Unified licence, national entity, Internet prices TE's most significant issues

Management changes since 2000 have failed to make a breakthrough, says SSTE deputy head

Some communications experts see Telecom Egypt's (TE) infrastructure offers only sound services, even though it is able to offer Internet services as well.
TE Data's infrastructure can also help the company offer sound and data services, even though it only provides Internet services. TE's infrastructure only provides sound services, even though it can offer Internet services as well.
Deputy Head of the Scientific Society of Telecom Egypt (SSTE) Talaat Omar said TE has been facing some accumulated issues and strategic errors over the past few years. Its subscribers reached 11 million but later declined to 5.5 million.
Omar believes the unified licence decision was the company's worst decision, and attributed it to the mobile market's saturation and its limited growth opportunity. The company will not be able to compete with the three mobile operators.
The company's management since 2000 has failed to make a breakthrough, Omar added, with the company's accumulated problems over the past few years proof of this.
The unified licence allows TE to enter the mobile market, and includes mobile services, landlines, as well as establishment, operation and renting of infrastructure and international communication services.
The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) decided to conclude several issues, including settling all disputes between communication companies and reaching final solutions to start the new licence services.
However, due to long-term negotiations, a new national entity for the main structure was established, which was authorised to establish, operate and rent the main structure in accordance with the phases of the unified licence. The licencing terms will be unified by the NTRA by the end of 2018.
Omar added that separating the services offered by the company will waste many growth opportunities, which will negatively affect the company, keeping in mind that it is already facing several problems. TE revealed a study which contributed to the national entity for infrastructure, which aims at providing services for the communication services' infrastructure. These services include extending fibre cables and providing enterprises by means of communication. The Ministers of Defence, Trade, Industry, Investment, Planning and International Cooperation will work together to establish the new structure, along with national communication networks, with investments worth EGP 2bn.
An NTRA official said that changing TE's board of directors has continuously failed to make a breakthrough. He added that the absence of a clear vision concerning the company's strategy over the past years has negatively impacted the company's performance in general.
He concluded that the company should stick to the unified licence, although the new board of directors will face many obstacles. He expects that TE will provide new services as well as additional Internet products, and will also develop its infrastructure.