ECA will re-launch bid for third telecom operator in September

Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) completes its assessment /research/ to re-launch the bid to select a third telecom operator in the coming Ethiopian year. The bid to select a third telecom operator will re-launch in the third quarter of 2022 /in the coming Ethiopian New Year/, as the authority completes its assessment of certain situations.
The bid now sees its third refloat after having failed twice.
ECA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the second new full service nationwide Telecommunications Service License on September 28th, 2021 and the bidding process was ongoing. However, the process was terminated in December 2021 as ECA stated that the bidding process has temporarily been relinquished as per the request of bidders.
“The bid was suspended due to request of some potential bidders owing to changes in the world markets, and was to be slated for a convenient time in future to which the authority fully concurred,” Balcha Reba, Director General of ECA told Capital.
In its announcement of the suspension of the bid, the authority gave indicators that the process was to be re-launched in the near future.
“We hope the bid will be floated in the new Ethiopian year. We are working with hope to float the second bid to select the third operator in the coming Ethiopian year,” said Balcha.
Just a year ago the government had floated a bid for two additional telecom licenses and on the process, an international consortium named the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, comprising Safaricom Plc, Vodacom Group, Vodafone Group, Sumitomo Corporation, and CDC Group, was awarded a license to operate telecom services in Ethiopia in May. The consortium company called Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia is now in the process to commence operations.
It was to be recalled that the authority refloated the second tendering in September with the aim to get an additional telecom operator in Ethiopia besides the incumbent state giant Ethio Telecom and Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia Plc.