Mali’s government has announced plans to proceed with the award of a fourth mobile network operator (MNO) licence as part of its telecommunication sector reform programme. In a call for expressions of interest (EoI) published on the Authority for the Regulation of Telecom/ICT and Post (AMRTP’s) website it was noted that the state aims to grant a concession to a new provider that has the ‘operational and financial capacity to comply with the term of reference of the licence and to contribute to the development of [the country’s] telecommunications sector’. Companies interested in the proposal have been invited to request an information memorandum which contains: a summary of the planned licence sale procedure; the conditions of access to the tender documents; and summary information on Mali its telecoms sectors. Dependent on the level of interest received, the government may look to organise one or more working meetings to collect feedback on its plans and to issue updates on the progress and schedule for the licence award.
An indicative calendar for the licensing process has also been published, with it revealing that the government expects to liaise with companies that have submitted an EoI on 19 March, before sending a dossier regarding the sale process to candidates from 9 April 2018. A provisional date of 22 May 2018 has been set as a deadline for the submission of bids, while the finalising of the licence sale procedure is expected by end-June 2018.