Rwanda's telecommunication regulator, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), has invited bids for a third unified license to provide fixed and mobile phone services.

Two weeks ago in Kigali, Rwanda, President Paul Kagame announced to the press that four companies have informally expressed interest in the license and will work to prepare their bids. These are Orascom Telecom, an unidentified Israeli company, Korea Telecom (KT) and the Kuwait-based Zain International, which operates as the Celtel brand in sub-Saharan Africa.

The third national operator license will allow the successful bidder to provide fixed and mobile services, and will be valid for 15 years.

The additional license is expected to raise telephony penetration to 50 percent in two years from the current 9 percent, said Diogene Mudenge, RURA's acting director-general. The government also hopes to have at least 5 million GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) subscribers by 2012.

Currently, MTN Rwandacell and Rwandatel serve the country's voice and data market. The decision to introduce a third operator in Rwanda was informed by the need to increase competition in a sector that has long been controlled by MTN Rwandacell.