Guinea-Bissau’s National Regulatory Authority for ICT (ARN) is reviving the country’s state-backed Guine Telecom (Companhia de Telecomunicacoes da Guine-Bissau) including its mobile unit Guinetel.
As reported by Agence Ecofin, ARN issued Guinetel with a mobile operating licence on 14th September, while a week later Communication Minister Augusto Gomes granted a licence allowing Guine Telecom to provide fixed-line and infrastructure services nationwide.
TeleGeography reports that the state providers have been defunct since 2013, when they were forced to shutter operations after the government declared them to be bankrupt. This was followed by an official declaration a year later.
According to Gomes, Guinea-Bissau’s government deemed it timely to revive the state operators due to the government’s “desire for sovereignty in telecommunications, particularly concerning the security of communications and national data.” He noted that the government was preparing an international tender for operating partners to ensure the businesses were achieved profitability.
