network.

The NTRA sold 5-15 MHz of spectrum for $1.1 bn and 10 billion Egyotian pounds in the initial auction, which saw TE receive 15 MHz, Orange and Etisalat both purchasing 10 MHz, and Vodafone getting 5 MHz.

The news comes as the market waits to see whether Vodafone is going to be sold to Saudi’s STC or if Telecom Egypt will exercise its first right of refusal to snap up the telecom giant.