Tunisia’s three largest mobile operators—Tunisie Telecom, Orange Tunisie, and Ooredoo Tunisia—submitted their applications for 5G licences on Monday, with approval expected within the next three weeks.
According to a report from Agency Ecofin, the technical committee established by the Ministry of Communication Technologies will review the technical and financial documents submitted by each operator. Once the evaluation process is completed, successful applicants should receive their licences around the middle of next month.
Each licence will be valid for 15 years and includes 5 MHz of duplexed spectrum in the 700-MHz band and 100 MHz of TDD spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for 5G use. Additionally, the ministry has allocated three 20 MHz blocks that can be requested by operators. Other 5G frequency bands will be released in subsequent phases.
The tender process for the 5G licences commenced in June, with the goal of launching commercial 5G services by November this year. Meanwhile, Tunisian telecommunications companies have been preparing for 5G; last year, Ooredoo Tunisia partnered with Nokia to upgrade its radio access networks to be 5G-ready.
However, the rollout of 5G services may face challenges related to initial coverage. Device compatibility is also a significant concern; according to Ecofin, as of the end of 2023, approximately 9 million mobile subscribers in Tunisia use smartphones, accounting for 73% of the mobile device market. Yet, only 652,000 of those smartphones are 5G-compatible.
