(Ecofin Agency) - Mauritania’s telecommunications regulatory body (Autorité de Régulation-ARE) has launched a tender procedure to attribute a global license (2G/3G/4G) to a new operator.

By opening the national telecommunications market to a new actor, authorities wish to offer consumers an alternative to the poor service attributed to the three operators namely, Mauritel, Mattel and Chinguitel.

For a fair competition, the new operator would not be the only one to offer 4G services. The three others already operating in the country will also be able to do so.

Indeed, the country also launched a tender process for attribution of 4G licenses to operators who already have the 2G/3G licenses.

The deadline for submission is set to December 5, 2018. Overall, four 4G licenses are to be delivered by ARE.