The conditions upon choosing an operator include the payment of 25 million US dollars application fee within ten days of the license being awarded, the confirmation of more than 30 million dollars worth of net assets and annual revenues of at least 50 million dollars.

Also, bidders can get the documentation needed against a bank guarantee of two million dollars, which will be returned to unsuccessful bidders.

Once the license is granted, the operator gets a maximum of one year to start operating in the country, said Americo Muchanga, the general manager of the regulatory body, the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM).

Muchanga added that bidders should have experience in telecoms, be registered in Mozambique and have the support and capacity to provide services for a minimum of two million users, using the infrastructure already set up by existing operators, M-Cel and Vodacom.

The entry of a third operator was approved by the Mozambican government in July last year.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Paulo Zucula, welcomed the idea of introducing a third operator in Mozambique, saying that this would improve competition, increase coverage, lead to better quality of service and reduce prices.

Mozambique has two operators, the publicly owned M-Cel and Vodacom. Launched in 2002, Vodacom stated that it had yet to make a profit on its Mozambican operations, owning 44% of the market, despite its efforts to attract more subscribers.

The two operators serve about 6 million customers, covering 116 of the 128 districts in the country.