Egypt's Raya Technology and Communication is no longer interested in bidding for two licenses to supply cable, voice and internet services to residential compounds, Al-Mal newspaper reported on Sunday. The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority announced in September it was offering two such licenses to serve Egypt's rapidly growing residential compounds in suburbs and satellite cities. "Raya has officially decided to withdraw from bidding," Al-Mal reported, citing Medhat Khalil, chairman of Raya. The firm sells mobile handsets, runs call centers and provides outsourced IT services. Khalil said the company would not make sufficient profit from the license because of the tough conditions the regulatory authority put on them. Analysts say the licenses are restricted both in geographical scope and the range of services, leaving Telecom Egypt's fixed-line monopoly largely intact. Egypt expects the successful bidders to invest $1 billion over five years. The bids were initially due in January, but the deadline was delayed to April 15 at the request of some bidders At least 18 firms bought bid documents, including existing mobile operators Mobinil and Vodafone Egypt and regional operator Orascom Telecom.
