The telecoms regulator has drawn strong criticism from Ethiopians. The delay in the process of liberalization of the Ethiopian telecoms market makes them doubt the completion of this operation in which they place many expectations. The World Bank is also worried. 

On Monday, April 5, the Communications Authority of Ethiopia (ECA) extended by 19 days the deadline for submitting bids for the acquisition of the two new telecom licenses, officially put on sale since November 27, 2020. On 1 ^st February, the original deadline of March 5, had been postponed to 6 April. This second postponement sets the new date for April 26.

Once again, the telecoms regulator explains that this postponement of date was taken “because of the requests of the bidders”. They requested ”  more time to finalize their offer in light of the market environment marked by Covid  “, explained ECA. This decision risks delaying the entire process of awarding the two licenses and the entry of new players into the telecoms market. 

By giving in once again to the demands of the bidders in the call for tenders for telecoms licenses, the ECA has drawn strong criticism on social media. Ethiopians who are impatiently awaiting the arrival of competition in the national telecoms market are already doubting the regulator’s ability to achieve this liberalization. 

A concern already shared by Ousmane Dione, the director of the World Bank for Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan, after the first extension of the deadline. In a column published on February 11 on the World Bank blog, he reminded the Ethiopian government of the development challenges behind opening up the telecoms market to competition.

It appears that Ethiopia’s telecoms regulator has been in favor of further postponing the deadline for submitting bids in an effort to maximize the number of competing companies and increase its chances of selecting the best parties, too. both technically and financially. 

Source: Agence Ecofin