Etisalat and Vodafone Egypt signed 4G license agreements yesterday with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Reuters and Bloomberg report. Etisalat will take 10 MHz of spectrum at USD 535.5 mn, while Vodafone acquired 5 MHz at a cost of USD 335 mn, Al Mal reports. Both operators agreed to pay USD 11.262 mn for a license to operate a “virtual” fixed-line network, presumably using Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure. All three incumbent mobile network operators had rejected 4G license terms set by the NTRA, citing insufficient spectrum. The NTRA has since re-priced the license in USD and prioritized whoever could pay the full amount in FCY.

Neither company has made clear how they will finance their licenses, but NTRA CEO Mostafa Abdel Wahed says the companies will pay for the license in full within a month, Al Borsa reports. Orange Egypt acquired its 4G license for USD 484 mn (and expects help from head office with the financing), while Telecom Egypt agreed to pay EGP 7.08 bn in LCY.

Windfall for state coffers: In total, the 4G license auction will see the state take in USD 1.1 bn in hard-currency license fees and a further EGP 10 bn in local currency, according to CIT Minister Yasser El Kady speaking with CNBC (watch, run time 1:42). Those figures don’t include the potential acquisition by the MNOs of international gateway licenses, which El Kady says operators are still debating.

Fate of TE’s stake in Vodafone still up in the air: Bloomberg notes that Vodafone Egypt CEO Stefano Gastaut “expressed confidence that a potential conflict of interest over government-owned Telecom Egypt’s 45 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt would be resolved in the future.”

Meanwhile, TE completed its first trial run offering 4G mobile services using fiber optic cables just weeks after acquiring the license, Managing Director Tamer Gadalla tells Al Borsa.