Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority has completed the 5G license awarding process to the country’s major telecom operators. E& Misr, Orange, and Vodafone were represented during the event, which was headed by Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat. The operators join Telecom Egypt, which got its 5G license earlier this year, in the country’s 5G deployment.
These new licenses are part of the 15-year agreement and come at a total cost of $675 million divided between the four operators. The deal also covers the renewal of their existing licenses for past mobile technologies.
Challenges to the 5G Licensing Process
While regular licensing processes ahead of auctions of new frequencies happen to be transparent, the 5G licensing process in Egypt involved reframing of existing spectrum, not new frequencies. This then begged many questions-most of all, the exact fees paid by each of the telecom operators. The process has faced criticism for its lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, operators are also likely to reuse part of their existing 2.6-GHz TDD spectrum for 5G, a band already used for 4G services in Egypt. What is not yet officially confirmed is whether 5G will be deployed on these frequencies or another band.
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Quick Country Facts
Egypt
Certification Body: National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA)
Certification Type: Mandatory
License Validity: Indefinite
Application Language: English
Legal License Holder: Available with Access Manager
In-Country Testing Requirement: Available with Access Manager
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