The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) will push once again for Telecom Egypt (TE) to exit its stake in Vodafone Egypt when seeking a 4G license, a senior official from the NTRA tells Al Borsa. TE is being required by regulations to exit on its second attempt to establish an independent mobile network due to a conflict of interest, the official added. The state-owned fixed-line monopoly currently holds four board seats in Vodafone Egypt. The government had planned to push TE out of Vodafone Egypt back in 2013 when it had planned to issue a unified license to operate a network, but backed out when plans for the license were scrapped. The NTRA will reportedly grant TE a grace period to meet requirements to obtain a 4G license and will grant Vodafone Group shareholders preferential rights to buy back TE’s shares. Al Borsa also suggests that the government will seek to retain a 45% interest in Vodafone Egypt, but not through TE.