Telecom Egypt signs LE15 bn agreement with Mobinil, Vodafone

Fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt has signed a LE15 billion ($2bn) agreement to provide infrastructure and international calling services to mobile carriers Mobinil and Vodafone.

The two companies will use TE's infrastructure instead of building their own, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange Tuesday. Mobinil has agreed to use TE's infrastructure for five years and Vodafone for three years, it said.

TE, which is 80 percent government owned, will generate a "minimum of LE3 billion in revenues during the agreement’s duration," it said.

The government has approved a unified license that allows TE to provide mobile phone services, and the country's existing mobile carries, Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat to provide landline services.

TE will sell a 45 percent stake it holds in Vodafone Group Plc's local unit, the government said in September, but did not specify who the buyer would be.

TE also renewed an agreement allowing the two companies to use its international gateway services, which connects calls across borders, for four years. TE's "share of the revenues from this service" will amount to 35 percent, it said.