CAIRO, Oct. 16 (Aswat Masriya) - Telecom companies Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr have signed deals to buy fourth-generation (4G) mobile licences, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) announced on Sunday. 

This comes three days after Orange Egypt signed a $484 million worth deal to acquire the 4G licence in return of 10 megahertz of spectrum, becoming the first mobile company in Egypt to acquire the fourth generation service licence.

Vodafone Egypt signed the agreement for $335 million, while Etisalat finalized a $535.5 million deal, according to the regulator’s statement on Sunday.

In addition, both companies signed a fixed-line phone service licence for $11.26 million.

All three companies have refused in September to apply for the 4G licence under the NTRA previous conditions, citing insufficient spectrum to allow them to offer the service efficiently after they were offered 7.5 megahertz of spectrum.

State fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt, who is entering the mobile market for the first time, was the only company that initially took the offer, buying the licence for $797 million in August.

Companies interested in acquiring the 4G licence should pay half the amount in dollars and the other half in Egyptian pounds, according to the conditions set forth by the authority. In addition, telecom companies are compelled to pay the amount of acquiring an international gateway fully in dollars. 

The cash-strapped Egyptian government has been scrambling to collect money as it faces a serious dollar shortage.

The NTRA previously announced that companies that pay the full amount in dollars will have the priority in getting additional frequencies in the future.

Egypt prioritised telecom companies operating in Egypt to acquire 4G licence but said it will issue a global tender in case they refused. 

Kuwaiti Zain Telecom, China Telecom Limited, Saudi Telecom Company and Lebara showed interest in buying 4G licence in Egypt.