The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) is set to float the second telecom license to international operators later this month. Only two operators, the Safaricom-led consoritum and MTN, submitted bids when the first license was floated in May 2021. The former won, paying 850 million dollars to acquire a 15-year telecom operators license. MTN offerred 600 million dollars but it was rejected by the Authority. The restrictions on mobile money services were cited as the main reason behind a lack of interest from other telecom operators. The government had earlier announced that international operators would be allowed to commence these services in a year's time. However, the ECA has disclosed mobile finacial services will be included in the upcoming bid.