CAIRO: Eleven candidates have presented bids for Egypt s third mobile telephone network license, Telecommunications Minister Tarek Kamel said Thursday. Eleven European, African, Arab and Asian groups, along with domestic companies, participated in the bidding, Kamel was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying. Telecom Egypt and Telecom Italia presented a joint bid, Mena said, while Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates are partnered with two unnamed banks and the Egyptian post office. Kuwait s MTC, Turkcell of Turkey, South Africa s MTN and Russia s MTS have also submitted bids, all in conjunction with Egyptian partners. The list also includes unnamed Norwegian, Kuwaiti, Qatari and Saudi companies. A government commission will now have six to eight weeks to study the offers and agree on a short list. The decision in May 2003 to grant a license to a third mobile network prompted the two current operators, Vodafone and Mobinil, to propose a payment of $300 million to Telecom Egypt to stave off the arrival of a competitor until 2007. But parliament s transport and communications committee opposed the idea, affirming the need to put an end to the existing duopoly. AFP
Eleven candidates vie for third mobile license
