The Ethiopian Communications Authority is set to send a request for qualification (RFQ), the next step to issuing two new telecom licenses, this August. The RFQ will be sent to the companies that will be screened from the 12 companies that have shown interest in joining Ethiopia's telecommunication market.

Last week, the telecom and radiofrequency regulatory body received interest from a dozen companies including prominent global telecom operators to secure full-service telecommunication licenses in Ethiopia. Nine of the companies are telecom operators, while two are non-telecom operators and the remaining submission was incomplete.

The Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium of telecom operators comprised of Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom; Etisalat; Axian; MTN; Orange; Saudi Telecom Company; Telkom SA; Liquid Telecom; and Snail Mobile are the telecom operators that submitted an expression of interest for the licenses. Kandu Global Telecommunications and Electromecha International Projects are the two non-telecom operators that showed interest.

The companies responded to the call from the Ministry of Finance and the Authority for the submission of expressions of interest for the issuing of two new full-service telecommunication licenses. In their documents, the companies submitted information on their organisational structure, financial status, global operating footprint, details of countries of operation and the number of mobile phone subscribers, among others.

"We'll thoroughly go through the documents provided by the companies and will pick companies that will be able to take part in the next process," said Balcha Reba, director-general of the Authority. "The next stage will be a more technical and rigorous screening process."

The Authority then will launch a request for proposal (RFP) for the companies that make it past the RFQ stage to pick the two winning companies, which will get a 15-year license that will enable them to provide combined services for mobile, internet and fixed calling along with Ethio telecom.

It should be no surprise that many companies interested in joining the telecom sector of the country, according to Terrefe RasWork, a telecommunications engineer who has worked for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for over three decades.

"Without a doubt, Ethiopia has a large population that would be lucrative for these companies to tap into," said Terrefe. "The issue is how much will they pay for it in these dire times."