Lebanese state-owned cellco Alfa has extended its network management contract with Egyptian-owned Orascom Telecom Lebanon (OTL) until 31 March 2014, after the previous agreement extension expired on 31 December 2013. The arrangement is exactly the same as fellow state-owned operator Touch’s current management agreement with Kuwait’s Zain Group.
OTL has managed Alfa (a.k.a. MIC 1 network) on behalf of the Lebanese government since February 2009. OTL is part of Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT). Management contracts for Alfa and rival Touch have been repeatedly extended due to political impasse delaying a planned open tender for new multi-year contracts.