TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022

      Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

      30 June 2022

      Eskom is killing the rand

      30 June 2022

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022

      Pictures: Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Vodacom consortium wins Ethiopia operating licence

    Vodacom consortium wins Ethiopia operating licence

    News By Agency Staff22 May 2021
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Ethiopia has awarded a new telecommunications licence to a consortium including South Africa’s Vodacom Group, paving the way for a long-awaited opening of the sector to outside investors.

    The government also called off the sale of a second new permit, but will invite fresh bids from international wireless carriers after some policy adjustments, according to Brook Taye, a senior adviser at the ministry of finance.

    The winners — Vodafone, Vodacom Group, in which the British carrier has a majority stake, and Nairobi-based Safaricom — will invest US$8.5-billion in their network during the coming 10 years, including the licence fee, he said from the capital, Addis Ababa. The consortium submitted a bid of $850-million for the permit, according to people who declined to be identified.

    “The company will enter a commitment of creating 1.1 million jobs in 10 years and cover the country with a 4G service by 2023,” Taye said.

    The company will enter a commitment of creating 1.1 million jobs in 10 years and cover the country with a 4G service by 2023

    The government of the Horn of Africa country had received two offers. The other was from MTN, Vodacom’s Johannesburg rival, and partners including the Silk Road Fund, a Chinese state investment group.

    The decision to open up the telecoms industry was taken in mid-2018 and is seen as central to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s plans to reform the economy. But the process has been hit by numerous setbacks, including the coronavirus pandemic, delayed elections and the regulatory complexity that comes with organising the sale.

    Weakened proposition

    The business case for phone companies was at first straightforward: Ethiopia has a population of more than 110 million, the second largest in Africa, yet less than half its people have mobile phone subscriptions. But certain conditions of the auction weakened the proposition, namely the requirement to use state-owned telecoms towers and an initial block on issuing mobile money licences.

    Some investors may also have been put off by a recent civil war in the northern Tigray region.  — Reported by Fasika Tadesse and Samuel Gebre, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP

    MTN Safaricom top Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleMusk tweets support for crypto over fiat
    Next Article Ricoh South Africa is transforming to a digital services company

    Related Posts

    Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

    30 June 2022

    Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

    30 June 2022

    Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

    30 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.