The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has set January 2022 as the deadline to issue a second telecom operator's license. Last week, the Authority issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from prospective investors interested in acquiring the license, dubbed "License B." Bidders are expected submit their proposals by December 20, 2021, should they have an interest to invest in the telecom industry of Africa's second most populous country. In contrary to the restriction in place when the tender to award the first telecom license was floated, mobile banking services will be open to the winning bidder this time. The last tender saw two bidders, MTN and the Safaricom-led consortium, though officials had hoped more investors would show interest. The Safaricom consortium is gearing up to launch operations in 2022 after successfully acquiring a license for 850 million dollars earlier this year.
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