Tunisia is taking another step towards the deployment of fifth-generation mobile technology (5G). On Monday, September 23, telecommunications operators Tunisie Telecom, Orange and Ooredoo submitted their applications to the headquarters of the Ministry of Communication Technologies, following the call for tenders launched on June 28.
The three files have been administratively accepted by the commission responsible for the preliminary phases for the granting of licenses. The next step will consist of the study of the technical files and financial offers with a view to final validation. This step, which should be finalized in the next three weeks, will be followed by the official granting of the licenses.
According to the Tunisian government, the deployment of 5G is part of “ the strategy of the Tunisian State relating to the digital development of the national territory aimed at developing digital infrastructure, generalizing very high-speed coverage throughout the national territory ”. The executive is also seeking to accelerate the digitalization of the administration, secure the national cyberspace, guarantee digital sovereignty and establish a climate of digital trust essential to digital transformation.
Once 5G is deployed, its adoption in Tunisia could be hampered by the Tunisian population’s limited access to compatible smartphones. According to data from the telecoms regulator, the country had 9.09 million smartphones out of a total of 12.4 million devices connected to telecom operators’ networks as of December 31, 2023. While this represents a rate of 73%, only 652,000 smartphones are compatible with 5G. 4G dominates with 7.7 million compatible devices.
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