Since the August 10th 2020’announcement of a new framework for towercos, many towercos have been working with Egypt’s regulator, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), to secure permission to operate in Egypt. No towerco has yet been awarded a licence, and while TowerXchange understands that some of those which originally showed interest have withdrawn, at least four more are continuing their applications. Conditions around local shareholding and coverage obligations are extending discussions, but TowerXchange hopes that a new licence will be issued by the end of March. The Egyptian market requires significant new build; the country’s newest MNO Telecom Egypt is building its own network in anticipation of the end of its national roaming deals; Egypt is building a new capital outside Cairo which will demand 1,000s of new sites; Egypt combines a growing subscriber base with an already high number of SIMs per tower (3,851 ’ mid-ranking for an African country, and high for a Middle Eastern one).
