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Four telecommunications operators submitted bids for Rwanda’s third national telecommunications operator license. Bids were submitted to the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) on October 1.
Larrycom for Investment, Millicom, Celtel International (Zain) and Telecel Globe, were the four bidders. Thirteen other companies purchased the bidding documents but did not submit bids.
MTN Rwandacel and Rwandatel are Rwanda’s existing mobile operators and hold duopoly rights granted by cabinet in 2003. The government is liberalizing the telecommunication industry by licensing new operators and it expected to grant a 15-year fixed and mobile license to the third telecommunications operator.
Diogene Mudenge, Director General of RURA, said that technical and financial evaluations of the bids will be completed by the end of October. The licensing of the winning bidder will take place in December, after the approval of Parliament.
Prof. Romain Murenzi, the Minister in the President's Office in Charge of Science, Technology, Research and ICT said that the preferred bidder is expected to enhance the telecoms sector through increasing bandwidth, storage capacity and capacity for analysis.
Currently Rwanda's mobile penetration is estimated at one million subscribers, around 10% of the population. MTN Rwandacel has almost 600,000 subscribers. Mudenge says that government wants there to be at least two million subscribers for each company, a total of six million mobile users, by 2012.
Other companies which expressed interest include, but did not submit bids are Neu Venture Group, France Telecom, ADC Financial Services (a German consortium), Econet Wireless International, MTS, Black Eagle Investment, Smile Telecoms, Vitel Holdings, Africa Digital Investments, Forward Venture, Vivacell Africa, Easy Mobile Communication and Essar Communications. Source: The New Times - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.
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