By: Elsayed Seleman
Cairo- Mubasher: Telecom Egypt (TE) paid a total of EGP 5.2 billion ($591.76 million), with 50% paid in US dollars to obtain the first fourth-generation (4G) mobile license in Egypt, the company’s CEO Tamer Gadallah announced on Wednesday.
The remaining EGP 7.08 billion will be paid in installments within the next 4 years, Gadallah added.
The CEO revealed that TE will finance the deal through part of the company’s liquidity, as well as bank loans, without disclosing any bank names.
MubasherTrade Research said the 4G license will place TE as a competitive and comprehensive telecom service provider compared to the other three network operators, but this comes hand in hand with significant challenges.
The first is the frequencies’ high cost, as well as the capital expenditure required for mobile infrastructure, which will increase the debt leverage and financial burden on TE.
Translated by: Moslem Ali
