Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), represented by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), signed agreements on Tuesday for the second phase of 5G licences with three mobile operators: Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt, and e& Egypt.

The signing ceremony took place at the NTRA headquarters in the Smart Village. The agreements were signed by NTRA Executive President Mohamed Shamroukh, Orange Egypt CEO Yasser Shaker, Vodafone Egypt CEO Mohamed Abdallah, and e& Egypt CEO Hazem Metwali.

In January, Telecom Egypt secured the first phase of the 5G licence, without frequencies or any special privileges, for a value of $150 million.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat said during a press conference that the agreements aim to enhance 5G services, bring about a qualitative shift in improving the quality of communication services, and expand the network’s capacity for optimal performance.

“The agreements are a crucial step in our efforts to deliver advanced technological services to our citizens,” Talaat said. He confirmed Egypt’s capability to provide the latest 5G technologies, contributing to service improvement and enhancing mobile network capacity.

Talaat explained that these agreements are part of the state’s strategy to provide citizens with advanced technological services, emphasising the support of vital sectors like smart cities, logistics, healthcare, and agriculture, which heavily rely on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies supported by 5G.

“The 5G network is key to the development of these sectors,” Talaat said.

The minister noted that the agreement emphasises the importance of partnership among the four companies operating in Egypt’s telecommunications sector to ensure continuous service development, benefitting Egyptian citizens and strengthening the role of the information technology sector in economic development.

“We believe this partnership will be crucial to the success of the 5G rollout in Egypt,” Talaat said.

The 5G network, or fifth generation of wireless mobile networks, builds on the four preceding generations, which focused on improving mobile phone data. The 5G network seeks to expand upon this trend and broaden its use for mobile broadband access.