NAIROBI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Kenya's largest telecoms operator
Safaricom plans a joint bid with South Africa's
Vodacom for one of two Ethiopian telecoms licences that
will be offered next year, its acting chief executive said on
Friday.
Michael Joseph said the company, partly owned by Vodacom and
Britain's Vodafone, had not made up its mind about
another option of entering the lucrative Ethiopian market
through partial privatisation of state monopoly Ethio Telecom.
Firms which want to secure the licences have to come with
deep pockets, Joseph said, citing the expected cost of acquiring
the spectrum.
"You have to bid for the spectrum. There is talk about it
and it is in the billion dollar range, just for the licence," he
told Reuters after the firm released its first half results.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Vodafone (VOD)
