Africa-Press – South-Africa. Vodacom is participating in a programme launched by the Egyptian government, which has seen the telecommunications giant secure critical spectrum in the country.
This comes as Egypt is currently one of Vodacom’s strongest-performing markets, growing by more than 40% in the group’s latest quarter.
On Monday, 9 February, Vodacom informed shareholders that Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority announced a multi-year investment programme.
According to Vodacom, this programme is set to provide visibility on the country’s digital infrastructure outlook, including spectrum.
“Given the country’s pro-investment landscape, growth outlook and certain regulatory safeguards, Vodafone Egypt intends to participate in the programme,” the company said.
The programme, which runs from Vodacom’s 2026 to 2032 financial year, encompasses spectrum in the 1,800 mHz and 3,500 mHz bands and the renewal of 2,600 mHz.
The telecoms giant further confirmed that its subsidiary, Vodafone Egypt, has secured 2 x 10 mHz of 1,800 mHz as part of the initial phase of the programme.
It said this 1,800 mHz spectrum will augment Vodafone Egypt’s leading spectrum position and support the company in capturing the significant latent data demand in the country.
Because of this, Vodacom expects to report an intangible spectrum asset of around R5.6 billion for the 1,800 mHz spectrum acquisition, which represents the present value of a multi-year payment schedule.
The associated financial liability for this spectrum is expected to be around R4 billion for the year ended 31 March 2026, with a R1.6 billion instalment paid in the 2026 financial year, prior to the year-end.
“The balance of the liability will be settled in three annual instalments,” the company said. “It is envisaged that the next phase of the programme will commence in FY2028 and conclude by FY2032.”
“During this phase of the programme, we expect that the MCIT and NTRA will release a sizeable allocation of 3,500 mHz spectrum and renew existing 2,600 mHz.”
This announcement comes as Vodacom’s Egyptian operations continue to go from strength to strength.
In its latest trading update for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, Vodacom revealed that its Egypt business grew revenue by 43% to R11.11 billion and service revenue by 39% to R9.51 billion.
This was driven by strong commercial momentum, enhancements to integrated connectivity and content packages, and continued traction of Vodafone Cash.
Vodacom said financial services revenue in Egypt grew by 59.4%, supported by a 28.9% increase in active customers to 13.5 million. In addition, data traffic expanded by 25.1%, with data customers up 8.9% to 33.9 million.
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