Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) is currently receiving proposals from global telecoms interested in operating in the Ethiopian telecommunication industry currently under the stronghold of Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (Ethio-Telecom).

The regulator said through its Twitter handle that the request for proposals (RFP) process, which started on November 27, 2020 is still ongoing, and the proposal submission deadline is April 5, this year.

“We wish to clarify that to date no bidder has been shortlisted, and none excluded or disqualified from responding to the RFP. There is no shortlist. It is an open competitive bidding process,” said an ECA statement.

Breaking monopoly

The ECA has opened up the Ethiopian telecom market to competition by awarding two full-service licences to multinational mobile phone operators to break the monopoly enjoyed by the state-owned Telco.

Liberalisation of Ethiopia’s telecoms sector is part of the government’s 2019 Home Grown Economic Reform Agenda which underscores the role of the private sector in driving sustained growth and creating jobs.

According to the authority the latest step in the liberalisation process was the RFP launch on November 27, 2020 after 12 firms had made Expressions of Interest (EoIs) on the country’s two new telecoms licences, in June 2020.

These firms included a consortium consisting Kenya’s Safaricom, Vodafone and Vodacom branded as Global Partnership for Ethiopia.