Egypt has agreed to open up the wholesale services market, allowing fixed and mobile operators to launch new services. In a step towards a unified licensing regime, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority said that incumbent fixed-line operator Telecom Egypt will be granted a mobile services licence by mid-2013. The operator will not receive any spectrum; instead it must negotiate wholesale access on one of the existing three mobile networks. The regulator did not say whether Telecom Egypt would also be allowed to maintain its stake in Vodafone Egypt.
In addition, Telecom Egypt will be required to open up its fixed-line infrastructure for other operators to offer retail services. Mobile operators will be able to obtain fixed service licences, while the regulator finalises the process of issuing unified service licences.
The NTRA said the restructuring process is in line with global trends of decreasing use of fixed-line services in favour of mobile, and should support enhanced competition in the sector.
