The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) granted, during September and October, the fourth generation (4G) mobile service license to four telecoms; namely, Telecom Egypt (TE), Orange, Vodafone and Etisalat. The telecom operators have paid 1.1 billion dollars for the acquisition of the 4G license, in addition to 10 billion Egyptian pound for the State’s treasury.
Telecom Egypt (TE) was granted a license to install and operate the fourth generation (4G) networks for mobile phones in Egypt. The LE 7.08 billion license introduces the company into the market of mobile operation, where it will provide 4G services using new frequencies. The introduction of Telecom Egypt as a new mobile operator in the Egyptian market will increase competition among operators, which will benefit users by raising the bar on quality of services as well as improving prices.
Orange Egypt was also granted the licenses of establishing and operating the Fourth Generation (4G) mobile phone networks worth $ 484 million, as well as the licenses to offer virtual fixed-lines services worth $11.262 million. Moreover, NTRA signed with Vodafone Egypt the licenses of establishing and operating the 4G mobile networks worth $335 million, as well as the license to offer virtual fixed-lines services worth $11.262 million. In addition, Etisalat Misr was granted the licenses of establishing and operating the (4G) mobile networks worth $535.5 million, as well as the license to offer virtual fixed-lines services worth $11.262 million.
The new licenses will allow the companies to provide 4G and virtual fixed lines services, thereby providing distinct and integrated services to its customers. 4G technology for mobile services will significantly contribute to increasing Internet speeds, improving the quality of the current service and introducing new services. The entry of the three Egyptian telecoms as new operators of the virtual fixed-line phone services will increase healthy competition, and help in benefiting citizens in terms of quality of services and prices provided. This is in addition to providing revenues to the State’s public treasury and creating new jobs.
4G is a stage of mobile communications that will enable techniques and applications on portable devices with high quality and speed. The 3G networks used today allow people to stream video, download music and files, and surf the web at average download speeds from 600Kb/s to 1.4Mb/s. With 4G, the same will be achieved but could be faster around 5-7 times those for existing 3G networks.
4G is the fourth generation of mobile phone technology and follows on from 2G and 3G. 2G technology was suitable for making calls and sending text messages while 3G makes it possible to access the Internet more effectively through mobile phones. 4G is ideally suited for services which demand more capacity like video streaming, mapping and social networking sites.
