Algeria’s ICT minister Imane Houda Feraoun has revealed that the executive decrees authorising the deployment of 4G LTE networks in the country have been signed by the Prime Minister, with the final concessions to be awarded to the three mobile operators in the forthcoming two weeks, Agence Ecofin writes. Both Algerie Telecom Mobile (Mobilis) and Optimum Telecom Algerie (OTA, trading as Djezzy) are expected to launch commercial 4G services as soon as they receive the authorisations; OTA revealed in July that it had already upgraded its infrastructure to deploy the technology, while Mobilis tested the 4G service in Tlemcen that month.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in early January the regulator invited all interested parties to apply for participation in the country’s 4G licence auction, with a deadline of 11 April for submitting bids. In the event, the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Telecoms, ARPT) accepted the three bids submitted by Mobilis, OTA and Ooredoo Algeria by stating that the applications were ‘admissible’. Following the evaluation of the three technical offers, the provisional 4G concessions were awarded to all applicants in May 2016.