Telecom Egypt S Regulatory News (TEEG)

2 May 2006 16:34

Telecom Egypt S.A.E02 May 2006 Telecom Egypt Intends to Bid for the Third Mobile License in Egypt Telecom Egypt Joins Forces with Telecom Italia to Participate in the Third Mobile License Tender in Egypt Cairo, 2nd May, 2006: Telecom Egypt (TE) (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN), announcedtoday that it has decided to join forces with Telecom Italia to participate inthe tender for the third mobile license in Egypt. TE and Telecom Italia havebeen cooperating together for a long time and this alliance is a naturalevolution of this cooperation. The partnership brings together the compatible expertise of both parties.Telecom Egypt is the incumbent fixed line operator in Egypt and therefore has awealth of experience in the Egyptian telecommunications market. Telecom Italiaon the other hand has a very strong knowledge and capability in GSM/UMTS mobileservices worldwide. The parties have agreed that Telecom Egypt will own a majority stake in theconsortium. It is worth mentioning that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority(NTRA) announced the commencement of an international tender for the thirdmobile license in Egypt on the 14th February 2006 and invited interestedspecialized consortia of local and international companies to purchase therequest for proposal (RFP) on 19th February 2006. The deadline for receivingproposals is 4th May 2006. Both Telecom Egypt and Telecom Italia have been working together during the pastweeks to finalize the agreements between the parties and to prepare thetechnical proposal that will be submitted to the NTRA on the 4th of May 2006. Commenting on this alliance and the 3rd mobile license tender, Mr. Akil Beshir,Chairman of Telecom Egypt, said: "We are very interested in the third mobile license in Egypt as we believe thatthe Egyptian mobile market holds significant potential. We are very happy withour strategic 25.5% shareholding stake in Vodafone Egypt, however amajority-owned mobile arm is important for Telecom Egypt and this is why wedecided to pursue the third mobile opportunity. "We are aware that the third license tender has attracted lots of interest fromregional and European telecommunications operators as well as financialinvestors; however we believe that our partnership with Telecom Italia is anideal mix of strong local market telecommunications expertise coupled withextensive technical and commercial experience in operating GSM and UMTS mobilenetworks. "Finally, I would like to stress that we will not take any decision concerningdivesting our stake in Vodafone Egypt for the time being. It is very importantfor the company to have exposure to the mobile sector in Egypt whether throughretaining our strategic stake in Vodafone Egypt or through bidding for the thirdmobile license. Accordingly, we will only sell our stake in Vodafone Egypt ifand when our consortium is successful in wining the third mobile license." - Ends - For further information: Investor Relations Contacts Tarek Tantawy, CFA Director; Investment, Treasury & Investor Relations Telephone: +202 5788826 Fax: +202 5789314 Eman Anis Assistant Manager; Investor Relations Telephone: +202 5788787 Fax: +202 5789314 E-mail: investor.relations@telecomegypt.com.eg Notes to Editors: About Telecom Egypt Telecom Egypt (TE), Egypt's incumbent telecommunications operator, started itsoperations in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. Then it wascorporatized in 1998 to replace the former Arab Republic of Egypt NationalTelecommunication Organization (ARENTO). The Company is the largest provider offixed-line services in the Middle East and Africa with more than 10.4 millionsubscribers as at the end of December 2005 representing a teledensity of 14.6percent. TE provides retail telecommunication services including access, local, longdistance and international voice, Internet and data, and other services. Thecompany also provides wholesale services including bandwidth capacity leasing toISPs, and national and international interconnection services. Telecom Egypt'sservices also include the provision of narrowband and broadband internet accessthrough its subsidiary TE Data. TE Data has current operations in Egypt, Jordan,and Dubai and has ambitious plans in other parts of the MENA region. Telecom Egypt's shares and GDRs (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN) are traded on theCairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges and the London Stock Exchange. About Telecom Italia Group The Telecom Italia Group is one of Europe's telecommunications industry leaders.Group activities spans the entire advanced communications services chainincluding fixed and mobile telephony, Internet, media and innovative businesssolutions and systems through TIM, Telecom Italia Media and Olivetti. TIM, themobile telephony unit, has long been a lead technological innovator in Italy andworldwide. TIM has brought to market third-generation technologies, theEDGE-UMTS platform, new high-speed multimedia services, and wireless andInternet data transmission. The Group also promotes research and innovationthrough the laboratories of Telecom Italia Lab, which develop technologies thatimprove and enhance the competitiveness of the services the Group provides. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange