(AFP photo)
By Mahmoud Radwan
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will grant the Ministry of Defence a ruling share of and the right to manage national communications infrastructure.
According to information obtained by Al-Borsa newspaper, the Ministry of Defence will get a ruling share from the new entity to be established by the end of 2014. This will occur through one of its companies, while the rest of communications operators will obtain the remaining share.
Government and sovereign agencies will obtain the ruling share of the national infrastructure of communications, Gamal El-Sadat, CEO of Etisalat Egypt, said. He added that his company grants management rights for the national entity to these agencies.
He added that coordination is taking place between the Ministry of Defence and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to discuss integrated communications problems.
Etisalat Egypt Director, Saeed El-Hamly, told Al-Borsa that he rejected a proposal to grant management rights to one operator in Egypt. He added that an agreement determining the role of contributing companies – both governmental and private – is being discussed.
He said that Emirates Telecommunications Corporation is interested in investing in national entity infrastructure in the local market within the framework of unified licenses.
NTRA will offer licensing to the national entity for EGP 300m per company, while contributing companies will pay for the share that each individual company obtains. This share is decided by consultants and experts, including Ernst and Young and Sarrie Eldin Partners & Legal Advisors.
On the sidelines of the GITEX Technology conference in Dubai, El-Hamly said Etisalat Egypt asked for 10MHz of frequencies. Of this, 5MHZ will be allocated to 3G for voice services and the remaining 5MHz for data services improvement.
Negotiations are underway between the ministries of Communications and Defence to evacuate these frequencies, which are expected to improve the quality of services.
On the topic of Telecom Egypt (TE), he said: “We are against any monopolistic practices by TE, like monopolising marine cables. This will not be allowed in the framework of unified licenses for other companies for two years.”
