VOD - Ethiopia wireless contest results in bids from MTN Vodafone group

Bidders including MTN Group (MTNOY) and a consortium led by Vodafone (VOD +0.8%), Vodacom (VODAF) and Safaricom are pursuing wireless operating licenses in Ethiopia, the last remaining big market in the world. A delayed application process had been contested by a dozen parties but ended with the two large potential entrants. License awards will be announced after a technical and financial review, Ethiopia says. The news is another milestone in a multi-year effort to open up the country's telecom market to potential competitors for incumbent Ethio Telecom. Ethiopia is the last of the big global telecom markets, with an estimated 50.1M mobile connections in a population of about 112M.

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Ethiopia wireless contest results in bids from MTN, Vodafone group