(Removes "breaking the state monopoly" in first paragraph)
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Ethiopia plans to award two
telecoms licences to multinational mobile companies by April
2020, the new communications regulator said on Tuesday, an
apparent delay in the timeline officials had previously set.
Balcha Reba, director general of the Ethiopian
Communications Authority, gave the date at a press conference.
In June, Reuters reported that Ethiopia would issue the licences
by the end of the year, quoting Ethiopian officials and telecoms
executives with direct knowledge of the process.
The issuing of licences will end a state monopoly and open
up one of the world's last major closed telecoms markets in the
country of around 100 million.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a push to liberalise the
country's economy last year.
The communications regulator, formed after parliament passed
a law covering the liberalisation of the sector, will hold a
meeting on Nov. 12 in the Ethiopian capital to answer questions
of interested companies, Balcha said.
Vodafone, South African operator MTN,
France's Orange and Etisalat of the United
Arab Emirates are likely to be among the leading contenders
vying for entry into the Ethiopian market.
(Reporting by Kumera Gemechu
Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Giulia Paravicini
Writing by Maggie Fick
Editing by David Evans)