Landline monopoly Telecom Egypt said on Monday it was in talks with the government to obtain a universal telecoms licence that would enable it to launch a mobile service and that discussions were at a "very mature phase". Any agreement regarding a universal licence for Telecom Egypt would mean changing the licences of Egypt's three mobile operators to cover the same areas, chief executive Mohamed El-Nawawy told Reuters. "The discussions are in a very mature phase," he said, adding that the firm wanted to set up a virtual mobile network and, in future, could set up a network based on its own assets. He did not say when talks would end. Reuters
