The Togolese government has authorized the launch of tender for the third mobile communications licence, according to a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the council of ministers on Friday in Lomé.
The procedure will focus essentially on the introduction of the third 3G/4G operator and the establishment of regulations aimed at ensuring fair competition, the government said.
In 2009, negotiations with Orange of France Telecom did not result in the introduction of the third operator, because the telecommunication market at that time was limited.
Togo has two operators – the state-owned Togocel and private company Moov belonging to Etisalat.
The decision to introduce a third operator was made as “Togo is considering adopting a strategy which focuses on the establishment of a new competitive system and the improvement of the level of investments in infrastructure in the domain of mobile telephony”.
It is also to “enable the telecommunications sector to achieve its potential and develop a digital economy”, said the Council of ministers.
Official sources say the mobile penetration rate is estimated at 54%, therefore below the regional average of 75%.
Official figures in Togo indicate that the telecommunication sector creates jobs, provides 5% of government income and has a GDP of 4%.
