Vodafone Egypt

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Vodafone Egypt, part of the Vodafone Group, is a mobile phone company in Egypt, formerly known as Click GSM.

[edit] History of Vodafone Egypt

Vodafone, formerly known as Click GSM, has undergone a major rebranding exercise. Other Vodafone subsidiaries also went through a similar transition, to create the first truly global mobile telecommunications company, with the familiar 'look and feel' throughout the world.

Vodafone Egypt, formerly based in Cairo, is now based in October 6 City, Giza.

Vodafone Egypt was founded in 1998, as the second mobile phone operator in Egypt, competing with the then-recently-privatized operator - Mobinil - which was formerly owned by the Egyptian National Telecommunication Authority (now Telecom Egypt).

Vodafone Egypt (then Click GSM; officially Misrfone Telecommunications) penetrated the market heavily at that time by introducing the concept of prepaid mobile phone plans. At that time, only the elite and the rich could own mobile phones.

In a few years, the introduction of prepaid by Vodafone, and later on by its competitor Mobinil, has made a paradigm shift in Egyptian culture, making mobile phones a necessity rather than a luxury. Now, 8 years later to the launch of prepaid services in Egypt, mobile phones are owned by almost 15 million Egyptians, almost split in half (49% Vodafone, 51% Mobinil).

A great deal of credit should be given to the original engineering team who set up the network. They came from Vodafone UK, Vodafone Australia, Airtouch and Panafon Greece.

Originally based in an apartment block in Maadi (a suburb of Cairo), the team faced numerous challenges, but their experience and innovation allowed the successful launch and rapid growth of the new network. It is said that the original microwave transmission plan was designed with the aid of a Cairo tourist map and the printed ruler at the back of the Egypt lonely planet guide.

[edit] Coming competition

Recently, the Egyptian Government - represented by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the national telecom regulatory authority (NTRA) - had launched a bid for a third mobile phone operator (landlines and public data networks are still monopolized by Telecom Egypt) in its efforts to end the so-called duopoly of Vodafone and Mobinil.

After long scrutiny, a consortium led by the UAE-based Etisalat and includes two local banks and the government-owned Egypt Post won the bid, paying a record L.E 16.7 Billion for the license fees for both 2G and 3G service classes. The company was found under the name Etisalat Misr and currently is in the pre-launch phase. In a recent press release, the commercial launch date was said to be before the end of Q1 2007.